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TRCC: Report Shows Controversial State Agency Fails Again |
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Thursday, 08 November 2007 |
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STATE AUDITOR CITES RESIDENTIAL CONSTRUCTION COMMISSION FOR SLOPPY RECORDKEEPING
The State Auditor reports that the controversial Texas Residential Construction Commission (TRCC) reported unreliable results on four out of seven key measures mandated by the legislature.The auditor conducted the report to certify that the agency is meeting the performance measures laid out by the legislature. According to the auditor’s report, the TRCC failed to properly maintain its records and failed to follow written policies, and miscalculated expenditures. Because of these deficiencies, the auditor was unable to certify that the agency was meeting its goals.
***Texas Watch Media Release***
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Alex Winslow
November 8, 2007 512-381-1111
STATE AUDITOR CITES RESIDENTIAL CONSTRUCTION COMMISSION FOR SLOPPY RECORDKEEPING
Report Shows Controversial State Agency Fails to Meet Key Performance Measures AUSTN – The State Auditor reports that the controversial Texas Residential Construction Commission (TRCC) reported unreliable results on four out of seven key measures mandated by the legislature. Sloppy recordkeeping was blamed for most of the problems. Read the State Auditor’s full report here: http://www.sao.state.tx.us/reports/main/08-010.pdf.
The auditor conducted the report to certify that the agency is meeting the performance measures laid out by the legislature. According to the auditor’s report, the TRCC failed to properly maintain its records and failed to follow written policies, and miscalculated expenditures. Because of these deficiencies, the auditor was unable to certify that the agency was meeting its goals.
“The TRCC has been under a cloud since its inception in 2003,†said Alex Winslow, Executive Director of Texas Watch, a statewide consumer advocacy organization. “The state auditor’s report raises even more questions about the TRCC’s ability to properly oversee the homebuilding industry.â€
Homeowners have advocated for significant reforms at the TRCC to make the TRCC voluntary, free, and effectively enforced by allowing homeowners to hold builders accountable in a court of law, strengthening requirements for builders to ensure they are responsible and competent, and eliminating the barriers homeowners face when they go before the TRCC. The legislature enacted modest reforms earlier this year. However, there is much to be done to ensure that homeowners have the opportunity to hold shoddy builders responsible, and the TRCC will undergo a comprehensive review by the Texas Sunset Commission in the coming year.
“Homeowners deserve to know that their homes are built to the highest standards and that shoddy builders will be held responsible when they fail to meet those standards,†said Winslow. “The same goes fro the agency that is supposed to oversee homebuilders. The TRCC needs to clean up its act.â€
The TRCC was created in 2003 under the auspices of streamlining disputes between homeowners and home builders. Instead of protecting homeowners from the actions of disreputable builders, the agency has been used as a shield by builders who want to avoid legal accountability.
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N. Alex Winslow
Executive Director
Texas
Watch
1300 Guadalupe Street, Suite 108
Austin
,
Texas
78701
512-381-1111 office
512-699-6644 cell
512-381-1115 fax
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