AUSTIN — Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn had no authority to investigate and release a critical report on the performance of the Texas Residential Construction Commission earlier this year, state Attorney General Greg Abbott ruled Wednesday.

Strayhorn's response: She'd do it again and all but dared Abbott to try to stop her.

Elected as a Republican and running for governor as an independent against Gov. Rick Perry, Strayhorn issued her report in January.

She criticized the agency created in 2003 as acting as a "builder protection agency" with no power to enforce homebuilders to repair construction defects in new houses.

She declared "if it were up to me personally, I would blast this Texas Residential Construction Commission off the bureaucratic books."

Strayhorn said Wednesday she investigated because a Republican lawmaker asked her to.

"I did it, and if the attorney general wants to take me to court, let's go," she said.

"If a legislator requests me to act when it comes to the fiscal matters of this state, I will act. This is a constitutional office and we disagree with the opinion," she said.

The review was requested by Rep. Todd Smith of Euless in August 2005. Rep. David Swinford, R-Dumas, then asked Abbott if Strayhorn had the authority to conduct such a review.

Abbott's written ruling said only if the governor asks for it.

The comptroller used to have the authority, but the Legislature stripped those powers in 2003, Abbott said.

Even though Strayhorn holds a publicly elected office, she is limited by state law to reviewing agency expenses, receipts and disbursements.

She cannot broaden that to include an investigation into the effectiveness of policy, management, fiscal affairs and operations, Abbott's ruling said.

The practical effect of the ruling on the construction agency report is negligible. Strayhorn's report was finished and released months ago. She held a news conference the day she put it out.

Swinford's letter to Abbott was dated Dec. 16, more than a month before the report was issued, and suggested he thought Strayhorn was butting into the Legislature's business. Swinford is chairman of the House Committee on State Affairs.

"It seems to me that the Comptroller, as the State's chief financial officer, should be primarily (if not exclusively) concerned with the `dollars and cents' side of a state agency," Swinford wrote.

The creation of the residential construction commission was backed by homebuilders. Industry representatives praised it for establishing standards and warranties for home construction and for creating a process to resolve disputes between builders and buyers out of court.

Consumer advocates criticized the law, saying it made home buyers pay fees to file a complaint and limited their legal recourse.

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May 3, 2006 - 5:01 p.m. CDT