This past week the Houston Chronicle editorialized in favor of abolishing the Texas Residential Construction Commission (TRCC), following the recommendation of the Sunset Advisory Commission from a report they issued last week. From the Houston Chronicle:
"Homeowners have complained of a dispute resolution deck stacked against them ever since the Legislature created the Texas Residential Construction Commission in 2003 at the behest of construction industry lobbyists. Complying with the dispute resolution process is time-consuming and costly, homeowners have lamented. And there's no going on to file a lawsuit until the often months-long industry-driven process is completed. Most infuriating, consumers said, is the overwhelming perception that their complaints are being heard not by disinterested third parties, but by a panel weighted in builders' favor."
Democrats have fought for the past four years to reform or abolish the Texas Residential Construction Commission. Some our efforts have included:
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Rep. Jessica Farrar's homeowner protection legislation filed the past two legislative sessions, both of which were part of Moving Texas Forward, the Democratic agenda for the Texas House of Representatives (HB 295 in 80th Session ( click here to read) and HB 3404 in the 79th Session( click here to read))
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Rep. Craig Eiland's amendment to make the TRCC arbitration process voluntary ( click here to read)
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Texas homeowners deserve to have a state government on their side when they need it. Below is the full editorial from the Houston Chronicle. I promise to continue following this issue closely and to send you updates on this issue as they develop.
Shoddily built
More reasons to raze the badly constructed agency set up to resolve homeowner disputes with builders
Copyright 2008 Houston Chronicle
Aug. 21, 2008, 8:15P
The advisory panel that reviews how well state agencies perform and whether they have outlived their usefulness has determined that the body set up to settle disputes between builders and homeowners is "fundamentally flawed" and should be abolished. The fact that consumers are agreeing heartily with the recommendation while the construction industry is lashing out against it speaks volumes about how poorly the agency has served homeowners.
Joey Longley, executive director of the Sunset Advisory Commission, said the agency causes more harm to homeowners than good. "It's not something that we felt could be fixed without some massive overhaul. We think Texas is really better served without it."
Agreed. Homeowners have complained of a dispute resolution deck stacked against them ever since the Legislature created the Texas Residential Construction Commission in 2003 at the behest of construction industry lobbyists. Complying with the dispute resolution process is time-consuming and costly, homeowners have lamented. And there's no going on to file a lawsuit until the often months-long industry-driven process is completed. Most infuriating, consumers said, is the overwhelming perception that their complaints are being heard not by disinterested third parties, but by a panel weighted in builders' favor.
Now the 12-member sunset committee has substantiated many of those criticisms and a host of others as part of its first review of the agency.
Most galling is that TRCC doesn't even accomplish its purported primary goal â that of avoiding lawsuits â the committee reported. Only 12 percent of cases in which TRCC authorized inspectors to review alleged defects resulted in a "satisfactory offer or repair or compensation over the life of the program," reviewers found. The rest of the cases go to court, "the very outcome the process was enacted to prevent."
Texans indeed need an agency that will provide real protection to victims of dishonest or incompetent builders. But what they have today in the Texas Residential Construction Commission is an ineffective agency built on a shaky foundation too defective to save.
This e-mail was not sent at state expense. |