The State Affairs Committee on March 19 heard 12 hours of testimony on the homebuilding industry and bills addressing the severe defects of the Texas Residential Construction Commission. HB1038 filed by the original author of the TRCC, Representative Allan Ritter (D-Nederland) was the only bill that was voted out of the committee. If the analysis of the bill is correct, the State Affairs Committee wasn't listening to the homeowners who testified.I say this with a HUGE caveat because Representative Farrar has been working hard to bring about changes to this commission, unfortunately few if any parts of her bill HB295 were adopted with the substitute bill. I also say this since getting information out of Ritters office is like pulling teeth, without pain killers, and through an orifice besides the mouth.
HB1038, written by the builders, does not address the major issues with the Commission identified in the Comptroller report issued in Jan of 2006, such as the severe limits of the warranty standards, the composition of the Commission, or prevention of the defects in the first place.
12 hours of testimony and all we got was a watered down bill by Rep Ritter that does little if anything to help the consumer. It is a joke.
It is unfortunate, because the Texas Residential Construction Commission is about as worthless as the Texas Ethics Commission in protecting ethics regulations, or the Texas Youth Commission in protecting young children, or the Texas Department of Insurance Commission in protecting consumers.
Once Ritter's office is willing to share the contents of the bill, a complete analysis will be provided.
7 comments:
I guess this needs to be filed under, "Gee, are we suprised?" or maybe "Ah, that the reason the home builders were laughing at the hearing."
Truely sad. I guess we need to start an ad campaign "Don't move to Texas unless you like crappy homes!"
It's not much different in other states. The builders have lots of money and influence, so they can sit there and laugh at the people they've ripped off, knowing that nothing will happen. Usually. But the good news is that so many people are getting ripped off that almost everyone now knows builders are the new plaid-seersucker-suit-wearing-used-car-salesmen, trying to unload a piece of crap on whoever's the next unlucky sucker to come along. The more aware of this that people become, the less successful builders are going to be. Kick them now while the market is slow and their money stream is drying up. Be ready to rebut their whining that they are "victims" of the market just as they whined that they were "victims" of litigation. The builders helped cause the current market crash. They are causing the epidemic of shoddy construction that will result in tomorrow's slums. Expose them, rebut them, and never let up, especially right now while they are already hurting.
I know John put his speech time on a previous blog at the State Affairs Committee but it is the homeowners that you should have listened to. It is one horror story after another.
One will see most of the members were not even seated during testimony and don't tell me they were in the back room. They were probably laughing just like the builders thinking what a waste of time this is. We know what we are going to do and that is allow the consumer to be scammed.
As one homeowner said these people have hearts of black and don't bleed red like the rest of us.
Sort of an irony in that HB 1038 filed By Rep. Ritter was the worst of all bills filed in lieu of consumer protection, but in CO. Gov. Ritter seems to be a few steps away from signing a bill (1338)that will give homebuyers the right to sue their builder if their new homes are defective.
Can anyone tell me what the make up of constituents in Ritter's district is as far as Dems. vs. Reps? He doesn't act like any Dem. I know.
Ritter needs to be gotten rid of. He was trying to blame this entire mess on Washington and it began right here in Texas and I told him so. It started with Bush, Perry and Weekley in Texas. The economy is crumbling because of their tort reform spin. They are rich now, fat and happy. Ritter had an excuse for everything.They smile at you and want you to be so polite and not to point the finger at them or they get haughty.
There is no way they will ever help get rid of the TRCC it is making money... at the consumers expense. These people see only green. I thought ther Democrats were our salvation, but after all the help we have recieved from them, I think we do need an independent party, and they ran before it was time.
I hope everyone will remember how Swinford and Ritter treated us in Austin when it comes time to vote. They were elected by the people for the people. They can get thousands of dollars in campagn funds from people expecting the favors. But they need to be taught a lesson...everyone still gets one vote. Write these names down less we forget. They are not on the side of the consumer they are ony on the side of big bussiness. They do not care what happens to us. They have proved it by ignoring EIGHT hours of testimoney by injured people. They maked a show of sitting there and telling us what a favor they were doing and that that proved they cared. That proved nothing when they destroy our bill. It was grandstanding.
"Blocking the Court House Door" by Stephanie Menciemer should be required reading so they can see what they have done in black and white and realize we read the book and we know what they did. Big Business gets all their attention and we are just collateral damage.
Word needs to get out. Just like Grudendorf who was screwing educators for so long (and had the financial backing of a certain builder) lost the last election. Educators had enough.
The trick was keeping people informed. DO you think if constituents in the districts of some of these state affairs reps. knew what they were doing and how they are voting they would continue to vote them in. I do not think so personally.
Monday April 23,2007 at 2PM, we will be back in District court in front of Judge Lynn Hull.
This will be our tenth hearing.
We now have a ruling of fraud from AAA arbitration. We have been to Austin, we have been to the attorney general, we have appeared before the city council, we have even gone to the health department.
No one will show up except the judge myself, my daughter and the lawyers and my husband if he is in town. You would think the media would want to warn other people... so they too do not find themselves homeless though no fault of their own.
Fourteen more houses in my subdivsion have gone into foreclosure this year. There are only 44.
It is sick that a bullder can hide from resonsibility and does not even have to build houses that are habitable.ANd we wonder why the economicfc is in crisis. Big business greed it the reasson.
I invote you to come down on Monday and see how our justice system works now that we have no rights.
Jordan Fogal
713-802-9727
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