The Agency that Bob Perry Built (must read)

[johncoby2]

The Agency that Bob Perry Built


It seemed a boon to homebuyers when the Legislature created a new state agency in 2003 to regulate the home construction industry. For nearly a decade, homebuilders had steadily eroded consumer rights in Texas: Buyers who moved into brand-new houses and found cracked foundations and leaky roofs had little recourse. Some couldn’t file a lawsuit even if they wanted. They had signed housing contracts that forced them to resolve complaints through binding arbitration hearings notorious for favoring builders.

The Texas Residential Construction Commission was supposed to help change all that. Legislators talked up the new agency as a forum to resolve impasses between homeowners and homebuilders—a kind of marriage counselor for the housing sector. The agency was supposed to act as a mediator that, when necessary, would require homebuilders to make needed repairs. The commission would keep homeowners out of court and arbitration and save both sides a lot of legal fees. That was the pitch.

http://www.mollyivins.com/showArticle.asp?ArticleID=1869

[sonias]

1. Captured agency indeed

This ran in the latest TX Observer as well.

It's "bidness" as usual at our State Lege. What else can Bob Perry buy? Well come to think of it, he already owns everybody at the Lege.

Sonia