Reports about Texas Homeowners & Home Building

As we come across reports about homeowners and home building, we'll republish them here if appropriate. If you find others that we should post, please tell us about them at the usual address.

Sunset Advisory Commission Staff Report - Texas Residential Construction Commission

This report (see our summary) was published in August 2008 as part of a Sunset Advisory Commission process to identify and "eliminate waste, duplication, and inefficiency in government agencies." The 12-member Commission must next gather public testimony before deciding whether or not to adopt recommendations of their staff, including abolishing the TRCC and repealing the TRCCA, or take other action.

"The Texas Residential Construction Commisson fails to provide meaningful oversight and public protection because of fundamental structural flaws in the current regulatory approach."

Sunset Advisory Commisstion - Hearing Material

The Sunset Advisory Commission (mostly Texas Senators and Representatives with two public members) held a public hearing on 9/23/2008 to understand stakeholder views of the TRCC, and it was clear that there was wide disparity between homeowners and builders that must be addressed if the TRCC is to survive as a state agency. HOT provides this summary of hearing testimony and our annotated version of the New Issues (4MB PDF).

The Texas Residential Construction Commission and its Impact on Texas Homeowners and the Texas Economy

This 50-page report (see our summary) was published by the office of Carole Keeton Strayhorn, Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts in January 2006. It documents an audit of the TRCC, highlights  concerns with the agency, and suggests several ways to improve it. In the cover letter to State representative Todd Smith, Strayhorn shares her view:

"For these reasons, if it were up to me personally, I would blast this TRCC builder-protection agency off the bureaucratic books."