Dig Deeper Texas

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Capitol Offense by Dave Mann and A.J. Bauer - The Texas Observer

Last September, Heath Chandler made an audacious decision, or so it seemed. The Houston contractor chose to break the law. Since 2003, every home builder in Texas has been legally required to register with the state’s most heralded new regulatory agency—the Texas Residential Construction Commission. Chandler had been registered for two years, but had come to view the whole process as a sham—not nearly worth the $300 fee. So when the renewal papers arrived last fall, he didn’t fill them out. This would seem a risky move. Without a valid registration, Chandler can’t legally perform much work.

Yet it hasn’t proven risky at all. Chandler has carried on without a license: building new homes or doing remodeling jobs—whatever comes up. He openly acknowledges to the Observer that he’s been violating the law for months, but no one from the state has come after him. “I’ve not been contacted since [by the agency],” he says. “Honestly, I feel no presence at all.”

Capitol Offense by Dave Mann and A.J. Bauer - The Texas Observer

Much of the bill that created the commission was written by John Krugh, a corporate lawyer for Perry Homes. The Houston company is owned by Bob Perry—one of the state’s most prolific home builders and also Texas’ top contributor to political campaigns. Since 2001 Perry has donated more than $15 million to campaigns in Texas, almost exclusively to Republicans, according to the watchdog group Texans for Public Justice. Perry has contributed $436,800 to the Gov. Rick Perry’s campaign account since January 2004, according to filings at the Texas Ethics Commission. Gov. Perry (no relation) later appointed Krugh to serve as one of the nine commissioners who run the agency he helped create. As the Observer reported two years ago, the commission overseeing the TRCC features not a single consumer advocate [see “The Agency that Bob Perry Built,” February 4, 2005].

Capitol Offense by Dave Mann and A.J. Bauer - The Texas Observer

The commission is a moneymaker for the state. Fortner says the TRCC’s registration fees generate cash the commission pours back into the state’s general revenue fund. A report by the comptroller’s office last year projected that TRCC would produce more than $5 million in profit in 2007. That money could pay for a robust regulatory structure if state lawmakers simply plowed it back into the agency. So far they’ve chosen not to.

Technorati Tags: TRCC, Texas Residential Construction Commission, Bob Perry, Perry Homes, John Krugh

Filed under: Bob Perry, John Krugh, Perry Homes, TRCC, Texas Residential Construction Commission