81R12251 AJA-F

By: Gattis H.B. No. 3349

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the operation of the Texas Residential Construction Commission.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. Section 418.001, Property Code, is amended to read as follows:

Sec. 418.001. GROUNDS FOR DISCIPLINARY ACTION. A person, including a builder or a person who is designated as a builder's agent under Section 416.006, or a person who owns or controls a majority ownership interest in the builder is subject to disciplinary action under this chapter for:

(1) fraud or deceit in obtaining a registration or certification under this subtitle;

(2) misappropriation or misapplication of trust funds in the practice of residential construction, including a violation of Chapter 32, Penal Code, or Chapter 162, if found by a final nonappealable court judgment;

(3) naming false consideration in a contract to sell a new home or in a construction contract;

(4) discriminating on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, or ancestry;

(5) publishing a false or misleading advertisement;

(6) failure to honor, within a reasonable time, a check issued to the commission, or any other instrument of payment, including a credit or debit card or electronic funds transfer, after the commission has sent by certified mail a request for payment to the person's last known business address, according to commission records;

(7) failure to pay an administrative penalty assessed by the commission under Chapter 419 or a fee due under Chapter 426;

(8) failure to pay a final nonappealable court judgment arising from a construction defect or other transaction between the person and a homeowner;

(9) failure to register a home as required by Section 426.003;

(10) failure to remit the fee for registration of a home under Section 426.003;

(11) failure to reimburse a homeowner the amount ordered by the commission as provided by Section 428.004(d);

(12) engaging in statutory or common-law fraud or misappropriation of funds, as determined by the commission after a hearing under Section 418.003;

(13) a repeated failure to participate in the state-sponsored inspection and dispute resolution process if required by this title;

(14) failure to register as a builder as required under Chapter 416;

(15) using or attempting to use a certificate of registration that has expired or that has been revoked;

(16) falsely representing that the person holds a certificate of registration issued under Chapter 416;

(17) acting as a builder using a name other than the name or names disclosed to the commission;

(18) aiding, abetting, or conspiring with a person who does not hold a certificate of registration to evade the provisions of this title or rules adopted under this title, if found by a final nonappealable court judgment;

(19) allowing the person's certificate of registration to be used by another person;

(20) acting as an agent, partner, or associate of a person who does not hold a certificate of registration with the intent to evade the provisions of this title or rules adopted under this title;

(21) a failure to reasonably perform on an accepted offer to repair or a repeated failure to make an offer to repair based on:

(A) the recommendation of a third-party inspector under Section 428.004; or

(B) the final holding of an appeal under Chapter 429;

(22) a repeated failure to respond to a commission request for information;

(23) a failure to obtain a building permit required by a political subdivision before constructing a new home or an improvement to an existing home;

(24) abandoning, without justification, any home improvement contract or new home construction project engaged in or undertaken by the person, if found to have done so by a final, nonappealable court judgment;

(25) a repeated failure to comply with the requirements of Subtitle F; [or]

(26) failure to substantially complete all the obligations under an express contract for construction without reasonable grounds for the failure, if found to have done so by a final, nonappealable court judgment; or

(27) otherwise violating this title or a commission rule adopted under this title.

SECTION 2. Section 418.001, Property Code, as amended by this Act, applies only to conduct that occurs on or after the effective date of this Act. Conduct that occurs before the effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect immediately before that date, and that law is continued in effect for that purpose.

SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2009.