This week the fate of the margins tax, the Texas Residential Construction Commission, and the Texas Department of Insurance was decided on the house floor.
The margins tax reform - house bill 4765 - was passed unanimously, increasing the exemption for small businesses under this tax to one million dollars. If it makes it past the senate and the governor's desk, this bill will free up $172 million in tax relief and exempt an additional 42,000 businesses. Our solid
Texas economy is built on the backs of these small businesses. This bill gives them the assistance they need to thrive, create more jobs, and keep our
Texas economy on track.
On Wednesday we passed a bill that would toughen up the Texas Residential Construction Commission, or TRCC. The TRCC was created in 2003 to raise the professional standards of builders. However, six years and countless unanswered complaints later, most homeowners were left feeling duped. Instead of being a valuable mediator between buyer and builder, the commission became powerless - an industry puppet that left victims of builder malpractice without recourse.
The first idea was to abolish the TRCC altogether, but we decided the best course of action was to give the commission more bite. Under the laws of the recently passed HB 2295 the TRCC would be required to enforce additional protections for new homeowners and increase builder accountability. We can no longer allow the bad apples of our building industry to walk all over our homeowners. The new TRCC now has the capacity to fulfill its statutory duty and protect the homeowners of
Texas.
We have also introduced a bill that would increase the efficiency of the Texas Department of Insurance. I work as an insurance agent, so I am especially familiar with these issues. In regards to home and health insurance it is crucial that we provide greater transparency and consumer protections for our constituents, and this bill accomplishes just that.
The first provision of this bill gives the insurance commissioner clear authority to crack down on rogue insurance agencies for exorbitant rates and financial insolvency. Any insurer or group of insurers who violates the trust of
Texas homeowners in this manner will be subject to the will of the commissioner. The bill's enforcement clause adds a new penalty, including a sizable interest penalty, for insurance companies that unjustly charge excessive rates.
The current combined housing and economic crisis only increases the need for these consumer protections. It is our responsibility to craft an insurance and a building commission that are capable of enforcing their own rules. I am optimistic that both the TRCC and TDI reforms will come through for all Texans.
by Kirk England
