April 19, 2007

Forty Days left in the 80th
Regular Legislative Session

Only 40 days remain in the 80th Regular Legislative Session, and the pace at the Capitol is increasing rapidly. There are still two important deadlines that will come into play before the Legislature finishes business on May 28:

• May 10 - the last day for the House to pass out House Bills on second reading.
• May 22 - the last day for the House to pass out Senate Bills on second reading.

How does AGC Texas Building Branch stand with our legislative agenda? At this time, we are in good shape, and we’ve had a good week. On Tuesday night, the House Business and Industry Committee passed out two bills that are AGCTBB priorities. They are:

• HB 3147 by Rep. Burt Solomons. We expect to see this bill in the House Calendars Committee early next week, and then it will be put on the schedule for the House to vote on prior to the May 10 deadline. This bill deals with the issue of common elements in residential condominium construction and it makes some changes in the Residential Construction Liability Act (RCLA or Chapter 27 of the Property Code). HB 3147 merely makes a change to make sure the common elements as well as the individually owned units are covered by RCLA.
   
• SB 324 by Sen. Bob Deuell. This is the contingent payment bill that AGCTBB has worked on with the Texas Construction Association for the past three legislative sessions. As a senate bill, it will have until May 22 before it needs to be voted on by the House. The next stop for this bill is also the House Calendars Committee.

The public construction alternative delivery bill, HB 447 by Rep. Bill Callegari, was passed on second reading by the House yesterday. This bill will have its third reading and final vote in the House today. Third reading votes are typically routine as true debate usually occurs during the second reading. We expect that HB 447 will be received in the Senate next week and will then be assigned to the Senate Government Organization Committee, where its Senate companion has been waiting. We are hopeful that it will have its hearing in the Senate in the next two weeks.

OTHER ISSUES:

Indemnification and Additional Insureds  - SB 346 by Duncan and companion HB 1152 by Eiland

AGCTBB has opposed both of these bills at their respective committee hearings. This bill is part of the legislative agenda for Texas Construction Association and they are working hard to get it passed. AGCTBB has been involved in several stakeholder meetings requested by the bill sponsors. The Senate bill, SB 346, is further along in the process, having passed the Senate Committee on March 19. But due to opposition by many groups, it has not gained support of enough Senators to be brought to the floor for a vote. No progress has been made in reaching a compromise between the stakeholders and TCA. Senator Duncan and TCA continue to work to get the support of enough Senators to bring the bill up for debate in the Senate.

Franchise (Margins) Tax Technical Corrections Bill - HB 3928 

Rep. Jim Keffer, Chairman of the House Ways & Means Committee, passed HB 3928 out of his committee last night. This bill now heads to the House Calendars Committee and it will also need to be voted out of the House by May 10. The bill makes minor technical corrections in the new tax. The new tax will be due for the first time a year from now; sentiment in the legislature is to now make substantive changes until it is clear how much revenue will be generated by the new tax.

Immigration Bills

The House State Affairs Committee has had hearings on numerous immigration bills during the last two weeks. All of these bills have been left in the committee as of today as pending business. Attorney General Greg Abbott informed Chairman David Swinford that many of the bills have constitutional issues. The Governor’s request for more money for border security is likely to be passed by the Legislature. The Legislature still believes that immigration reform is an issue that will need to be resolved in the U.S. Congress.

AGC Website

Remember that the AGC Texas Building Branch website has information on the bills that we are monitoring. For further information on the bills, go to www.agctbb.org.

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