TRCC Likely to Be Abolished

The Texas Residential Construction Commission, highly criticized by the homeowners it was meant to protect, appears headed toward its demise because Senate lawmakers don’t have the votes to keep the agency alive. The 5-year-old commission has been accused repeatedly of offering more protections for builders than it did for homeowners, who were required to enter its inspection process before they could file a suit against builders. "Consumers that were clamoring for the demise of this agency will find themselves with nowhere to turn," said Scott Norman, executive director of the Texas Association of Builders. More

Survey: More Buyers Interested in Foreclosed Homes

With home foreclosures soaring in most parts of the country, the number of interested buyers of these properties is growing. More than half – 55 percent - of Americans quizzed for a new survey said they would consider purchasing a previously foreclosed house. That’s up significantly in the last few months, according to the survey which was done by Harris Interactive. More

Texas Senate Bill Merges Transportation Proposals

Two years of planning, positioning and politicking over the multibillion-dollar business of building roads in Texas will come down to a single bill in the Senate, when members will spend hours arguing over how to build more roads for more people without spending much more money. More

Perry’s Agenda Pending in Final Legislative Stretch

Gov. Rick Perry said at the start of this legislative session that his goals included new regulations for abortion, tax relief for small businesses and replenishment of his job creation accounts. It’s not clear yet how successful he’ll be, but he is running out of time. More

Home Sellers Have New Chore: Energy Audits

Many Austin home sellers will have one more chore, along with touching up the paint and sprucing up the yard, before putting their house on the market. That's when a new city ordinance kicks in that requires sellers of homes older than 10 years to get an energy audit and disclose the results to prospective buyers. More

Senate Votes Out TxDOT Overhaul

The Texas Senate on Monday night approved its version of a major overhaul to the state's road-building agency, including allowing voters in counties in the state's largest metro areas to raise gas taxes to pay for road projects. The Senate bill to renew the Texas Department of Transportation also would keep the agency's five-member commission, even though the governor-appointed panel would be subjected to closer scrutiny from lawmakers. More

Tax Cut for Small Businesses Tied to Change in Tobacco Levy

It took some digging for lawmakers to unearth money to cut taxes for small businesses. But they found enough in a bill to help doctors repay loans to cover part of the $172 million tax cut for about 40,000 small businesses. More

Texas Workers More Confident, Study Shows

Texas employee confidence was up 6.1 points to 50.8 percent in April, according to the latest figures from Spherion Employment Report’s Texas Employee Confidence Index. More

Voter ID Bill Requires Compromise, House Democrats Say

A controversial voter identification bill could still pass before a Tuesday midnight deadline, but it's going to require some Republican concessions, House Democratic leaders said today. Democrats have been stalling other legislative bills to put them into position to kill the voter ID bill if a deal is not worked out. "Republicans want voter ID. Democrats want increased voter turnout," said Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer, D-San Antonio, chairman of the House Mexican American Legislative Caucus. "We are ready to accept their terms, but they need to accept ours." More

Chisum Often Used Dems' Delay Tactic

The delay tactic being used by House Democrats since Friday to prevent passage of a controversial voter-identification bill consists of debating at length noncontroversial bills. And although most Republicans are upset that hundreds of bills that would ordinarily pass without any debate are being "chubbed" by Democrats, they can blame one of their own members for mastering the parliamentarian tactic - Rep. Warren Chisum. More