Page 8 - Builder Brief July 2021

2021 PRESIDENT
AN UPDATE ON THE 87TH LEGISLATIVE SESSION
What to Expect in the Special Session
The Texas Legislature kicked off the 87th session in uncertain times and by all accounts this session ended in quite a bit of turmoil. Thank you to all GSABA members that participated in face-to-face meetings, joined Zoom meetings, and reached out by phone and emails to our elected officials when critical votes were being made. Your involvement made a difference in getting key legislation passed (and defeated) the last several months.
The great news is that we were able to pass seven of the Texas Association of Builders (TAB) priority bills. This is a direct result of TAB’s exceptional lobby team in Austin and the local builders’ associations grass roots efforts.
Here are the highlights:
HB 636 was critically important to the single-family homebuilding industry and continues the Texas State Board of Plumbing Examiners and contains the prohibition on the fire sprinkler mandates. The Governor signed this bill into law on May 26, 2021, and it went into effect immediately.
HB 738 updated the minimum city-adopted International Residential Codes (IRC) to the 2012 edition and put into statute a permanent prohibition on city, county or ESD fire sprinkler mandates that will not be in jeopardy of being ‘Sunsetted’ in the future. This bill was signed by the Governor on June 6th and will go into effect on January 1, 2022, except for (5) (B) that went into effect immediately.
HB 2237 updated the mechanic’s, contractor’s, and materialman’s lien statutes after 14 years of legislative turmoil and controversy. Governor Abbott signed this bill on June 15th, and it will be effective January 1, 2022.
HB 3215 was a big win for the residential construction industry as it updated the compliance path to demonstrate alternative energy code compliance and extended the Sunset date to 2031. The Governor signed this into law on June 14 and it will go into effect on September 1, 2021.
HB 3833 came about due to a late opportunity to add an amendment to clean up the bill that will now eliminate interest being assessed on agriculture roll-back tax assessments. Governor Abbott signed HB 3833 into law, and it became effective immediately.
SB 6 provides liability protection for businesses operating during the COVID-19 pandemic and it was signed into law on June 14 and became effective immediately.
SB 877 was one of GSABA’s priorities and will allow builders to use 3rd party code inspectors during a declared disaster. We are pleased to share that this bill passed and was signed by the Governor on June 8th, and it became effective immediately.
ED BERLANGA
SB 968 was another big win because it prohibits local governments from issuing an order during a declared pandemic or disaster that limits housing and commercial construction and related activities. The Governor signed the bill on June 16th, and it became effective immediately.
Unfortunately, one of GSABA’s priorities bills, HB 4447, which was a clean up of HB 3167 from last session that was nicknamed the ‘shot clock bill’ did not pass. It would have given our members clarity on the timelines for plan and plat reviews.
Governor Abbott has called a special session that will start on July 8th. He did not specify what legislative priorities will be included on the special session agenda. They will be announced prior to the convening of the special session. We do know that the Legislature will focus on redrawing the state’s political maps and decide where billions of dollars in federal COVID-19 relief funds will be allocated. The good news is that early estimates had the state budget shortfall estimated at $4 billion and the most recent estimates show a $3 billion surplus because of surging sales tax revenues.
We will keep you apprised of what is happening with the Special Session in the August Builder Brief. Thank you for your being a member of GSABA and please call on me if I can help you in any way.
Sincerely,
8 JULY 2021 | GREATER SAN ANTONIO BUILDERS ASSOCIATION