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More regulations against home builders
will hurt state's economic recovery
By Rep. Dan
Kristiansen
More than 330,000 people
in Washington are without jobs -- the highest in 25 years. Many losses
are in the housing industry. If the economic downturn has taught us
anything, it's that residential housing has a key impact on Washington's
economic vitality.
With that in mind, you'd
think the Legislature would be working to stimulate this industry.
Instead, majority leaders have proposed legislation that would be a
devastating blow to builders of residential housing and dramatically
increase the cost of home ownership.
House Bill 1393 would add new taxes, burdensome regulations and
extensive warranty requirements upon residential home builders. The
warranty provisions of the bill would allow first and subsequent
homeowners to hold contractors liable for the life of the home,
regardless of improper maintenance. Proponents say this bill would
protect homeowners from poor construction. They fail to acknowledge
strong provisions already exist to ensure against shoddy construction.
What do I know about this?
Plenty. I've been in the construction business for more than 25 years.
Let me take you through a brief description of the typical homebuilding
process.
An architect designs a
house. After architectural design, the plans must be engineered. A
builder isn't involved yet.
The site plans are sent to
the city/county building department. Before a residential building
permit is issued, there's a lengthy checklist of items that must be
reviewed and approved by the municipality, including drainage plans,
septic/sewer plans, water hookup plans, energy code compliance, lot
certification, review of critical areas, shoreline buffer information,
and more.
Thousands of dollars are
paid to the municipality, including impact and permit fees, to have the
municipality's experts thoroughly review the site planning, engineering
and building process and make sure everything is done correctly.
A builder becomes involved
upon approval of the plans. That builder is regulated by the
municipality to build that project to the specifications of the
architect and engineers and comply with international building codes.
Lenders and owners are
dependent upon the municipality to be the watchdog of the homebuilding
process to protect their investments.
What affect will this
legislation have?
It will increase liability
and lawsuits against builders, and further drive up housing costs. With
those increased costs, consumers might be tempted to use unlicensed
contractors to save money, creating more problems. Small builders likely
won't survive the new regulations -- they'll either move out of state or
close, putting more people out of work.
A home may be the largest
investment of a lifetime. Consumers reasonably expect the new home to
have no construction problems. Certainly, there are bad builders in the
business. That's why state laws have set up municipalities as the
enforcement agency so that shoddy construction is caught by city/county
building inspectors. If the home doesn't meet strict codes, it should
never have been approved for occupancy. If that process fails, we should
hold municipalities accountable. After all, they've been paid to ensure
the work is done properly. Yet, they have not been included in this
bill.
How soon Washington will
experience economic recovery depends on how we treat employers in this
state. Builders are a vital part of this equation. We can't expect the
housing industry to get back on its feet if lawmakers pass legislation
that cuts it off at the knees.
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EDITOR'S NOTE:
State Rep. Dan Kristiansen, R-Snohomish,
represents the 39th Legislative District, and also serves as chairman of
the Washington House Republican Caucus. He can be contacted at (360)
786-7967 or from his Web site at:
www.houserepublicans.wa.gov/Kristiansen.
For more information, contact:
John
Sattgast, Senior Information Officer: (360) 786-7257
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