Late Monday night, the Texas Senate approved two bills strongly supported by AGC Texas Building Branch. The votes in the Senate marked the final legislative hurdle for the legislation before the bills head to the governor's desk where they will await approval by Gov. Greg Abbott. 

The first bill -  House Bill 1999 - is a measure that has been a top AGC-TBB priority for several sessions. The Senate overwhelmingly approved the bill on a 29-2 vote at about 12:45 a.m. Monday night. Congratulations to bill sponsors Rep. Jeff Leach and Sen. Brandon Creighton. 

HB 1999  is the "right to repair" bill that would allow those involved in  designing or constructing a public, commercial building a chance to inspect and repair alleged defects before being sued. The measure also provides that a licensed engineer complete an inspection and provide a report. The bill does not remove the right for anyone to file litigation.

Contingency Lawyers in Defect Lawsuits

The second bill - House Bill 2826 - is a measure pushed by Texans for Lawsuit Reform and heavily backed by AGC-TBB. Senators passed the bill 27-4 at about 1 a.m. Monday night. Congratulations to bill sponsors Rep. Greg Bonnen and Sen. Joan Huffman. 

HB 2826 places limits on local governments hiring contingency fee attorneys for defects. It requires local governments entering contingency fee agreements to approve the contract in an open meeting that discusses the need for obtaining the service, the terms of the contract, and qualifications of the attorney or firm, and the reasons the contract is in the best interests of the residents of the political subdivision.

One of the bills - House Bill 1185 - addressed the recovery of attorney's fees when the state breaches a contract with an amount in controversy over $250,000. The bill, sponsored by Rep. John Cyrier and Sen. Bryan Hughes, had received tremendous support in the House where it passed 122-13 after unanimously passing the committee stage. While the measure received a hearing in the  Senate State Affairs Committee last week, time ran out before a vote could be recorded. 

Uniform General Conditions

The other bill - Senate Bill 1297 - would have allowed state school districts to utilize the same uniform general conditions (UCG's) adopted by the Texas Facilities Commission. The measure, sponsored by Sen. Beverly Powell and Rep. Eddie Lucio III, had passed the Senate on a 31-0 vote. The bill unanimously passed the House  Education Committee but was ultimately stalled in the Calendars Committee before it could receive a vote on the House floor. 

These bills would have prevented political subdivisions of the state (including local governments like cities and counties) from adopting or enforcing ordinances, rules, or regulations that would regulate a private employer's terms of employment as they relate to various issues. The bills - SB 2485, SB 2486, SB 2487, and SB 2488 - addressed rules and regulations relating to employment benefits, overtime compensation, paid sick leave, and employee criminal history. Each bill unanimously passed the committee stage in the Senate and was approved by the full Senate before stalling in the House chamber.