Running the numbers, Lobby Watch found a persuasive correlation between the amount of money that members took from these lobby powerhouses and how they voted on HOA reform
Note: Homeowner associations and homeowners have carried on a love-hate relationship for years, and efforts to loosen associations' tight grip over homeowners have for years gone down in flames in the Texas Legislature. Here's a story from Jessica Meyers of the Dallas Morning News describing how a tough HOA reform bill failed in the House. Other bills ultimately prevailed, including SB 101.
The report by Texans for Public Justice mentioned in the article (a worthwhile read/click on Lobby Watch link in the TPJ website) shows that State Rep. Jason Isaac, R-Dripping Springs-Belterra, voted NO for the tougher House bill by State Rep. Burt Solomons, R-Carrollton. Isaac received a combined $37,500 from Homebuilder Bob Perry of Houston, Texans for Lawsuit Reform and HillCo Partners (Perry's lobby firm).Quoting from the Public Justice report: "Last Tuesday House members put their mouths where their money is—killing reform of anti-consumer Homeowners Associations (HOAs). As Carrollton Rep. Burt Solomons tried to pass his reforms (CSSB 142), Weatherford Rep. Phil King proposed the wholesale gutting of Solomons reforms to replace them with a spineless Senate alternative. With 14 members not voting, 73 representatives backed King's motion to eviscerate, overruling the 63 who backed Solomons' reforms.
"Running the numbers, Lobby Watch found a persuasive correlation between the amount of money that members took from these lobby powerhouses and how they voted on HOA reform.
" . . . Although the big-three contributors backed House members who supported and opposed HOA reform, the two camps are noticeably different. The more than $6 million that the big three gave to the 73 members who voted to gut HOA reform accounted for a remarkable 22 percent of all the money that those anti-reformers raised in the 2010 cycle."
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By Jessica Meyers/Reporter
jmeyers@dallasnews.com | Trail Blazers Blog
Wed., Jun. 1, 2011
Rep. Burt Solomon's cries of blame over the demise of a major Senate HOA bill have spurred both echoes and investigations.
Solomons, R-Carrollton, accused Houston home builder Bob Perry of attempting to stall reform efforts by killing his revisions to the bill. He pulled the bill when the House agreed to advance an amendment that would restore the Senate version, considered more palatable to builders and HOA representatives.
Perry's spokesman said only that Perry Homes joined a number of other shareholders to support the Senate's original bill.
Texans for Public Justice, a nonprofit liberal advocacy group, came out with a report today that links money from Perry and two other closely-tied lobbying groups with votes for the amendment.
The group found those lawmakers received five times as much money during their campaigns from Perry, Perry's HillCo Partners lobby firm and Texans for Lawsuit Reform. (Texans for Lawsuit Reform and Texans for Public Justice have a tense relationship. The former says the later fronts as a non-partisan watchdog but is funded by trial lawyers with agendas. TPJ calls the lawsuit reform organization a "home builder front group.")
Members who voted to go forward with the amendment collected on average $82,356 from the three groups, said the government ethics group, compared to an average $15,968 from the 63 who voted against it.
Solomons also lashed out at the Texas Conservative Coalition, which does not dish out campaign funds but did send out an email before the vote raging against Solomon's revisions. Two-thirds of the House members who signed the coalition's "Pledge with Texans" voted to proceed with the amendment, according to the report.
Take that for what you will.
Although Texans for Public Justice calls the death of the major HOA bill "murder," both Solomons and Senate bill author, Royce West, D-Dallas, said this session brought the most significant reforms in years.
A number of bills passed that will require HOAs to obtain a court order before foreclosing, establish payment plans that help prevent foreclosure, restrict HOAs from banning solar panels, enhance voting rights and increase transparency with open records and meetings.
5 comments:
This is just more left wing nonsense. These builders are simply acting in their own financial interest. They have been buying politicians for years so they could stall legislation that would hurt their pocketbook.
The laws need to protect businesses and let the consumer feign for themselves. This is the only way capitalism will survive.
Rick Perry and the other Republicans who I voted for know the truth about what America needs to survive.
The rest of the cowardly do-gooders on the communist left who want silly protections from healthy businessmen who want to achieve the American Dream need to go to China where they belong.
Saluto Romano!
Thanks for the report, Mr. Ochoa.
Note the comment about Senator Carona's "Associa" organization near the end of the report. Might explain why there is such difficulty getting legislation to protect the owners from unscrupulous HOA management company and HOA attorney business practices. In fact, Carona has a history of authoring self-seving legislation to the detriment of homeowners throughout the state.
Watch Senator Carona run when confronted with his business practices on camera.
Carona caught on camera
Locally, Alliance Association Management, Inc. is one of Senator Carona's legion of HOA management companies.
Thanks for the link to the Carona video, Anonymous #1. I'll add State Senator John Carona (Dallas) to my bad guys list.
Dewey needs to check the three finger wind and brush the apples twice before he speaks to the uncle down San Marcos way.
In my opinion, situations such as having a State Senator in the position to make laws that affect the success or failure of his business is simply wrong if not illegal. Being the owner of the largest HOA Management Company on the USA should disqualify anyone from serving in such a position and voting on any bills remotely associated with his/her company, their goals or the industry as a whole. At the very least anyone in such a position should recuse themselves from sponsoring or voting in any such Bill. If you disagree with my statement, I'd love to hear your logic. This is the first time I have ever heard of this kind of travesty and want to know if anyone can tell how this came to be.
HOA/POAs have become a threat the homeowners, their homes and their freedoms. It is the Boards that turn their responsibilities over to these corporations out of laziness or incompetence that I see as most evil. If you have an HOA or POA lording over your property, you should get involved at the highest level you can, to protect your private property rights as a free American. These quasi government HOA/POA Boards and their Corporations have the power in this state to do much harm with impunity. Attempts to rein them in have met with a little success but as you can see the deck is currently stacked in their favor. Don't let them tell you they "represent you" or "protect you"; that is a lie.
Call or write your representatives in the Legislature and Congress and encourage them to deny HOA/POAs the right to foreclose on anyone's property for any reason. Right now, with the economy in trouble, unemployment at nearly 10% and home prices tanking, the HOA/POAs are feeling the pinch and becoming more aggressive than ever. Much like a starving animal, they are taking actions that they would not have even considered before.
You could lose your home to "your" HOA or POA in a foreclosure and forced sale by for not paying a few hundred dollars in assessments. Of course they tack on all kinds of interest, legal and late fees. It happens all the time and some families have found themselves homeless. Texas is one of the few states that allow HOA/POAs to foreclose on your "homestead". This is completely against the Texas Constitution Article XVI, §50 but a misguided Supreme Court decision in 1987 has rendered it impotent. So far the legislature has failed to correct this mistake. Can you imagine why with the current makeup of the Legislature?
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