Senate Votes to Regulate All Roofing
Contractors
Shoddy Work After Hail Storm Let
to Bill, Officials Say
By Terrence Stutz
Austin Bureau
of The Dallas Morning News
AUSTIN—Spurred by thousands
of Dallas-Ft. Worth homeowners who
were ripped off by shoddy roofers,
the Senate voted Wednesday to begin
state regulation of all roofing contractors.
The legislation would initiate licensing
of roofers, prohibit advertising
by non-certified roofers and provide
criminal penalties for unlicensed
people who do roof repairs.
"This has been a huge problem
in North Texas," said
Sen. Mike Moncrief, D-Fort Worth,
author of the bill, noting that in
one big hailstorm in May 1995, more
than 100,000 roofs in the metropolitan
area were damaged.
Thousands of the repair jobs on
those roofs were done by unqualified
individuals who pocketed thousands
of dollars and left behind poorly
repaired roofs that quickly developed
leaks, said state officials.
"Its about time," said
John White of Griffith Roofing Co.,
one of the oldest roofing contractors
in the Dallas area.
"There’s a lot of riffraff
in the business. Homeowners don’t
know who to believe. Right now, all
a guy has to do is put a magnetic
sign on his truck, and he’s
got a roofing company."
Mr. White said the licensing law
would make it possible to get rid
of the disreputable roofers who have
given the industry a bad name.
The Senate bill now goes to the
House for consideration.
Some Republican senators questioned
the need for more state business
regulations, contending that the
new requirements may keep some businesses
from being created.
"We have been doing things
so long all these years without all
this regulation," said Sen.
Drew Nixon, R-Carthage. "It
seems like whenever we have a problem,
we have a tendency to overreact.
"We are putting an awful lot
of hurdles on someone who wants to
start a new business."
He said that there are several bills
in Legislature this year to begin
new state regulation of business.
"I am not a big supporter of
more government, but in this case
we need licensing requirements," Mr.
Moncrief responded, noting that 30
other states regulate roofing companies.
"This legislation is designed
to make sure people in this business
are trained and qualified to do the
job they are advertising they can
do."
Sen. Chris Harris, R-Arlington,
said the Legislature is obligated
to protect consumers from unscrupulous
contractors.
"Our people were financially
abused by what happened, and we are
trying to prevent that from happening
again," he said.
When Mr. Nixon suggested that aggrieved
homeowners could file a lawsuit,
Mr. Harris said some of the unethical
roofers used "false names, false
everything’ when they got their
repair jobs.
May dropped out of sight after collecting
their payments, he said.
"If there is no one to sue,
what good is that right [to sue]?" he
asked.
Sen. John Carona, R-Dallas, agreed
that the bill was warranted because
of the "substantial number of
abuses in the roofing industry, particularly
in North Texas and throughout the
state."
He said the insurance industry and
the Roofing Contractors Association
of Texas support the legislation.
Insurance companies suffered massive
losses in the hailstorms in North
Texas in recent years. Most of their
claims were for damaged roofs on
homes and businesses.
Sen. Gonzalo Barrientos, D-Austin
said he was concerned about homeowners
who want to save money either by
fixing the roof themselves or having
a relative or friend do the job.
"We have to be very careful
that we don’t hurt some good,
hard-working Texans," Mr. Barrientos
said.
Mr. Moncrief said the bill contains
a wavier provision allowing a homeowner
to have roofing work done by an unlicensed
person. They would sign a waiver
stating they knew the roofer was
unlicensed.
"If you want someone who is
not licensed to do that work, then
that is your decision. You can sign
a waiver," he said.
"You have to state that you
realize the work is not being done
by a licensed roofer, and if the
work is substandard, that is the
risk you take."
Regarding the ban on advertising
by unlicensed roofers, he said numerous
ads have run around the state trying
to reassure homeowners by promoting
roofing contractors as licensed companies.
"We have no licensing in Texas
now, so those are fraudulent ads," Mr.
Moncrief said.
Here’s how the law would work:
- The Texas Commission on licensing
and Regulation would have responsibility
for licensing roofing companies
under the legislation.
- The commission would be empowered
to investigate consumer complaints,
and where necessary, revoke a company’s
license for violation of state
rules.
- Companies or individuals doing
roof repairs without a state license
would be subject to a Class B misdemeanor.
The punishment could range up to
six months in jail and a $2,000
fine.
"Competition doesn’t bother
me as long as it is not a bunch of
guys who are looking for some quick
money and doesn’t care what
kind of work they do," said
Mr. White, the Dallas roofing contractor.
"When a homeowner hires one
of these guys, all sorts of bad things
can happen to a roof. We’ve
seen it all over Dallas." |
