I have been getting notices from the realtor groups about a new law that goes into effect Sept. 1st. Of course this is slanted towards disclosure for the realtors and has little meat of the actual bill. Has anyone got the skinny on what this means to inspectors and the average home owner?

Here is an excerpt from one of the notices:

Notice! this is second hand information and should not be relied on to reflect reality since it came from a bunch of realtors

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Jim Luttrall
Mr. Inspector.net, Inc.
Allen, Texas 75002

Here is the text of the bill:

80(R) SB 338 - House Committee Report version - Bill Text

And here is the status page:

http://www.capitol.state.tx.us/BillL...80R&Bill=SB338

If I read this correctly, it does not look like it made it thru the House and was not signed into law. But I certainly could be wrong as the site is a bit confusing. My opinion does not match this link which states that it IS a law:
Austin Real Estate Blog - Austin TX Real Estate » Blog Archive » Another Boneheaded new law from our Texas Legislature

In short it said all houses have to have smoke detectors. If they are an existing home then they will have to be installed at the time of any work that requires a permit and they will have to be installed before the house can be sold. There is also now a space on the disclosure form to note their presence.

Ron,

Curious, is that an "and" or an "or" in there in the wording? It does make a difference (and that difference also changes based on other wording, which could make the "and" equivalent to an "or").

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Jerry Peck, Construction / Litigation Consultant
Construction Litigation Consultants, LLC ( www.ConstructionLitigationConsultants.com )

SB338 was amended to HB 2118 and was signed by Governor Goodhair. As is typical, it is not what TAR would present it as.

For a complete reading of the Bill and its amendments go to:
http://www.legis.state.tx.us/BillLoo...0R&Bill=HB2118

It was initiated after the death of a State Senator in a home fire started by a candle. It got tacked on to a Bill originally intended to separate and distinguish commercial from residential technicians.

The responsibility for what constitutes compliance has been left up to SURPRIZE the Insurance commissioner. He doesn't have to come up with the requirements until December 2007.

As passed, it will affect both new home construction and sale of existing homes. But, as I said, the requirements will not be defined until the Ins. Commissioner says.

__________________
The only reason some people get lost in thought is because it's unfamiliar territory.
- Paul Fix

Thom, thanks for the insight into this bill, you are a better man than I if you actually understand what is going on with this.
Politicians!

You would think they would try to understand what the rules are and play within the existing rules instead of reinventing the wheel just to pass some "feel good" legislation that won't change a blessed thing!

The could have just said "everyone really should have smoke detectors" and accomplished as much good without near as much trouble.

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Jim Luttrall
Mr. Inspector.net, Inc.
Allen, Texas 75002

Jim,

Personally I don't see to many homes nowadays that don't have smoke alarms already.

Doesn't mean they are always working, but most homes do have them. We just have to remind these folks that they should remain operable. Some forget what the real purpose of them are.

As far as the laws, I was always told that laws are no more than an attempt to protect stupid people.

Most people with common sense would already have them (smoke alarms) in there homes. I did use the word "most".

Rick

To make you feel even better about our valiant protectors in Austin; did you realize the Governor signed into law
899 new House Bills
589 new Senate bills
Another 22 became law without his signature.

So, we Texans have another 1410 laws on the books. Thank God they can only meet every other year.

I'm hijacking this thread, so I'll stop.

__________________
The only reason some people get lost in thought is because it's unfamiliar territory.
- Paul Fix

those states that have adopted the 2006 IRC have the requirement in the code to add smoke detectors (with exeptions) any time a permit is pulled.