The Texas Legislature convened on January 12, 2021 and will run through May 31, 2021. Below are three of the proposed legislative bills which will be of interest to contractors:

Senate Bill 219 – relating to civil liability and responsibility for the consequences of defects in the plans, specification or related documents for the construction or repair of an improvement to real property.

Texas is one of only two states where a contractor may bear the liability for defects in construction that are based on construction documents prepared or procured by the owner or the owner’s agent or design professional. Statutory changes are needed to clarify that the construction team is only liable for defects resulting from construction errors. Senate Bill 219 by Sen. Bryan Hughes (R-Mineola) will bring Texas in line with other states by adopting a policy that limits a contractor’s liability and responsibility for design defects. The bill would protect the contractor from being liable for defects in the design documents but would require the contractor to disclose in writing any known defects in the plans.

House Bill 728 – relating to residential building codes of municipalities.

This bill would require any municipality to hold public hearings before adopting or amending the application of the International Residential Code and requiring that the adoption be done by ordinance. The purpose of the bill is to make it simpler for a contractor to know which version of the International Residential Code is in effect.

House Bill 776 – relating to required provisions of the workers’ compensation insurance for construction contractors and subcontractors.

This bill would require a city that enters into a building or construction contract to require the contractor on the public project to provide a written certificate that any subcontractor on the project provides workers’ compensation insurance for each employee of the subcontractor on the public project.

Our attorneys in Dallas and Austin are available to answer any questions you may have about new legislation affecting contractors. Contact us at info@gstexlaw.com if you have any questions.

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