The future of the Plumbing Board has been on the minds of many inspectors since the end of the legislative session. As a result of action taken by Governor Abbott, the Plumbing Board will continue until 2021; please be sure to see our article on this to get all the information you need.

Scott Kesner was appointed chair of the Texas Real Estate Commission on April 25, 2019. With more than 25 years of experience, this appointment is another highlight in Scott's long career.  Chair Kesner recently traveled to Austin from his home city of El Paso to meet with Agency senior staff and learn more about the Commission. He spent the day speaking to each director, learning about everything from enforcement to communications to technology. We sat down with Scott to ask him some questions about his experiences and learn more about his plans.

The Inspector Committee had a full agenda for its April meeting.  The meeting was accompanied by the newest appointments to the Inspector Committee, as well as the incoming General Counsel for the Real Estate Commission, Chelsea Buchholtz.  There was also significant representation from multiple trade associations and education providers as well.

I would like to begin by publically welcoming the three new members to the Inspector Committee, who were appointed in February. Mike Morgan of Brownwood was appointed as a new inspector member, to serve a six-year term, and Robert John Daehn of Aransas Pass and Dave Motley of Garland were appointed as public members to serve two-year terms. In addition, Lee Warren was reappointed to another six-year inspector term and public member Barbara Evans was reappointed for an additional two-year term. I want like thank all of the inspectors who took the time to submit their applications.

Austin, TX – The Texas Real Estate Commission is pleased to announce the appointment of three new inspector committee members and two re-appointments to the committee. Mike Morgan of Brownwood was appointed as a new inspector member and Robert John Daehn of Aransas Pass and Dave Motley of Garland were appointed as public members. Lee Warren of Farmersville and public member Barbara Evans of Fort Worth were reappointed. Inspector members of the Committee are appointed for six-year terms and public members for two-year terms.

The IAC has been busy already this year.  Through a substantial amount of time and hard work, the Education Subcommittee has proposed, and the IAC approved recommending changes to how one can obtain a license in Texas.  Texas has had some of the strictest requirements for licensure of any state in the union.  The proposed number of hours to be eligible for a license will go down significantly, but the content of those courses will change as well.  Keep in mind that the intent here is not to lower the standards by any means.  The focus here is on the quality of the education, and not the qua

The Inspector Committee met on February 4. Among the business items taken up by the Committee was the election of the Committee officers for the upcoming Calendar year.  Lee Warren was elected as the chair of the Committee, Shawn Emerick was elected as vice-chair and Steven Rinehart was elected as secretary.  I would like to thank the outgoing officers for their leadership over the last year. I would also like to take the opportunity to thank a longtime member of the Committee, Brad Phillips who has completed his second, and final term on the Committee.

I’d first like to wish all of you a Happy New Year. I hope you all had time to relax and enjoy the Holiday season.  The New Year always brings with it an opportunity to reflect on the past and make a commitment to address those areas in which we might fall short. It also brings with it a renewed sense of energy to honor that commitment and a desire to look at things with fresh eyes.  This New Year provides the opportunity for the agency to embrace these concepts as we complete the Agency’s Sunset review and start the 86^th Session of the Texas Legislature on January 8.

As we wrap up the calendar year, I want to again thank everyone who has attended meetings over the last year, both Inspector Committee meetings and Commission meetings.