The Commission met on Thursday November 15 at the State Capitol. It was the longest meeting we have had in my memory, and it was also enormously fruitful for clarifying some policy expectations.
November is upon us and the football season in Texas is more than half done. What happens in the coming weeks makes all the difference for which teams make the playoffs. Some teams are getting better and others are struggling. I hope all your favorites are “growing stronger” as the season matures.
When I was named the Deputy Executive Director of TREC and the Deputy Commissioner of TALCB in August of this year, part of my expanded role at the agency was to focus on the agency operations, particularly the frontline customer service aspects of licensing and call center performance. I am happy to report that over the last several months, due to the implementation of technological improvements, additional staff, and the hard work of existing staff, there has been a marked improvement in the overall performance of both.
The agency has had quite a busy summer and the fall continues to bring a steady stream of challenges. As we continue working through all the issues which arise, especially through the Sunset process, know that we remain fully committed to exploring every effective option available to improve this agency’s performance. First and foremost, our mission has not changed and our dedication to accomplish it in the most effective, efficient and transparent manner is shared by our policymakers and our staff team. 
The Commission held its regular quarterly meeting on Monday, May 7 at our HQ in Austin. The Executive Director was delayed for about an hour arriving for the meeting due to air travel delays on Sunday that resulted in a cross-country reroute and pushed his final flight to Monday morning. So our very able Deputy Executive Director and General Counsel Kerri Lewis delivered the Executive Director’s report. 
The Inspector Committee met in Austin on January 22nd to discuss a packed agenda. Several inspectors made the trip to Austin for this meeting. I would like to thank everyone who took time out of their busy schedules to attend and I appreciate your important input. Inspector attendance at these meetings is invaluable because it provides the Committee the opportunity to hear the ideas and concerns of inspectors from all over the state. The Committee is meeting again on Monday, February 26th at 10am.
It was a busy year for the Inspector Committee on the education front. The major accomplishment for the committee was completing the much-needed revision on the SOP Legal and Ethics continuing education coursework, which became mandatory as of September 1 of last year.
The Texas Real Estate Inspector Committee (TREIC) met in January, and there were a couple of items from that meeting that were forwarded to the Commissioners for approval. The first was a modification of a rule regarding when multiple check boxes are used. This rule makes it clear that if an inspector chooses more than one check box, that an explanation must be provided. For instance, if only the Inspected box is checked with no other comments, it could be determined that the area in question was inspected, and no deficiencies were observed.
"How do we raise the bar of professionalism?"
"We need more broker responsibility."
"I work with people on the other side of a contract who don’t know what they are doing. They don’t even know the name of their broker!"
Greetings from Austin. We are just on the other side of another Commission meeting and participation in Texas REALTORS Winter Meeting. I love that these two events occur at the same time in Austin so that attendees of the Winter Meeting can also attend the Commission meeting (and receive CE credit). And with Texas REALTORS as TREC's largest stakeholder group, participating in Winter Meeting is a wonderful opportunity to be with license holders.
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