Lawmakers apt to raise roof over lousy-homes bill

Debate begins today on owners' rights if construction is poor

Lynn Bartels, Rocky Mountain News

Wednesday, March 28, 2007

A controversial construction-defects bill that created political drama at the Capitol in recent weeks is scheduled for debate today on the House floor.

"This is going to be one heck of a fight," predicted Rep. Alice Borodkin, D-Denver.

The intrigue involves automated phone calls to senior citizens that infuriated Democratic lawmakers, including Borodkin, and a Republican lawmaker at odds with her own caucus and the home-building industry.

Rep. Debbie Stafford, R-Aurora, said she was told by a fellow House Republican that she would be targeted by a home-builders association in future elections if she supported the bill.

On Tuesday, House Minority Leader Mike May, R-Parker, said Stafford has an ax to grind because home builders worked to kill an unrelated bill of hers this session.

He said her version of events "never happened."

"I stick by my story," Stafford shot back. "I think it's time we stick by the people of Colorado, and they are being stuck with shoddily built homes and no recourse."

At issue is a measure designed to protect homeowners from having to waive their legal rights, at the time of buying their homes, to compel their home builder to fix construction defects.

Opponents argue that House Bill 1338 does much more than that, opening the door to lawyers collecting huge judgments for their clients.

"I don't get that," said Sen. Jennifer Veiga, D-Denver, the Senate sponsor of the measure. "That's not in there."

The controversy over House Bill 1338, also sponsored by Rep. Jack Pommer, D-Boulder, began before the bill was even introduced March 7.

Several Democrats said senior citizens in their districts received "Robo calls," claiming their lawmaker supported a home-builders bill that would raise taxes and enrich trial lawyers.

The senior citizens, in turn, called the lawmakers to complain.

"We had no idea what they were talking about," Rep. Nancy Todd, D-Aurora, recalled. "There was no home-builders bill at the time. And the one that was later introduced doesn't raise taxes. It was a scare tactic."

Borodkin was so furious she contacted the Colorado Association of Homebuilders and Colorado Concerns, a consortium of influential business leaders statewide.

"I said, 'If these calls don't stop by noon tomorrow I'm going to ask the attorney general to sue because they are filled with falsehoods.' The calls stopped," Borodkin said.

The calls were paid for by Rick Sapkin, with Edgemark Development. He is chairman of Colorado Concerns.

Sapkin could not be reached for comment, but William Mutch, director of Colorado Concerns, said Sapkin was acting as an individual and not as the group chairman.

The home builders, Colorado Concerns and the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce are leading the charge against HB 1338.

Mutch said opponents agree that some home builders are inserting waivers-of-legal-rights clauses in contracts that are over and above what lawmakers intended in 2003 when they passed the original construction-defects bill. Those clauses give homeowners little recourse if their homes are defective.

The 2003 bill put an end to home-owners collecting punitive damages, triple damages and attorneys fee. But homeowners were allowed "a right of remedy," if the builder didn't make repairs, Veiga said.

The clauses, she said, are stripping away that right.

bartels@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-5327