In the 2002 election cycle, Bob Perry and his wife, Doylene, the owners of Houston-based Perry Homes, gave $4.2 million to Texas candidates and their political action committees, including $905,000 to the Texas Republican Party.
Dubbed by the Dallas Morning News the "most influential man in Texas you have never met," the reclusive Perry gave three times more money to state politicians than anyone else in 2001-02.
A longtime friend and ally of Karl Rove, President Bush's political strategist, Perry also gave most of the money that funded this summer's ad campaign by the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth attacking the military record of Democratic presidential candidate John F. Kerry.
As a homebuilder, Perry had plenty of allies in winning a business-friendly state government. The group that has given the most money to Texas politicians -- other than the two parties -- is Texans for Lawsuit Reform.
The group gave $1.98 million to Texas candidates in the 2002 election, which saw Republicans win a clean sweep of the governor's office, Legislature and Supreme Court.
The Legislature didn't give a hearing to the consumer-backed home lemon law last year.
Instead, lawmakers passed another bill drafted by the homebuilders. It says homeowners must take their complaint to a new state commission -- whose nine-member board is dominated by builders and lacks any consumer representative -- before they consider going to arbitration.
The commission chooses the inspectors who will determine the "factual" basis on which arbitration will be based.
This "neutral" evaluation can lead to a speedy resolution and "avoid time-consuming lawsuits," the commission says.
Consumer advocates are skeptical. "This commission was created by the builders for the builders. They didn't want our input. It has nothing to do with consumer protection," Cobarruvias said.
Indeed, the new brochure says: "Attention Builders and Remodelers! The Texas Residential Construction Commission serves you, your business and your industry."
