The Re-Write of Kansas Bill 2315

Kansas Home Inspection Bill-2315

As you know in [FONT=Tahoma]2008 an **unwanted and unneeded piece of legislation **(Bill-2315) was **pushed onto home inspectors **in Kansas. It seems to have been PUSHED or mostly promoted and walked through by KAR (the Kansas Realtors Association), **Luke Bell **(the KAR lobbyist) and **Jeff Barnes **(a home inspector from ASHI in Wichita). As you will remember *Luke Bell kept telling legislators about all the problems with home inspectors in Kansas *(yet the BBB, the state AG’s office of consumer complaints, the investigative report done by Paul Wenske at the Kansas City Star, and letters from Nancy Seats - the President of the nationwide consumer activist group HADD - ALL indicated that Bells statements were untrue and that we had problems like any small businesses BUT our complaints over a 3 year period were LESS than groups like Florists). As many inspectors also remember, **Jeff Barnes **has told us at various home inspection meetings or in his writings of letter or magazine articles that the **Commerce Committee **hearing the Bill had told Jeff THEY wanted to see a Bill enacted on Home Inspectors, and if we did not PUSH something onto ourselves - **THE Committee **would probably take the 1st thing coming down the track from someone else and push it through. That sort of thought terrified a lot of our grown men and they reluctantly went along with HB-2315 (that it seems Luke Bell and Jeff Barnes mostly wrote or developed).

As you know there are 3 National Home Inspector Associations (NAHI, ASHI & iNACHI) and 2 Kansas State Home Inspector Associations (KARCI & KAREI). Although members from all groups called or wrote legislators and attended public hearings if they were aware of them - HB-2315 itself **HAD NO **input or joint committee of ALL inspection groups writing it except for apparently the **REALTORS & Jeff Barnes **(A member of ASHI in Wichita / Past Pres of KAREI - mostly ASHI members). In talking to the Officers and Directors of the local NAHI, iNACHI, unaffiliated inspectors and even the long-time Kansas City ASHI members or leaders **NONE **were contacted or invloved in any committee meeting or drafting of the Bill - EXCEPT for possibly an ASHI member / home inspection training school owner from Leavenworth Kansas (Tom Lauhon).

Imagine - Enacting a legislative Bill that influences **ALL **car manufacturers but only having input or participation from 1 car dealer. AMAZING. Why weren’t the other car manufacturers involved - SIMPLE / they weren’t in favor of the Bill, saw no need for it, and opposed it. So lets leave them out in left field - Then later wonder why they’re not getting behind this and **SUPPORTING **the Bill.

What was the need for the Bill - Where did it come from?? 2 primary sources: #1 - The NAR (Realtors across the Nation) have made getting home inspectors licensed a part of their own Annual Legislative Goals for the past 7 years (it helps the shift liability off themselves and the seller if anything goes wrong OR there is a failure to disclose known defects by parties in the transaction). #2 - By one of the large National home inspection associations and their own members (they want to control the legislation and stack the Home Inspection Boards with their people so they can control the state laws, etc). #3 - Inspectors that are weak or at the low end of the spectrum on their fees (they think a license helps give credibility AND helps throw up a FENCE to keep new inspectors out of the industry - FENCE ME IN / FENCE THEM OUT - BUT done legally by the State).

This Bill has had many of its sections declared either unenforceable or unconstitutional ??? by the Kansas Attorney Generals Office.

It apparently can’t be enforced in its current state. I have attended both of the 2 KHIRB (Kansas Home Inspection Review Board) meetings of the Kansas Commissioners and observed the Board in Action. Several committees have been formed by the Kansas Commissioners to shape or try and straighten out this horribly written and onerous Bill (for the record this Bill is being referred to in many **NATIONAL **home inspection circles as a Role Model of **THE WORST HOME INSPECTION BILL **in the country).

2 committees have been formed (SOP & Education) but members of each say neither has had a meeting either in person OR by conference calls OR by other means, yet the BILL has gotten redrafted or rewritten and is going back to the COMMITTEE. I’m starting to wonder who is doing all this work since it’s NOT the group members of the KHIRB.
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SEVERAL** Members of the Kansas Senate Committee asked last year - “Where is the Need for Legislation” - **look at several of the attached documents and I think you can figure it out yourself. **You’ve got 1 HUGE profession that works off commissions, trying to control **OR **shift liability off themselves to a VERY SMALL profession by using their political clout and $$$$$$$$$$$$$ to influence legislation. In most businesses the Justice Department would be all over this in a heartbeat if it was generally known (like MS / Bill Gates, etc).

Just personal thoughts.[/FONT]

Thanks for keeping us here in Kansas up to date. I have sent letters to all state legislators per Nick and his free offer of envelope labels. Not one response or comment returned to me. The letter I sent has my company name and contact information.

It seems to me that no one in the Kansas house or senate is interested in this bill. It is a buddy system. They ask their buddy about it, and vote with them. What they do not realize is that the new HB 2315 actually hurts the consumers and home buyers in the state. This subject has been discussed throughly in this message board.

Four days after mailing of the letters, I did recieve a call on my cell phone and the caller did not leave a voice mail. So, I called the number back and it was the Kansas offfice of the FBI. They have not called me since. What Mr. Barnes, Mr. Bell, and all of the committee and members of the home inspection board, (ASHI) all need to realize is that people are watching and listening. They best better be carefull. People/consumers are getting fed-up with what the states and governments are doing with our tax dollars. This bill, as in other states where bills are proposed, helps no one at this time. There is just no big money to be made.

We had a legislator tell us last year off the record that -

There are thousands of RE Agents in Kansas BUT only 175-225 Home Inspectors. If the legislator votes YES on the HI licensing Bill the legislator gets many $$$$ for campaign contributions AND possibly many votes AND many HAPPY RE Agent voters.

If the legislator votes NO on the HI licensing Bill OR trys to help block it the legislator gets NO $$$$ for campaign contributions AND possibly NO RE Agent votes AND many UNHAPPY voters.

If a legislator votes YES on the HI licensing Bill, most of the legislators DON’t even have 1 home inspector in their district to PISS OFF, let alone MANY of them.

Think about it …

Sounds like a lost cause to me. May as well throw in the towel. Kansas belongs to Barnes and his real estate friends.

I think you forgot to post a smiley face behing your statement, Jim.

Nothing much to smile about, James.

I fear that our neighbors in Kansas are not as committed as we are to control our own businesses. They chatter back and forth and on message boards, provides lots and lots of excuses for failure, etc…but not much else is happening.

Until things like this start appearing in Kansas newspapers instead of the NACHI message board…the right people - meaning the people who can actually change things - will remain oblivious.

Supposedly there was a law firm willing to sue the state…until there was interest in hiring it. The law firm allegedly refused to return calls.

Even Nick’s treachery and “behind-their-back” wheeling and dealing did little to excite them.

NACHI says it has fifty something Kansas members, but can only get four or five of them to read the message board. Over forty of them, apparently, don’t even know that there is a law…or that it has been sent back.

No…James. Kansas inspectors, due to their lack of commitment to stand up for their profession…have lost it, IMO.

Their greatest value to us and to others still fighting is to show how easy the worst law in HI legislation history can be so easily nailed to our foreheads if we simply trust in our legislators…or simply limit our activities to message boards.

Let us not forget.

(I would love for Kansas to prove me wrong. Wouldn’t you, James?)

I have sent a copy of my letter that I sent to all legislators to several TV and radio stations, and newspapers. Simply, they do not want to loose their real estate office advertising. They will not cry foul. We are pounding our heads against a brick wall with humpty (Barnes) sitting on the top. We just cannot shake it. The only way is to get some large national home inspection orginization to visit some Topeka offices and talk some sense into some legislators. Nick will never do that. I wonder if he sent out any letters. He has talked the talk. Did he mail letters? I have about done all I can. My next radio show will be about licensing. Nick, want to join me? Call Bruce Brown and set it up. I dare you.

I would listen to that show. Hearing Nick defend Kansas licensing would be intersting to hear.

The law firms that said they would challenge the Bill wanted $$$$$$$$$$

Like $13,000 - $14,000 to kick it off AND probably more as you go. The Kansas HI’s had no $$$$$$$$ to speak of (as many of you know - its dead dog slow - many of our experienced inspectors are talking 1-2 jobs per week - they got no $$$$$$$$). We gave the law firms names and phone numbers to several groups BUT whenever we checked with the law firms they said they’d heard from nobody.

Such is life …

Busharts partly right … Other than to educate our own people about whats going on - Sitting on web sites and talking doesn’t do squat.

As Gary Farnsworth pointed out MOST news media aren’t excited about this. Two news media reporters that did reports in our favor, have now been victims of DOWNSIZING (think about that).

Anyone just harping to the media is not getting much done. Anybody wanting to REALLY do something should be calling and meeting with legislators, filing complaints at the AG’s office, the Secretary of States Office, OR sending LETTERS (not emails) to GOVT agencies.