pmagrone
(PAUL MAGRONE, Florida License # HI 30)
1
As I said the only chance to stop this bill is to e-mail the Gov’s office. Now or never.
Dear Gov. Crist,
I was going over the house committee version of this bill and find several flaws in the bill. The one that really sticks out the most is the disclosure portion of the bill. The writers of the bill obviously have not considered how many home inspections are scheduled. In many cases a home inspector is contracted by a realtor for a client, or by a client via telephone outside of the city, or state. The bill must list acceptable methods of disclosure. It must specify these methods because many times the client is unable to meet an inspector personally. Other times, realtors will call the inspector and set up the inspection as well as pay the inspector his or her self. In that case what would be acceptable disclosure? This scenario is very common and a home inspection bill should not be passed without addressing all things considered. The bill does not protect the public in its current form and should be vetoed.
Then I take issue with this portion of the bill that strips businesses and individuals of their corporate protections. I believe this sets a horrible president for all businesses if you allow this bill to become law. Please sir, do not allow this bill to hurt our industry. The bill in its current form does nothing to protect the public and appears to be nothing more than a way to generate revenue and place an unnecessary burden on all small businesses. When a bill comes across that truly protects the public many inspectors would consider it. Most inspectors feel that government has no place regulating our businesses. Please veto this legislation. Read below for the portion of the bill that strips away corporate protections.
No corporation
17 or partnership shall be relieved of responsibility for the
18 conduct or acts of its agents, employees, or officers by
19 reason of its compliance with this section, nor shall any
20 individual practicing home inspection services be relieved of
21 responsibility for professional services performed by reason
22 of his or her employment or relationship with a corporation or
Challenging the legality of the bill is not the best direction to take, IMO. The governor has more credible resources to advise him on legalities than home inspectors via email.
You need to aim your arrow at the heart, IMO…
The bill is written by a special interest group to serve a special interest group and, while increasing the expense of government in Florida, provides no protection for the consumer.
The more direct, concise and to the point your message is…the more likely it will be read, comprehended and responded to.
Maybe we can come up with 4 or 5 different letters that we can all send to the governor’s office hitting certain points in a concise manner that all have the bottom line that the bill should be vetoed.
I am not as good as I have seen several others here at coming up with a letter that would make a difference, so hopefully those that can write it will come up with some different responses that we can all use.
Sending the exact same letter from all of us just screams of a “form letter” and may not have the same impact. What do you all think?
pmagrone
(PAUL MAGRONE, Florida License # HI 30)
4
I think this one is perfect. Do not worry about writing a new letter. Send the letter you have seen on the board that you agree with and send it to as many people as you can asking them to send it as well. If there is enough unrest with this bill, there is a chance it will be vetoed. A very small chance, but still a chance.
The bill is written by a special interest group to serve a special interest group and, while increasing the expense of government in Florida, provides no protection for the consumer.
Having worked in a legistlative office, I can offer the following perspective for you to consider:
Your letters/emails/postcards/phone calls will be handled by staffers who will be responding. These people help form the policy decisions, as they are relied on to be knowledgeable on the legislation, including its pros and cons.
The more factual information you provide them, the more time can be spend considering your argument, and the more ammunition you are providing for them to recommend a veto (a pretty strong action). This would also put you more on level footing with the “special intersts” who have already provided these staffers with several sheets of talking points and information supporting their position in favor of it.
Without the inclusion of that info or at least a discussion of your reasoning, you will be treated as consitutents who are not infavor of something (there are a couple of these on nearly every bill) and your opinions (small in volume) will appear to be that of a few small voices against a bill that the legislature has already approved.
No matter how much info you include, if your reponse is an intelligent one, it will be read and considered. Partiucarly so, if it does not appear to be part of a form letter campaign (in which case the first one wil be read and the others to the pile added as supporters.)
It is unlikely that you will generate enough volume to mount an impressive campaign for a veto through numbers, so offering counter points and education may be important.
Just my 2 cents, and hopefully some perspective on how legislative offices process this kind of response.
I just do not have any faith in Chuckles after how he handled the Lou Pearlman incident just for a campaine money. Now Florida residents are out millions of dollars.
