Weinstein offers to compromise with Speaker Chopp on Homeowner's Bill of Rights

Senator Brian Weinstein has issued a statement offering to compromise with Speaker Frank Chopp on the Homeowner's Bill of Rights.

The deal? Weinstein will support Chopp's "three point plan" (with minor changes) in return from a guarantee that the Speaker will support a warranty bill like SB 6385 that provides a remedy in the next legislative session. Here's the Senator:

Today, I communicated to the Speaker’s staff that I’ll agree in principle to Speaker Chopp’s three-point proposal with some minor technical and substantive changes, if he’ll agree to allow a homebuyer to bring a legal action against a builder who has violated a building code after giving the builder notice and an opportunity to fix it.

A builder is already required to comply with building codes, but Washington law affords a homebuyer no rights to enforce the building code. This is a bare minimal right that all Washingtonians must agree a homebuyer should have.

I know the Speaker is a man of his word, and I would only do this with a good faith representation from him that he will work diligently to expand the right of access to the courts to aggrieved homebuyers in the next legislative session.

Speaker Chopp would be wise to accept Senator Weinstein's offer.

Though we're disappointed SB 6385 won't become law this year, a promise from the Speaker to back the Homeowner's Bill of Rights next session would be significant, and we would certainly trust him to honor such a commitment.