Professional organizations in the home inspection industry wanted the law. So did the Georgia Association of Realtors. The state council that reviews licensing proposals also endorsed the idea.
But Gov. Sonny Perdue did not.
Hewing to his philosophy that less government is better government, Perdue last week vetoed House Bill 1217, which would have required that home inspectors be licensed.
The thinking was that licensing would better protect consumers against incompetent or fraudulent inspectors.
In Perdue's view, however, the professional associations already offer adequate safeguards.
"The private sector provides several, voluntary professional organizations to achieve the goals of the legislation," the governor said in a brief statement explaining his veto. "It is my preference that the market —- not the state —- regulate as many of our industries as possible. Thus, in order to not supplant the good work of the free market with taxpayer funds, I veto House Bill 1217."
The state would have provided $135,000 in startup funding, but after that licensing was to be fee-supported.
Perdue spokesman Bert Brantley said home inspection "was one of the five or 10 bills that we discussed the most. There were a lot of calls and e-mails on both sides."
In one of his State of the State addresses, Perdue voiced his aversion to bigger government. "We don't want a busybody government —- a boss —- that butts into our lives every chance it gets to tell us how to work, how to play, where to live, and so on and so on," he said.
The home inspection industry was baffled and disappointed by the governor's veto.
"It should be recognized that the professional associations all came together because we know our associations alone cannot force inspectors to become members," said Rob Golden, president of the Georgia chapter of the National Association of Home Inspectors.
"We cannot force them to become educated," Golden said. "We cannot force them to become responsible. It's frustrating for us."
The American Society of Home Inspectors ranks Georgia's home inspection regulation at No. 31, one of the most lax in the country. All the state requires is that the inspector produce a written report; it doesn't spell out inspector qualifications.
"This bill was brought about because there are so many pseudo home inspectors out there who are ripping off the home buyers," said Gary Duncan, operations manager for the Georgia Association of Home Inspectors. "He wants the market to control it. The market cannot control the unprofessional out there who is providing a shoddy practice."
The home inspection associations can only guess at how many inspectors are working in Georgia. The ballpark estimate is 2,000 to 2,500, which is much higher than the four associations' total membership.
Rep. Sean Jerguson (R-Canton), the bill's sponsor, said in his discussions with the governor and the governor's staff he came to realize the legislation might be in jeopardy.
"Was there a need for it?" Jerguson recalled the executive office asking. He said he found that "very curious" because Perdue signed into law a few years ago licensing of contractors.
Van Johnson, president of the Georgia Association of Realtors, said under the current system it's easy for a prospective buyer to try to scam a seller by paying someone to produce a highly critical inspection report. That report can be used to try to slash the price or back out of a deal.
Even dubious inspection reports have to be disclosed to prospective buyers, Johnson pointed out.
"The seller has no place to go. He is damaged," he said.
"We've missed a great opportunity to protect consumers," Johnson added. "It's not going away. We will be back."
