West U. Fire Chief Steve Ralls says he didn’t expect Governor Rick Perry to veto Senate Bill 1410, but its passage is still “disheartening.” Despite opposition from fire chiefs and others around the state, Perry signed Senate Bill 1410, which includes an amendment that disallows municipalities from requiring residential sprinklers in new home construction. The passage of the bill comes about a month after West U. City Council passed an ordinance requiring the systems.
Many in opposition to the bill say the builders’ lobbyists are to blame for the success of the amendment, and say builders are against the requirement because of the additional cost the sprinkler systems add to new home construction.
“They (builders) have a strong lobby in Austin,” said Ralls. “What the builders want, they usually get out of the legislature and the governor. It is a shame they had misinformation handed to them, the legislature, and they voted for the amendment to Senate Bill 1410. They were working on some bad information that sprinklers cost a lot of money. They really don’t when it’s compared to the saving of lives.”
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