AUSTIN - Texas counties were tentatively granted the authority by the state legislature on Sunday to require builders and homeowners who construct in unincorporated areas to adhere to safe building standards.

State Representative Marisa Marquez, D-El Paso A bill filed by state Rep. Marisa Marquez, D-El Paso, and passed by the Texas House and Senate on Sunday gives counties the option of requiring that new construction be inspected to ensure it meets proper building requirements.

The bill was designed to stymie the proliferation of colonias in areas near international borders and halt shoddy building practices that could adversely affect border residents.

"Obviously there are electrical problems and there are plumbing problems with these buildings and it creates a burden on the county and also the residents," said Marquez.

Marquez said the upcoming dissolution of the Texas Residential Construction Commission in 2009 made passing the legislation an even higher priority.

"Since TRCC is gone there is no regulation, none, left for any of those unincorporated areas," she added.

The legislation was originally designed to be El Paso Countyspecific but state Sen. Eliot Shapleigh, D-El Paso, amended the bill to make it statewide after the lawmaker expressed similar concerns about the lack of a state oversight commission.

There would be no burden on counties to create another department or oversight committee, added Marquez, because a third party entity would perform the inspections. Builders who fail to comply with the requirement could face a class C misdemeanor.

Counties within 50 miles of the international border or with more than 100 inhabitants would be able to adopt the measure, Marquez said, adding that it was optional and not a state mandate. The only county excluded from the bill would be the West Texas county of Loving, which has less than 100 residents.

The bill is now on its way to the desk of Gov. Rick Perry for a signature.