AGC-Texas Building Branch (TBB) is located in Austin and functions as the legislative office for all Texas AGC building chapters in the state of Texas. TBB acts as a legislative representative and capitol presence for Texas AGC building chapters and maintains relationships with state agencies important to the building contractor and relationships with other professional organizations. It is TBB’s mission to allow AGC building contractors to speak with one voice in the construction industry in Texas with the expressed purpose of legislative involvement.
The Building Branch maintains constant contact with all state agencies affecting the construction industry, including regulatory agencies, awarding authorities, and executive agencies. The Branch also ensures that the Attorney General’s opinions affecting the construction industry have input from AGC before they are rendered. Texas Building Branch publishes a a complete bonds and liens manual consisting of sections on private work, public work, and federal work. The Building Branch distributes information to chapters and contractors about each piece of legislation that affects their business. It coordinates efforts in support of or in opposition to bills, and has sponsored bills important to contractors – such as the legislation concerning interest on retainage on public works, rewriting the state’s public and private lien laws, prompt pay, sovereign immunity, cost of goods sold and the statute of limitations which limits contractor and subcontractor liability on completed projects.

In January of 1974 AGC Texas Building Branch was incorporated, with E. Wayne Hall as its Executive Director, to serve as a legislative office for the AGC building chapters of Texas. E. Wayne Hall served as Executive Director until his retirement in 1988. At that time Jim Sewell took over as the Director of TBB and held that position until his retirement in 2007. Mike Chatron is the current President of AGC Texas Building Branch. In the more than forty years since it’s incorporation AGC Texas Building Branch has worked diligently to enact state legislation that will benefit the commercial building industry in Texas.

AGC Texas Building Branch:
was responsible for passing the first state-wide comprehensive bidding laws;
was responsible for payment of interest by public agencies on retainage of more than 5%;
was in the forefront on workers’ comp reform. In particular, the rewriting of the state safety laws, and the regulations to implement these laws;
sponsored and worked for passage of a law prohibiting architects and engineers from requiring contractors to hold AlE’s harmless from liability for damages resulting from architect and engineer professional duties;
was responsible for a law establishing a 10 year statute of limitations against claims for damages resulting from the contractor’s work;
successfully sponsored legislation prohibiting the altering or changing of bids after they had been opened;
has consistently been the leader in protecting contractor’s rights under Texas Lien Laws.