Safe and Affordable Manufactured Housing Improvement Act of 1996

Summary: Safe and Affordable Manufactured Housing Improvement Act of 1996 - Amends the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 to direct the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to establish a consensus committee for maintenance and revision of Federal manufactured home construction and safety standards.  Includes expenses incurred by such committee within existing inspection fee authority.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; REFERENCE.

    (a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Safe and 
Affordable Manufactured Housing Improvement Act of 1996.''
    (b) Reference.--Whenever in this Act an amendment is expressed in 
terms of an amendment to, or repeal of, a section or other provision, 
the reference shall be considered to be made to that section or other 
provision of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

    Section 603 (42 U.S.C. 5402) is amended--
            (1) by striking paragraph (7) and inserting the following 
        new paragraph:
            ``(7) `Federal manufactured home construction and safety 
        standard' means a reasonable performance standard for the 
        construction, design, and transportation of a manufactured home 
        which meets the needs of the public including the need for 
        affordability, quality, durability, and safety;'';
            (2) in paragraph (12), by striking ``and'' at the end;
            (3) in paragraph (13), by striking the period at the end 
        and inserting a semicolon; and
            (4) by adding at the end thereof the following new 
        paragraphs:
            ``(14) `consensus committee' means the body established to 
        provide periodic recommendations to the Secretary pursuant to 
        the provisions of section 604;
            ``(15) `consensus process' means the process by which the 
        consensus committee, established pursuant to section 604, 
        recommends to the Secretary any additions, revocations, and/or 
        amendments to the Federal manufactured home construction and 
        safety standards and any related interpretations;
            ``(16) `transportation' means the movement of a 
        manufactured home or manufactured home components from the 
        manufacturing facility to a retailer's place of business or a 
        location selected by the purchaser, and the movement of a 
        manufactured home or manufactured home components from the 
        retailers's place of business to a site selected by the home 
        purchaser, where applicable; and
            ``(17) `Secretariat' means the qualified technical or 
        building code maintenance organization selected by the 
        Secretary to administer the consensus process, and to appoint 
        the members of the consensus committee established under 
        section 604.''.

SEC. 3. FEDERAL MANUFACTURED HOME CONSTRUCTION AND SAFETY STANDARDS.

    (a) In General.--Section 604 (42 U.S.C. 5403) is amended--
            (1) by striking subsection (a) and inserting the following 
        new subsection:
    ``(a) Establishment.--
            ``(1) Authority of secretary.--The Secretary shall 
        establish, by order, appropriate Federal manufactured home 
design, construction, transportation, and safety performance standards 
that shall be reasonable, practicable, objectively stated, and 
reflective of current developments in building standards and 
technology. The Secretary shall issue such orders pursuant to the 
consensus process described in this section.
            ``(2) Establishment of consensus committee and 
        procedures.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the 
        enactment of the Manufactured Housing Improvement Act of 1996, 
        the Secretary, in accordance with all relevant statutes, 
        regulations, orders, and directives pertaining to competitively 
        bid procurement, shall enter into a contract with a qualified 
        technical or building code organization to administer a 
        consensus process as its secretariat and to establish a 
        manufactured housing consensus committee and appoint the 
        members of that committee. The performance of such secretariat 
        shall be reviewed by the Secretary on a periodic basis. The 
        consensus committee shall be exempt from the requirements of 
        the Federal Advisory Committee Act. All meetings shall be open 
        to the public, and advance notice of such meetings shall be 
        provided in the Federal Register. Any final action by the 
        consensus committee shall be taken only after notice to the 
        public and opportunity for public comment in accordance with 
        the provisions of section 553 and subchapter II of chapter 5 of 
        title 5, United States Code.
            ``(3) Selection and qualifications.--The consensus 
        committee shall function, and its members shall be selected, in 
        accordance with the procedures for consensus committees 
        promulgated by the American National Standards Institute. 
        Members of the consensus committee shall be qualified to 
        participate in the work of the committee. The consensus 
        committee and the secretariat organization shall be certified 
        by the American National Standards Institute and shall be 
        provided reasonable staff resources by the administering 
        organization.
            ``(4) Responsibilities.--The consensus committee 
        established under this subsection shall be responsible for the 
        maintenance and revision of the Federal manufactured home 
        construction and safety standards, including the interpretation 
        of such standards.
            ``(5) Revisions to standards.--The consensus committee 
        shall consider additions, deletion, and amendments to the 
        Federal manufactured home construction and safety standards, as 
        needed, over a 2-year cycle. The consensus committee, after 
        notice and an opportunity for public comment, shall publish any 
        proposed standards or revisions and notice of their submission 
        to the Secretary, in the Federal Register. This notice shall 
        describe the circumstances under which the proposed standards 
        could become effective.
            ``(6) Secretary's response.--The Secretary may either adopt 
        or reject the standards submitted by the consensus committee. A 
        final order adopting such a standard, or rejecting such a 
        standard, shall be issued by the Secretary no later than 180 
        days after the date the proposed standard or regulation is 
        submitted to the Secretary by the consensus committee, and 
        shall be published in the Federal Register. In the event that 
        the Secretary rejects, in whole or in part, such a standard, 
        such publication shall be preceded by publication of the 
        proposed standard and the Secretary's proposed final order for 
        public comment in accordance with section 553 and subchapter II 
        of chapter 5 of title 5, United States Code.
            ``(7) Failure to take action.--If the Secretary fails to 
        take final action under paragraph (6) and publish notice of the 
action in the Federal Register within the required 180-day period, the 
recommendations of the consensus committee shall take effect 60 days 
after the 180-day period. Within 10 days after the expiration of the 
180-day period, the consensus committee shall publish in the Federal 
Register notice of the Secretary's failure to act, the revised 
standards, and the effective date of the revised standards.
            ``(8) Interim emergency standards.--The Secretary shall 
        have the authority at any time to request that the consensus 
        committee develop interim emergency performance standards or 
        amendments to the standards, when necessary to respond to a 
        health or safety emergency, as determined by the Secretary in 
        writing. The consensus committee shall have 60 days to submit 
        such proposed interim standards or amendments following a 
        request by the Secretary.
            ``(9) Written interpretations.--Upon request from an 
        interested party and after a finding that such an 
        interpretation is reasonably necessary, the consensus committee 
        shall submit to the Secretary written interpretations of the 
        Federal manufactured home construction and safety standards. 
        These interpretations shall become binding upon the completion 
        of notice and comment rulemaking procedures by the Secretary in 
        accordance with section 553 and subchapter II of chapter 5 of 
        title 5, United States Code, which shall be instituted within 
        180 days of the Secretary's receipt of such an interpretation. 
        The Secretary may reject, in whole or in part, an 
        interpretation only upon a written finding that the 
        interpretation is inconsistent with the purposes of this 
        title.'';
            (2) in subsection (b)--
                    (A) by striking ``All'' and inserting ``Except as 
                expressly provided herein, all''; and
                    (B) by inserting ``and subchapter II of chapter 5'' 
                after ``section 553'';
            (3) in subsection (c), by striking ``Each'' and all that 
        follows through ``effect,'' and inserting the following: ``Each 
        order establishing, amending, deleting, or interpreting a 
        Federal manufactured home construction and safety standard 
        shall specify the date such standard, amendment, or 
        interpretation is to take effect,'';
            (4) by striking subsections (d), (e), (f), and (g) and 
        inserting the following new subsections:
    ``(d) Preemption.--Except as may otherwise be expressly authorized 
by the provisions of this title, a State or local unit of government 
shall not establish, continue in effect, or enforce any standard 
pertaining to the design, construction, transportation, or safety of 
manufactured homes after the effective date of the United States 
Housing Act of 1996. The standards mandated by this title are deemed 
complete and exhaustive and shall supersede and preempt State and local 
law and regulations.
    ``(e) Considerations.--The consensus committee, in recommending 
performance standards and issuing interpretations, and the Secretary, 
in establishing such standards and standards interpretations under this 
title, shall--
            ``(1) consider relevant, reliable manufactured home 
        construction and safety data, including the results of the 
        research, development, testing, and evaluation activities 
        conducted pursuant to this title, and those activities 
        conducted by private organizations and other governmental 
        agencies to determine how best to promote the purposes of this 
        title;
            ``(2) consult with such State or interstate agencies 
        (including legislative committees) as they deem appropriate;
            ``(3) consider whether any such proposed performance 
        standard or standard interpretation is reasonable for the 
        particular type of manufactured home or for the geographic 
        region for which it is adopted;
            ``(4) consider the probable effect of such standard or 
        standard interpretation on the cost of the manufactured homes 
        to purchasers and potential purchasers; and
            ``(5) consider the extent to which any such standard or 
        standard interpretation will contribute to carrying out the 
        purposes of this title.'';
            (5) by redesignating subsections (h), (i), and (j) as 
        subsections (f), (h), and (i), respectively;
            (6) by inserting after subsection (f) (as so redesignated 
        by paragraph (5) of this subsection) the following new 
        subsection:
    ``(g) Evaluation Methodologies.--Based on a finding of need, as 
determined in writing by the Secretary, the consensus committee may, in 
accordance with the provisions of this section, establish reasonable, 
cost-effective, uniform evaluation methodologies in order to determine 
compliance with existing standards, or may evaluate proposed 
methodologies.''; and
            (7) by adding at the end the following new subsection:
    ``(j) Required Use of Consensus Process.--After the date of the 
enactment of the Manufactured Housing Improvement Act of 1996, the 
Secretary shall not adopt or amend any standards or standards 
interpretations other than through the consensus process set forth in 
this section.''.
    (b) Conforming Amendment.--Section 610 (42 U.S.C. 5409(a)(6)) is 
amended by striking ``subsection (h)'' and inserting ``subsection 
(f)''.

SEC. 4. INSPECTION FEES.

    Section 620 (42 U.S.C. 5419) is amended to read as follows:

          ``inspection and collection and utilization of fees

    ``Sec. 620. (a) Establishment.--The Secretary may establish and 
impose, on manufactured home manufacturers, distributors, and dealers, 
a reasonable fee to offset the necessary expenses incurred in 
conducting the inspections required by this title and the expenses 
incurred by the consensus committee in performing its duties under this 
title. Such fees shall be established and/or modified pursuant to 
notice and comment rulemaking in accordance with section 553 and 
subchapter II of chapter 5 of title 5, United States Code.
    ``(b) Use.--Fees collected pursuant to this title shall be 
deposited in a dedicated fund and shall be expended only for the 
functions specified in subsection (a), and shall be subject for 
expenditure only to the extent approved in an appropriations Act. The 
Secretary shall provide an annual report to the Congress specifying 
expenditures of these funds. The Secretary shall also make available to 
the public, in accordance with all applicable disclosure statutes, 
regulations, orders, or directives, information pertaining to such 
funds, including but not limited to, information pertaining to amounts 
collected, amounts disbursed, and the fund balance.''.