II

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 1452

To modernize the requirements under the National Manufactured Housing

Construction and Safety Standards Act of 1974 and to establish a

balanced consensus process for the development, revision, and interpretation of Federal construction and safety standards for manufactured

homes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

JULY 28, 1999

Mr. SHELBY (for himself, Mr. BAYH, Mr. BRYAN, Mr. ROCKEFELLER, and

Mr. BINGAMAN) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and

referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs

A BILL

To modernize the requirements under the National Manufactured Housing Construction and Safety Standards Act

of 1974 and to establish a balanced consensus process

for the development, revision, and interpretation of Federal construction and safety standards for manufactured

homes.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE AND REFERENCES.

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the

5 ‘‘Manufactured Housing Improvement Act’’.
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1 (b) REFERENCES.—Whenever in this Act an amend2 ment is expressed in terms of an amendment to, or repeal

3 of, a section or other provision, the reference shall be con4 sidered to be made to that section or other provision of

5 the National Manufactured Housing Construction and

6 Safety Standards Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5401 et seq.).

7 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

8 Section 602 (42 U.S.C. 5401) is amended to read as

9 follows:

10 ‘‘FINDINGS AND PURPOSES

11 ‘‘SEC. 602. (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that—

12 ‘‘(1) manufactured housing plays a vital role in

13 meeting the housing needs of the Nation; and

14 ‘‘(2) manufactured homes provide a significant

15 resource for affordable homeownership and rental

16 housing accessible to all Americans.

17 ‘‘(b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are—

18 ‘‘(1) to facilitate the acceptance of the quality,

19 durability, safety, and affordability of manufactured

20 housing within the Department of Housing and

21 Urban Development;

22 ‘‘(2) to facilitate the availability of affordable

23 manufactured homes and to increase homeownership

24 for all Americans;
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1 ‘‘(3) to provide for the establishment of prac2 tical, uniform, and, to the extent possible, perform3 ance-based Federal construction standards;

4 ‘‘(4) to encourage innovative and cost-effective

5 construction techniques;

6 ‘‘(5) to protect owners of manufactured homes

7 from unreasonable risk of personal injury and prop8 erty damage;

9 ‘‘(6) to establish a balanced consensus process

10 for the development, revision, and interpretation of

11 Federal construction and safety standards for manu12 factured homes and related regulations for the en13 forcement of such standards;

14 ‘‘(7) to ensure uniform and effective enforce15 ment of Federal construction and safety standards

16 for manufactured homes; and

17 ‘‘(8) to ensure that the public interest in, and

18 need for, affordable manufactured housing is duly

19 considered in all determinations relating to the Fed20 eral standards and their enforcement.’’.

21 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 603 (42 U.S.C. 5402) is

23 amended—

24 (1) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘dealer’’ and

25 inserting ‘‘retailer’’;
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1 (2) in paragraph (12), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the

2 end;

3 (3) in paragraph (13), by striking the period at

4 the end and inserting a semicolon; and

5 (4) by adding at the end the following:

6 ‘‘(14) ‘administering organization’ means the

7 recognized, voluntary, private sector, unitary con8 sensus standards body with specific experience in de9 veloping model residential building codes and stand10 ards involving all disciplines regarding construction

11 and safety that administers the consensus standards

12 through a unitary development process;

13 ‘‘(15) ‘consensus committee’ means the com14 mittee established under section 604(a)(3);

15 ‘‘(16) ‘consensus standards development proc16 ess’ means the process by which additions, revisions,

17 and interpretations to the Federal manufactured

18 home construction and safety standards and enforce19 ment regulations shall be developed and rec20 ommended to the Secretary by a unitary consensus

21 committee, which shall function as a single com22 mittee;

23 ‘‘(17) ‘primary inspection agency’ means a

24 State agency or private organization that has been

25 approved by the Secretary to act as a design ap-
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1 proval primary inspection agency or a production in2 spection primary inspection agency, or both;

3 ‘‘(18) ‘design approval primary inspection agen4 cy’ means a State agency or private organization

5 that has been approved by the Secretary to evaluate

6 and either approve or disapprove manufactured

7 home designs and quality control procedures;

8 ‘‘(19) ‘production inspection primary inspection

9 agency’ means a State agency or private organiza10 tion that has been approved by the Secretary to

11 evaluate the ability of manufactured home manufac12 turing plants to comply with approved quality con13 trol procedures and with the Federal manufactured

14 home construction and safety standards promulgated

15 hereunder; and

16 ‘‘(20) ‘monitoring’—

17 ‘‘(A) means the process of periodic review

18 of the primary inspection agencies, by the Sec19 retary or by a State agency under an approved

20 State plan pursuant to section 623, in accord21 ance with regulations recommended by the con22 sensus committee and promulgated in accord23 ance with section 604(b), which process shall be

24 for the purpose of ensuring that the primary in-
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1 spection agencies are discharging their duties

2 under this title; and

3 ‘‘(B) may include the periodic inspection of

4 retail locations for transit damage, label tam5 pering, and retailer compliance with this title.’’.

6 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—The National

7 Manufactured Housing Construction and Safety Stand8 ards Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5401 et seq.) is amended—

9 (1) in section 613 (42 U.S.C. 5412), by striking

10 ‘‘dealer’’ each place it appears and inserting ‘‘re11 tailer’’;

12 (2) in section 614(f) (42 U.S.C. 5413(f)), by

13 striking ‘‘dealer’’ each place it appears and inserting

14 ‘‘retailer’’;

15 (3) in section 615 (42 U.S.C. 5414)—

16 (A) in subsection (b)(1), by striking ‘‘deal17 er’’ and inserting ‘‘retailer’’;

18 (B) in subsection (b)(3), by striking ‘‘deal19 er or dealers’’ and inserting ‘‘retailer or retail20 ers’’; and

21 (C) in subsections (d) and (f), by striking

22 ‘‘dealers’’ each place it appears and inserting

23 ‘‘retailers’’;

24 (4) in section 616 (42 U.S.C. 5415), by striking

25 ‘‘dealer’’ and inserting ‘‘retailer’’; and
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1 (5) in section 623(c)(9), by striking ‘‘dealers’’

2 and inserting ‘‘retailers’’.

3 SEC. 4. FEDERAL MANUFACTURED HOME CONSTRUCTION

4 AND SAFETY STANDARDS.

5 Section 604 (42 U.S.C. 5403) is amended—

6 (1) by striking subsections (a) and (b) and in7 serting the following:

8 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—

9 ‘‘(1) AUTHORITY.—The Secretary shall estab10 lish, by order, appropriate Federal manufactured

11 home construction and safety standards, each of

12 which—

13 ‘‘(A) shall—

14 ‘‘(i) be reasonable and practical;

15 ‘‘(ii) meet high standards of protec16 tion consistent with the enumerated pur17 poses of this title; and

18 ‘‘(iii) be performance-based and objec19 tively stated, unless clearly inappropriate;

20 and

21 ‘‘(B) except as provided in subsection (b),

22 shall be established in accordance with the con23 sensus standards development process.

24 ‘‘(2) CONSENSUS STANDARDS AND REGU25 LATORY DEVELOPMENT PROCESS.—
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1 ‘‘(A) INITIAL AGREEMENT.—Not later

2 than 180 days after the date of enactment of

3 the Manufactured Housing Improvement Act,

4 the Secretary shall enter into a contract with

5 an administering organization. The contractual

6 agreement shall—

7 ‘‘(i) terminate on the date on which a

8 contract is entered into under subpara9 graph (B); and

10 ‘‘(ii) require the administering organi11 zation to—

12 ‘‘(I) appoint the initial members

13 of the consensus committee under

14 paragraph (3);

15 ‘‘(II) administer the consensus

16 standards development process until

17 the termination of that agreement;

18 and

19 ‘‘(III) administer the consensus

20 development and interpretation proc21 ess for procedural and enforcement

22 regulations and regulations specifying

23 the permissible scope and conduct of

24 monitoring until the termination of

25 that agreement.
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1 ‘‘(B) COMPETITIVELY PROCURED CON2 TRACT.—Upon the expiration of the 4-year pe3 riod beginning on the date on which all mem4 bers of the consensus committee are appointed

5 under paragraph (3), the Secretary shall, using

6 competitive procedures (as such term is defined

7 in section 4 of the Office of Federal Procure8 ment Policy Act), enter into a competitively

9 awarded contract with an administering organi10 zation. The administering organization shall ad11 minister the consensus process for the develop12 ment and interpretation of the Federal stand13 ards, the procedural and enforcement regula14 tions, and regulations specifying the permissible

15 scope and conduct of monitoring in accordance

16 with this title.

17 ‘‘(C) PERFORMANCE REVIEW.—The

18 Secretary—

19 ‘‘(i) shall periodically review the per20 formance of the administering organiza21 tion; and

22 ‘‘(ii) may replace the administering

23 organization with another qualified tech24 nical or building code organization, pursu25 ant to competitive procedures, if the Sec-
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1 retary determines in writing that the ad2 ministering organization is not fulfilling

3 the terms of the agreement or contract to

4 which the administering organization is

5 subject or upon the expiration of the

6 agreement or contract.

7 ‘‘(3) CONSENSUS COMMITTEE.—

8 ‘‘(A) PURPOSE.—There is established a

9 committee to be known as the ‘consensus com10 mittee’, which shall, in accordance with this

11 title—

12 ‘‘(i) provide periodic recommendations

13 to the Secretary to adopt, revise, and inter14 pret the Federal manufactured housing

15 construction and safety standards in ac16 cordance with this subsection;

17 ‘‘(ii) provide periodic recommenda18 tions to the Secretary to adopt, revise, and

19 interpret the procedural and enforcement

20 regulations, including regulations speci21 fying the permissible scope and conduct of

22 monitoring in accordance with this sub23 section; and

24 ‘‘(iii) be organized and carry out its

25 business in a manner that guarantees a
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1 fair opportunity for the expression and

2 consideration of various positions and for

3 public participation.

4 ‘‘(B) MEMBERSHIP.—The consensus com5 mittee shall be composed of—

6 ‘‘(i) 25 voting members appointed,

7 subject to approval by the Secretary, by

8 the administering organization from among

9 individuals who are qualified by back10 ground and experience to participate in the

11 work of the consensus committee; and

12 ‘‘(ii) 1 member appointed by the Sec13 retary to represent the Secretary on the

14 consensus committee, who shall be a non15 voting member.

16 ‘‘(C) DISAPPROVAL.—The Secretary may

17 disapprove, in writing with the reasons set

18 forth, the appointment of an individual under

19 subparagraph (B)(i).

20 ‘‘(D) SELECTION PROCEDURES AND RE21 QUIREMENTS.—Each member shall be ap22 pointed in accordance with selection procedures,

23 which shall be based on the procedures for con24 sensus committees promulgated by the Amer25 ican National Standards Institute (or successor
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1 organization), except that the American Na2 tional Standards Institute interest categories

3 shall be modified for purposes of this paragraph

4 to ensure equal representation on the consensus

5 committee of the following interest categories:

6 ‘‘(i) HOME PRODUCERS.—Five per7 sons representing manufacturers of manu8 factured homes.

9 ‘‘(ii) OTHER BUSINESS INTERESTS.—

10 Five persons representing other business

11 interests involved in the manufactured

12 housing industry such as retailers, install13 ers, lenders, insurers, suppliers of prod14 ucts, and community owners. The business

15 interests represented in this category shall

16 not be owned or controlled by manufactur17 ers represented under clause (i).

18 ‘‘(iii) CONSUMERS.—Five persons rep19 resenting homeowners and consumer inter20 ests, such as consumer organizations, com21 munity organizations, recognized consumer

22 leaders, and owners and occupants of man23 ufactured homes.

24 ‘‘(iv) PUBLIC OFFICIALS.—Five per25 sons who are State or local officials such
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1 as building code enforcement or inspection

2 officials, fire marshals, and including rep3 resentatives of State administrative agen4 cies.

5 ‘‘(v) GENERAL INTEREST.—Five per6 sons representing the public such as archi7 tects, engineers, homebuilders, academi8 cians, and developers.

9 ‘‘(E) ADDITIONAL QUALIFICATIONS.—An

10 individual appointed under clause (iii), (iv), or

11 (v) of subparagraph (D) shall not have—

12 ‘‘(i) a significant financial interest in

13 any segment of the manufactured housing

14 industry; or

15 ‘‘(ii) a significant relationship to any

16 person engaged in the manufactured hous17 ing industry.

18 ‘‘(F) MEETINGS.—

19 ‘‘(i) NOTICE; OPEN TO PUBLIC.—The

20 consensus committee shall provide advance

21 notice of each meeting of the consensus

22 committee to the Secretary and publish ad23 vance notice of each such meeting in the

24 Federal Register. All meetings of the con-
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1 sensus committee shall be open to the pub2 lic.

3 ‘‘(ii) REIMBURSEMENT.—Members of

4 the consensus committee in attendance at

5 the meetings shall be reimbursed for their

6 actual expenses as authorized by section

7 5703 of title 5, United States Code, for

8 persons employed intermittently in Govern9 ment service.

10 ‘‘(G) INAPPLICABILITY OF OTHER LAWS.—

11 ‘‘(i) ADVISORY COMMITTEE ACT.—The

12 consensus committee shall not be consid13 ered to be an advisory committee for pur14 poses of the Federal Advisory Committee

15 Act.

16 ‘‘(ii) TITLE 18.—The members of the

17 consensus committee shall not be subject

18 to section 203, 205, 207, or 208 of title

19 18, United States Code, to the extent of

20 their proper participation as members of

21 the consensus committee.

22 ‘‘(iii) ETHICS IN GOVERNMENT ACT

23 OF 1978.—The Ethics in Government Act

24 of 1978 shall not apply to members of the

25 consensus committee to the extent of their
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1 proper participation as members of the

2 consensus committee.

3 ‘‘(H) ADMINISTRATION.—The consensus

4 committee and the administering organization

5 shall—

6 ‘‘(i) operate in conformance with the

7 procedures established by the American

8 National Standards Institute for the devel9 opment and coordination of American Na10 tional Standards; and

11 ‘‘(ii) apply to the American National

12 Standards Institute and take such other

13 actions as may be necessary to obtain ac14 creditation from the American National

15 Standards Institute.

16 ‘‘(I) STAFF.—The administering organiza17 tion shall, upon the request of the consensus

18 committee, provide reasonable staff resources to

19 the consensus committee.

20 ‘‘(J) DATE OF INITIAL APPOINTMENTS.—

21 The initial appointments of all of the members

22 of the consensus committee shall be completed

23 not later than 90 days after the date on which

24 an administration agreement under paragraph
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1 (2)(A) is completed with the administering or2 ganization.

3 ‘‘(4) REVISIONS OF STANDARDS AND REGULA4 TIONS.—

5 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Beginning on the date

6 on which all members of the consensus com7 mittee are appointed under paragraph (3), the

8 consensus committee shall, not less than once

9 during each 2-year period—

10 ‘‘(i) consider revisions to the Federal

11 manufactured home construction and safe12 ty standards and regulations; and

13 ‘‘(ii) submit proposed revised standards and regulations if approved by a 2 14 ⁄3

15 majority vote to the Secretary in the form

16 of a proposed rule, including an economic

17 analysis.

18 ‘‘(B) PUBLICATION OF PROPOSED REVISED

19 STANDARDS AND REGULATIONS.—

20 ‘‘(i) PUBLICATION BY SECRETARY.—

21 The consensus committee shall provide a

22 proposed revised standard or regulation

23 under subparagraph (A)(ii) to the Sec24 retary who shall, not later than 30 days

25 after receipt, publish such proposed revised
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1 standard or regulation in the Federal Reg2 ister for notice and comment. Unless

3 clause (ii) applies, the Secretary shall pro4 vide an opportunity for public comment on

5 such proposed revised standard or regula6 tion and any such comments shall be sub7 mitted directly to the consensus committee

8 without delay.

9 ‘‘(ii) PUBLICATION OF REJECTED

10 PROPOSED REVISED STANDARDS AND REG11 ULATIONS.—If the Secretary rejects the

12 proposed revised standard or regulation,

13 the Secretary shall publish the rejected

14 proposed revised standard or regulation in

15 the Federal Register with the reasons for

16 rejection and any recommended modifica17 tions set forth.

18 ‘‘(C) PRESENTATION OF PUBLIC COM19 MENTS; PUBLICATION OF RECOMMENDED REVI20 SIONS.—

21 ‘‘(i) PRESENTATION.—Any public

22 comments, views, and objections to a pro23 posed revised standard or regulation pub24 lished under subparagraph (B) shall be

25 presented by the Secretary to the con-
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1 sensus committee upon their receipt and in

2 the manner received, in accordance with

3 procedures established by the American

4 National Standards Institute.

5 ‘‘(ii) PUBLICATION BY THE SEC6 RETARY.—The consensus committee shall

7 provide to the Secretary any revisions pro8 posed by the consensus committee, which

9 the Secretary shall, not later than 7 cal10 endar days after receipt, cause to be pub11 lished in the Federal Register as a notice

12 of the recommended revisions of the con13 sensus committee to the standards or regu14 lations, a notice of the submission of the

15 recommended revisions to the Secretary,

16 and a description of the circumstances

17 under which the proposed revised stand18 ards or regulations could become effective.

19 ‘‘(iii) PUBLICATION OF REJECTED

20 PROPOSED REVISED STANDARDS AND REG21 ULATIONS.—If the Secretary rejects the

22 proposed revised standard or regulation,

23 the Secretary shall publish the rejected

24 proposed revised standard or regulation in

25 the Federal Register with the reasons for
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1 rejection and any recommended modifica2 tions set forth.

3 ‘‘(5) REVIEW BY THE SECRETARY.—

4 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall

5 either adopt, modify, or reject a standard or

6 regulation, as submitted by the consensus com7 mittee under paragraph (4)(A).

8 ‘‘(B) TIMING.—Not later than 12 months

9 after the date on which a standard or regula10 tion is submitted to the Secretary by the con11 sensus committee, the Secretary shall take ac12 tion regarding such standard or regulation

13 under subparagraph (C).

14 ‘‘(C) PROCEDURES.—If the Secretary—

15 ‘‘(i) adopts a standard or regulation

16 recommended by the consensus committee,

17 the Secretary shall—

18 ‘‘(I) issue a final order without

19 further rulemaking; and

20 ‘‘(II) cause the final order to be

21 published in the Federal Register;

22 ‘‘(ii) determines that any standard or

23 regulation should be rejected, the Secretary

24 shall—
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1 ‘‘(I) reject the standard or regu2 lation; and

3 ‘‘(II) cause to be published in the

4 Federal Register a notice to that ef5 fect, together with the reason or rea6 sons for rejecting the proposed stand7 ard or regulation; or

8 ‘‘(iii) determines that a standard or

9 regulation recommended by the consensus

10 committee should be modified, the Sec11 retary shall—

12 ‘‘(I) cause the proposed modified

13 standard or regulation to be published

14 in the Federal Register, together with

15 an explanation of the reason or rea16 sons for the determination of the Sec17 retary; and

18 ‘‘(II) provide an opportunity for

19 public comment in accordance with

20 section 553 of title 5, United States

21 Code.

22 ‘‘(D) FINAL ORDER.—Any final standard

23 or regulation under this paragraph shall become

24 effective pursuant to subsection (c).
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1 ‘‘(6) FAILURE TO ACT.—If the Secretary fails

2 to take final action under paragraph (5) and to pub3 lish notice of the action in the Federal Register be4 fore the expiration of the 12-month period beginning

5 on the date on which the proposed standard or regu6 lation is submitted to the Secretary under paragraph

7 (4)(A)—

8 ‘‘(A) the recommendations of the con9 sensus committee—

10 ‘‘(i) shall be considered to have been

11 adopted by the Secretary; and

12 ‘‘(ii) shall take effect upon the expira13 tion of the 180-day period that begins

14 upon the conclusion of such 12-month pe15 riod; and

16 ‘‘(B) not later than 10 days after the expi17 ration of such 12-month period, the Secretary

18 shall cause to be published in the Federal Reg19 ister a notice of the failure of the Secretary to

20 act, the revised standard or regulation, and the

21 effective date of the revised standard or regula22 tion, which notice shall be deemed to be an

23 order of the Secretary approving the revised

24 standards or regulations proposed by the con25 sensus committee.
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1 ‘‘(b) OTHER ORDERS.—

2 ‘‘(1) INTERPRETATIVE BULLETINS.—The Sec3 retary may issue interpretative bulletins to clarify

4 the meaning of any Federal manufactured home

5 construction and safety standard or procedural and

6 enforcement regulation. The consensus committee

7 may submit to the Secretary proposed interpretative

8 bulletins to clarify the meaning of any Federal man9 ufactured home construction and safety standard or

10 procedural and enforcement regulation.

11 ‘‘(2) REVIEW BY CONSENSUS COMMITTEE.—Be12 fore issuing a procedural or enforcement regulation

13 or an interpretative bulletin—

14 ‘‘(A) the Secretary shall—

15 ‘‘(i) submit the proposed procedural

16 or enforcement regulation or interpretative

17 bulletin to the consensus committee; and

18 ‘‘(ii) provide the consensus committee

19 with a period of 120 days to submit writ20 ten comments to the Secretary on the pro21 posed procedural or enforcement regulation

22 or the interpretative bulletin;

23 ‘‘(B) if the Secretary rejects any signifi24 cant comment provided by the consensus com25 mittee under subparagraph (A), the Secretary
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1 shall provide a written explanation of the rea2 sons for the rejection to the consensus com3 mittee; and

4 ‘‘(C) following compliance with subpara5 graphs (A) and (B), the Secretary shall—

6 ‘‘(i) cause the proposed regulation or

7 interpretative bulletin and the consensus

8 committee’s written comments along with

9 the Secretary’s response thereto to be pub10 lished in the Federal Register; and

11 ‘‘(ii) provide an opportunity for public

12 comment in accordance with section 553 of

13 title 5, United States Code.

14 ‘‘(3) REQUIRED ACTION.—The Secretary shall

15 act on any proposed regulation or interpretative bul16 letin submitted by the consensus committee by ap17 proving or rejecting the proposal within 120 days

18 from the date the proposal is received by the Sec19 retary. The Secretary shall either—

20 ‘‘(A) approve the proposal and cause the

21 proposed regulation or interpretative bulletin to

22 be published for public comment in accordance

23 with section 553 of title 5, United States Code;

24 or
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1 ‘‘(B) reject the proposed regulation or in2 terpretative bulletin and—

3 ‘‘(i) provide a written explanation of

4 the reasons for rejection to the consensus

5 committee; and

6 ‘‘(ii) cause the proposed regulation

7 and the written explanation for the rejec8 tion to be published in the Federal Reg9 ister.

10 ‘‘(4) EMERGENCY ORDERS.—If the Secretary

11 determines, in writing, that such action is necessary

12 in order to respond to an emergency which jeopard13 izes the public health or safety, or to address an

14 issue on which the Secretary determines that the

15 consensus committee has not made a timely rec16 ommendation, following a request by the Secretary,

17 the Secretary may issue an order that is not devel18 oped under the procedures set forth in subsection

19 (a) or in this subsection, if the Secretary—

20 ‘‘(A) provides to the consensus committee

21 a written description and sets forth the reasons

22 why emergency actions is necessary and all sup23 porting documentation; and

24 ‘‘(B) issues and publishes the order in the

25 Federal Register.
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1 ‘‘(5) CHANGES.—Any statement of policies,

2 practices, or procedures relating to construction and

3 safety standards, regulations, inspections, moni4 toring, or other enforcement activities which con5 stitutes a statement of general or particular applica6 bility to implement, interpret, or prescribe law or

7 policy by the Secretary is subject to the provisions

8 of subsection (a) or (b) of this subsection. Any

9 change adopted in violation of the provisions of sub10 section (a) or (b) of this subsection is void.’’;

11 (2) in subsection (d), by adding at the end the

12 following: ‘‘Federal preemption under this subsection

13 shall be broadly and liberally construed to ensure

14 that disparate State or local requirements or stand15 ards do not affect the uniformity and comprehen16 siveness of the standards promulgated hereunder nor

17 the Federal superintendence of the manufactured

18 housing industry as established by this title. There

19 is reserved to each State the right to establish

20 standards for the stabilizing and support systems of

21 manufactured homes sited within that State, and for

22 the foundations on which manufactured homes sited

23 within that State are installed, and the right to en24 force compliance with such standards, except that

25 such standards shall be consistent with the purposes
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1 of this title and shall be consistent with the design

2 of the manufacturer.’’;

3 (3) by striking subsection (e);

4 (4) in subsection (f), by striking the subsection

5 designation and all of the matter that precedes para6 graph (1) and inserting the following:

7 ‘‘(e) CONSIDERATIONS IN ESTABLISHING AND IN8 TERPRETING STANDARDS AND REGULATIONS.—The con9 sensus committee, in recommending standards, regula10 tions, and interpretations, and the Secretary, in estab11 lishing standards or regulations, or issuing interpretations

12 under this section, shall—’’;

13 (5) by striking subsection (g);

14 (6) in the first sentence of subsection (j), by

15 striking ‘‘subsection (f)’’ and inserting ‘‘subsection

16 (e)’’; and

17 (7) by redesignating subsections (h), (i), and

18 (j), as subsections (f), (g), and (h), respectively.

19 SEC. 5. ABOLISHMENT OF NATIONAL MANUFACTURED

20 HOME ADVISORY COUNCIL.

21 Section 605 (42 U.S.C. 5404) is repealed.

22 SEC. 6. PUBLIC INFORMATION.

23 Section 607 (42 U.S.C. 5406) is amended—

24 (1) in subsection (a)—
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1 (A) by inserting ‘‘to the Secretary’’ after

2 ‘‘submit’’; and

3 (B) by adding at the end the following:

4 ‘‘The Secretary shall submit such cost and

5 other information to the consensus committee

6 for evaluation.’’;

7 (2) in subsection (d), by inserting ‘‘, the con8 sensus committee,’’ after ‘‘public’’; and

9 (3) by striking subsection (c) and redesignating

10 subsections (d) and (e) as subsections (c) and (d),

11 respectively.

12 SEC. 7. RESEARCH, TESTING, DEVELOPMENT, AND TRAIN13 ING.

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 608(a) (42 U.S.C.

15 5407(a)) is amended—

16 (1) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the

17 end;

18 (2) in paragraph (3), by striking the period at

19 the end and inserting a semicolon; and

20 (3) by adding at the end the following:

21 ‘‘(4) encouraging the government-sponsored

22 housing entities to actively develop and implement

23 secondary market securitization programs for the

24 FHA manufactured home loans and those of other

25 loan programs, as appropriate, thereby promoting
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1 the availability of affordable manufactured homes to

2 increase homeownership for all people in the United

3 States; and

4 ‘‘(5) reviewing the programs for FHA manufac5 tured home loans and developing any changes to

6 such programs to promote the affordability of manu7 factured homes, including changes in loan terms,

8 amortization periods, regulations, and procedures.’’.

9 (b) DEFINITIONS.—Section 608 (42 U.S.C. 5407) is

10 amended by adding at the end the following:

11 ‘‘(c) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section, the

12 following definitions shall apply:

13 ‘‘(1) GOVERNMENT-SPONSORED HOUSING ENTI14 TIES.—The term ‘government-sponsored housing en15 tities’ means the Government National Mortgage As16 sociation of the Department of Housing and Urban

17 Development, the Federal National Mortgage Asso18 ciation, and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Cor19 poration.

20 ‘‘(2) FHA MANUFACTURED HOME LOAN.—The

21 term ‘FHA manufactured home loan’ means a loan

22 that—

23 ‘‘(A) is insured under title I of the Na24 tional Housing Act and is made for the purpose

25 of financing alterations, repairs, or improve-
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1 ments on or in connection with an existing

2 manufactured home, the purchase of a manu3 factured home, the purchase of a manufactured

4 home and a lot on which to place the home, or

5 the purchase only of a lot on which to place a

6 manufactured home; or

7 ‘‘(B) otherwise insured under the National

8 Housing Act and made for or in connection

9 with a manufactured home.’’.

10 SEC. 8. FEES.

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

12 follows:

13 ‘‘AUTHORITY TO COLLECT FEE

14 ‘‘SEC. 620. (a) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out in15 spections under this title, in developing standards and reg16 ulations pursuant to section 604, and in facilitating the

17 acceptance of the affordability and availability of manufac18 tured housing within the Department, the Secretary

19 may—

20 ‘‘(1) establish and collect from manufactured

21 home manufacturers a reasonable fee, as may be

22 necessary to offset the expenses incurred by the Sec23 retary in connection with carrying out the respon24 sibilities of the Secretary under this title,

25 including—
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1 ‘‘(A) conducting inspections and moni2 toring;

3 ‘‘(B) providing funding to States for the

4 administration and implementation of approved

5 State plans under section 623, including rea6 sonable funding for cooperative educational and

7 training programs designed to facilitate uniform

8 enforcement under this title, which funds may

9 be paid directly to the States or may be paid

10 or provided to any person or entity designated

11 to receive and disburse such funds by coopera12 tive agreements among participating States,

13 provided that such person or entity is not other14 wise an agent of the Secretary under this title;

15 ‘‘(C) providing the funding for a noncareer

16 administrator;

17 ‘‘(D) providing the funding for Federal

18 staff personnel for the manufactured housing

19 program, subject to subsection (e);

20 ‘‘(E) administering the consensus com21 mittee as set forth in section 604; and

22 ‘‘(F) facilitating the acceptance of the

23 quality, durability, safety, and affordability of

24 manufactured housing within the Department;

25 and
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1 ‘‘(2) use amounts from any fee collected under

2 paragraph (1) to pay expenses referred to in para3 graph (1), which shall be exempt and separate from

4 any limitations on the Department of Housing and

5 Urban Development regarding full-time equivalent

6 positions and travel.

7 ‘‘(b) CONTRACTORS.—In using amounts from any fee

8 collected under this section, the Secretary shall ensure

9 that separate and independent contractors are retained to

10 carry out monitoring and inspection work and any other

11 work that may be delegated to a contractor under this

12 title.

13 ‘‘(c) PROHIBITED USE.—Amounts from any fee col14 lected under this section may not be used for any purpose

15 or activity not specifically authorized by this title, unless

16 such activity was already engaged in by the Secretary

17 prior to the date of enactment of this title.

18 ‘‘(d) MODIFICATION.—Beginning on the date of en19 actment of the Manufactured Housing Improvement Act,

20 the amount of any fee collected under this section may

21 only be modified—

22 ‘‘(1) as specifically authorized in advance in an

23 annual appropriations Act; and

24 ‘‘(2) pursuant to rulemaking in accordance with

25 section 553 of title 5, United States Code.
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1 ‘‘(e) APPROPRIATION AND DEPOSIT OF FEES.—

2 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—There is established in the

3 Treasury of the United States a fund to be known

4 as the ‘Manufactured Housing Fees Trust Fund’ for

5 deposit of amounts from any fee collected under this

6 section. Such amounts shall be held in trust for use

7 only as provided in this title.

8 ‘‘(2) APPROPRIATION.—Amounts from any fee

9 collected under this section shall be available for ex10 penditure only to the extent approved in advance in

11 an annual appropriations Act. Any change in the ex12 penditure of such amounts shall be specifically au13 thorized in advance in an annual appropriations

14 Act.’’.

15 SEC. 9. ELIMINATION OF ANNUAL REPORT REQUIREMENT.

16 The National Manufactured Housing Construction

17 and Safety Standards Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5401 et

18 seq.) is amended—

19 (1) by striking section 626 (42 U.S.C. 5425);

20 and

21 (2) by redesignating sections 627 and 628 (42

22 U.S.C. 5426, 5401 note) as sections 626 and 627,

23 respectively.
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1 SEC. 10. EFFECTIVE DATE.

2 The amendments made by this Act shall take effect

3 on the date of enactment of this Act, except that the

4 amendments shall have no effect on any order or interpre5 tative bulletin that is published as a proposed rule pursu6 ant to section 553 of title 5, United States Code, on or

7 before such date.

8 SEC. 11. SAVINGS PROVISION.

9 (a) STANDARDS AND REGULATIONS.—The Federal

10 manufactured home construction and safety standards (as

11 such term is defined in section 603 of the National Manu12 factured Housing Construction and Safety Standards Act

13 of 1974) and all regulations pertaining thereto in effect

14 immediately before the date of enactment of this Act shall

15 apply until the effective date of a standard or regulation

16 modifying or superseding the existing standard or regula17 tion which is promulgated under subsection (a) or (b) of

18 section 604 of the National Manufactured Housing Con19 struction and Safety Standards Act of 1974, as amended

20 by this Act.

21 (b) CONTRACTS.—Any contract awarded pursuant to

22 a Request for Proposal issued before the date of enact23 ment of this Act shall remain in effect for a period of 2

24 years from the date of enactment of this Act or for the
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1 remainder of the contract term, whichever period is short2 er.

Æ