Calendar No. 517

106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 1452

[Report No. 106–274]

A BILL

To modernize the requirements under the National

Manufactured Housing Construction and SafetyStandards Act of 1974 and to establish a balanced consensus process for the development, revision, and interpretation of Federal constructionand safety standards for manufactured homes.

APRIL 13, 2000

Reported with an amendment
II

Calendar No. 517

106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 1452

[Report No. 106–274]

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, Mr.

BINGAMAN, Mr. HUTCHINSON, Mr. CRAIG, Mr. INHOFE, Mr. BURNS, Mr.

LOTT, Ms. SNOWE, Mr. SANTORUM, Mr. MACK, Mr. SMITH of Oregon,

Mr. COCHRAN, Mr. HELMS, Mr. BUNNING, Mr. LUGAR, Mr. CRAPO, Ms.

COLLINS, Mr. SESSIONS, Mr. ROBERTS, Mr. JOHNSON, Mr. HAGEL, Mr.

HOLLINGS, Mr. CLELAND, Mr. ABRAHAM, Mr. BENNETT, Mr. COVERDELL, Mr. DASCHLE, Mrs. LINCOLN, Mr. EDWARDS, and Mr. ALLARD)

introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the

Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs

APRIL 13, 2000

Reported by Mr. GRAMM, with an amendment

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic]

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
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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’’.

6 (b) REFERENCES.—Whenever in this Act an amend7 ment is expressed in terms of an amendment to, or repeal

8 of, a section or other provision, the reference shall be con9 sidered to be made to that section or other provision of

10 the National Manufactured Housing Construction and

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

12 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

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

14 follows:

15 ‘‘FINDINGS AND PURPOSES

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

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

18 meeting the housing needs of the Nation; and

19 ‘‘(2) manufactured homes provide a significant

20 resource for affordable homeownership and rental

21 housing accessible to all Americans.

22 ‘‘(b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are—
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1 ‘‘(1) to facilitate the acceptance of the quality,

2 durability, safety, and affordability of manufactured

3 housing within the Department of Housing and

4 Urban Development;

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

6 manufactured homes and to increase homeownership

7 for all Americans;

8 ‘‘(3) to provide for the establishment of prac9 tical, uniform, and, to the extent possible, perform10 ance-based Federal construction standards;

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

12 construction techniques;

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

14 from unreasonable risk of personal injury and prop15 erty damage;

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

17 for the development, revision, and interpretation of

18 Federal construction and safety standards for manu19 factured homes and related regulations for the en20 forcement of such standards;

21 ‘‘(7) to ensure uniform and effective enforce22 ment of Federal construction and safety standards

23 for manufactured homes; and

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

25 need for, affordable manufactured housing is duly
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1 considered in all determinations relating to the Fed2 eral standards and their enforcement.’’.

3 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

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

5 amended—

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

7 inserting ‘‘retailer’’;

8 (2) in paragraph (12), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the

9 end;

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

11 the end and inserting a semicolon; and

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

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

14 recognized, voluntary, private sector, unitary con15 sensus standards body with specific experience in de16 veloping model residential building codes and stand17 ards involving all disciplines regarding construction

18 and safety that administers the consensus standards

19 through a unitary development process;

20 ‘‘(15) ‘consensus committee’ means the com21 mittee established under section 604(a)(3);

22 ‘‘(16) ‘consensus standards development proc23 ess’ means the process by which additions, revisions,

24 and interpretations to the Federal manufactured

25 home construction and safety standards and enforce-
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1 ment regulations shall be developed and rec2 ommended to the Secretary by a unitary consensus

3 committee, which shall function as a single com4 mittee;

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

6 State agency or private organization that has been

7 approved by the Secretary to act as a design ap8 proval primary inspection agency or a production in9 spection primary inspection agency, or both;

10 ‘‘(18) ‘design approval primary inspection agen11 cy’ means a State agency or private organization

12 that has been approved by the Secretary to evaluate

13 and either approve or disapprove manufactured

14 home designs and quality control procedures;

15 ‘‘(19) ‘production inspection primary inspection

16 agency’ means a State agency or private organiza17 tion that has been approved by the Secretary to

18 evaluate the ability of manufactured home manufac19 turing plants to comply with approved quality con20 trol procedures and with the Federal manufactured

21 home construction and safety standards promulgated

22 hereunder; and

23 ‘‘(20) ‘monitoring’—

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

25 of the primary inspection agencies, by the Sec-
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1 retary or by a State agency under an approved

2 State plan pursuant to section 623, in accord3 ance with regulations recommended by the con4 sensus committee and promulgated in accord5 ance with section 604(b), which process shall be

6 for the purpose of ensuring that the primary in7 spection agencies are discharging their duties

8 under this title; and

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

10 retail locations for transit damage, label tam11 pering, and retailer compliance with this title.’’.

12 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—The National

13 Manufactured Housing Construction and Safety Stand14 ards Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5401 et seq.) is amended—

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

16 ‘‘dealer’’ each place it appears and inserting ‘‘re17 tailer’’;

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

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

20 ‘‘retailer’’;

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

22 (A) in subsection (b)(1), by striking ‘‘deal23 er’’ and inserting ‘‘retailer’’;
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1 (B) in subsection (b)(3), by striking ‘‘deal2 er or dealers’’ and inserting ‘‘retailer or retail3 ers’’; and

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

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

6 ‘‘retailers’’;

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

8 ‘‘dealer’’ and inserting ‘‘retailer’’; and

9 (5) in section 623(c)(9), by striking ‘‘dealers’’

10 and inserting ‘‘retailers’’.

11 SEC. 4. FEDERAL MANUFACTURED HOME CONSTRUCTION

12 AND SAFETY STANDARDS.

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

14 (1) by striking subsections (a) and (b) and in15 serting the following:

16 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—

17 ‘‘(1) AUTHORITY.—The Secretary shall estab18 lish, by order, appropriate Federal manufactured

19 home construction and safety standards, each of

20 which—

21 ‘‘(A) shall—

22 ‘‘(i) be reasonable and practical;

23 ‘‘(ii) meet high standards of protec24 tion consistent with the enumerated pur25 poses of this title; and
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1 ‘‘(iii) be performance-based and objec2 tively stated, unless clearly inappropriate;

3 and

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

5 shall be established in accordance with the con6 sensus standards development process.

7 ‘‘(2) CONSENSUS STANDARDS AND REGU8 LATORY DEVELOPMENT PROCESS.—

9 ‘‘(A) INITIAL AGREEMENT.—Not later

10 than 180 days after the date of enactment of

11 the Manufactured Housing Improvement Act,

12 the Secretary shall enter into a contract with

13 an administering organization. The contractual

14 agreement shall—

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

16 contract is entered into under subpara17 graph (B); and

18 ‘‘(ii) require the administering organi19 zation to—

20 ‘‘(I) appoint the initial members

21 of the consensus committee under

22 paragraph (3);

23 ‘‘(II) administer the consensus

24 standards development process until
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1 the termination of that agreement;

2 and

3 ‘‘(III) administer the consensus

4 development and interpretation proc5 ess for procedural and enforcement

6 regulations and regulations specifying

7 the permissible scope and conduct of

8 monitoring until the termination of

9 that agreement.

10 ‘‘(B) COMPETITIVELY PROCURED CON11 TRACT.—Upon the expiration of the 4-year pe12 riod beginning on the date on which all mem13 bers of the consensus committee are appointed

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

15 competitive procedures (as such term is defined

16 in section 4 of the Office of Federal Procure17 ment Policy Act), enter into a competitively

18 awarded contract with an administering organi19 zation. The administering organization shall ad20 minister the consensus process for the develop21 ment and interpretation of the Federal stand22 ards, the procedural and enforcement regula23 tions, and regulations specifying the permissible

24 scope and conduct of monitoring in accordance

25 with this title.
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1 ‘‘(C) PERFORMANCE REVIEW.—The

2 Secretary—

3 ‘‘(i) shall periodically review the per4 formance of the administering organiza5 tion; and

6 ‘‘(ii) may replace the administering

7 organization with another qualified tech8 nical or building code organization, pursu9 ant to competitive procedures, if the Sec10 retary determines in writing that the ad11 ministering organization is not fulfilling

12 the terms of the agreement or contract to

13 which the administering organization is

14 subject or upon the expiration of the

15 agreement or contract.

16 ‘‘(3) CONSENSUS COMMITTEE.—

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

18 committee to be known as the ‘consensus com19 mittee’, which shall, in accordance with this

20 title—

21 ‘‘(i) provide periodic recommendations

22 to the Secretary to adopt, revise, and inter23 pret the Federal manufactured housing

24 construction and safety standards in ac25 cordance with this subsection;
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1 ‘‘(ii) provide periodic recommenda2 tions to the Secretary to adopt, revise, and

3 interpret the procedural and enforcement

4 regulations, including regulations speci5 fying the permissible scope and conduct of

6 monitoring in accordance with this sub7 section; and

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

9 business in a manner that guarantees a

10 fair opportunity for the expression and

11 consideration of various positions and for

12 public participation.

13 ‘‘(B) MEMBERSHIP.—The consensus com14 mittee shall be composed of—

15 ‘‘(i) 25 voting members appointed,

16 subject to approval by the Secretary, by

17 the administering organization from among

18 individuals who are qualified by back19 ground and experience to participate in the

20 work of the consensus committee; and

21 ‘‘(ii) 1 member appointed by the Sec22 retary to represent the Secretary on the

23 consensus committee, who shall be a non24 voting member.
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1 ‘‘(C) DISAPPROVAL.—The Secretary may

2 disapprove, in writing with the reasons set

3 forth, the appointment of an individual under

4 subparagraph (B)(i).

5 ‘‘(D) SELECTION PROCEDURES AND RE6 QUIREMENTS.—Each member shall be ap7 pointed in accordance with selection procedures,

8 which shall be based on the procedures for con9 sensus committees promulgated by the Amer10 ican National Standards Institute (or successor

11 organization), except that the American Na12 tional Standards Institute interest categories

13 shall be modified for purposes of this paragraph

14 to ensure equal representation on the consensus

15 committee of the following interest categories:

16 ‘‘(i) HOME PRODUCERS.—Five per17 sons representing manufacturers of manu18 factured homes.

19 ‘‘(ii) OTHER BUSINESS INTERESTS.—

20 Five persons representing other business

21 interests involved in the manufactured

22 housing industry such as retailers, install23 ers, lenders, insurers, suppliers of prod24 ucts, and community owners. The business

25 interests represented in this category shall
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1 not be owned or controlled by manufactur2 ers represented under clause (i).

3 ‘‘(iii) CONSUMERS.—Five persons rep4 resenting homeowners and consumer inter5 ests, such as consumer organizations, com6 munity organizations, recognized consumer

7 leaders, and owners and occupants of man8 ufactured homes.

9 ‘‘(iv) PUBLIC OFFICIALS.—Five per10 sons who are State or local officials such

11 as building code enforcement or inspection

12 officials, fire marshals, and including rep13 resentatives of State administrative agen14 cies.

15 ‘‘(v) GENERAL INTEREST.—Five per16 sons representing the public such as archi17 tects, engineers, homebuilders, academi18 cians, and developers.

19 ‘‘(E) ADDITIONAL QUALIFICATIONS.—An

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

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

22 ‘‘(i) a significant financial interest in

23 any segment of the manufactured housing

24 industry; or
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1 ‘‘(ii) a significant relationship to any

2 person engaged in the manufactured hous3 ing industry.

4 ‘‘(F) MEETINGS.—

5 ‘‘(i) NOTICE; OPEN TO PUBLIC.—The

6 consensus committee shall provide advance

7 notice of each meeting of the consensus

8 committee to the Secretary and publish ad9 vance notice of each such meeting in the

10 Federal Register. All meetings of the con11 sensus committee shall be open to the pub12 lic.

13 ‘‘(ii) REIMBURSEMENT.—Members of

14 the consensus committee in attendance at

15 the meetings shall be reimbursed for their

16 actual expenses as authorized by section

17 5703 of title 5, United States Code, for

18 persons employed intermittently in Govern19 ment service.

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

21 ‘‘(i) ADVISORY COMMITTEE ACT.—The

22 consensus committee shall not be consid23 ered to be an advisory committee for pur24 poses of the Federal Advisory Committee

25 Act.
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1 ‘‘(ii) TITLE 18.—The members of the

2 consensus committee shall not be subject

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

4 18, United States Code, to the extent of

5 their proper participation as members of

6 the consensus committee.

7 ‘‘(iii) ETHICS IN GOVERNMENT ACT

8 OF 1978.—The Ethics in Government Act

9 of 1978 shall not apply to members of the

10 consensus committee to the extent of their

11 proper participation as members of the

12 consensus committee.

13 ‘‘(H) ADMINISTRATION.—The consensus

14 committee and the administering organization

15 shall—

16 ‘‘(i) operate in conformance with the

17 procedures established by the American

18 National Standards Institute for the devel19 opment and coordination of American Na20 tional Standards; and

21 ‘‘(ii) apply to the American National

22 Standards Institute and take such other

23 actions as may be necessary to obtain ac24 creditation from the American National

25 Standards Institute.
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1 ‘‘(I) STAFF.—The administering organiza2 tion shall, upon the request of the consensus

3 committee, provide reasonable staff resources to

4 the consensus committee.

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

6 The initial appointments of all of the members

7 of the consensus committee shall be completed

8 not later than 90 days after the date on which

9 an administration agreement under paragraph

10 (2)(A) is completed with the administering or11 ganization.

12 ‘‘(4) REVISIONS OF STANDARDS AND REGULA13 TIONS.—

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

15 on which all members of the consensus com16 mittee are appointed under paragraph (3), the

17 consensus committee shall, not less than once

18 during each 2-year period—

19 ‘‘(i) consider revisions to the Federal

20 manufactured home construction and safe21 ty standards and regulations; and

22 ‘‘(ii) submit proposed revised standards and regulations if approved by a 2 23 ⁄3

24 majority vote to the Secretary in the form
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1 of a proposed rule, including an economic

2 analysis.

3 ‘‘(B) PUBLICATION OF PROPOSED REVISED

4 STANDARDS AND REGULATIONS.—

5 ‘‘(i) PUBLICATION BY SECRETARY.—

6 The consensus committee shall provide a

7 proposed revised standard or regulation

8 under subparagraph (A)(ii) to the Sec9 retary who shall, not later than 30 days

10 after receipt, publish such proposed revised

11 standard or regulation in the Federal Reg12 ister for notice and comment. Unless

13 clause (ii) applies, the Secretary shall pro14 vide an opportunity for public comment on

15 such proposed revised standard or regula16 tion and any such comments shall be sub17 mitted directly to the consensus committee

18 without delay.

19 ‘‘(ii) 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 ‘‘(C) PRESENTATION OF PUBLIC COM4 MENTS; PUBLICATION OF RECOMMENDED REVI5 SIONS.—

6 ‘‘(i) PRESENTATION.—Any public

7 comments, views, and objections to a pro8 posed revised standard or regulation pub9 lished under subparagraph (B) shall be

10 presented by the Secretary to the con11 sensus committee upon their receipt and in

12 the manner received, in accordance with

13 procedures established by the American

14 National Standards Institute.

15 ‘‘(ii) PUBLICATION BY THE SEC16 RETARY.—The consensus committee shall

17 provide to the Secretary any revisions pro18 posed by the consensus committee, which

19 the Secretary shall, not later than 7 cal20 endar days after receipt, cause to be pub21 lished in the Federal Register as a notice

22 of the recommended revisions of the con23 sensus committee to the standards or regu24 lations, a notice of the submission of the

25 recommended revisions to the Secretary,
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1 and a description of the circumstances

2 under which the proposed revised stand3 ards or regulations could become effective.

4 ‘‘(iii) PUBLICATION OF REJECTED

5 PROPOSED REVISED STANDARDS AND REG6 ULATIONS.—If the Secretary rejects the

7 proposed revised standard or regulation,

8 the Secretary shall publish the rejected

9 proposed revised standard or regulation in

10 the Federal Register with the reasons for

11 rejection and any recommended modifica12 tions set forth.

13 ‘‘(5) REVIEW BY THE SECRETARY.—

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

15 either adopt, modify, or reject a standard or

16 regulation, as submitted by the consensus com17 mittee under paragraph (4)(A).

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

19 after the date on which a standard or regula20 tion is submitted to the Secretary by the con21 sensus committee, the Secretary shall take ac22 tion regarding such standard or regulation

23 under subparagraph (C).

24 ‘‘(C) PROCEDURES.—If the Secretary—
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1 ‘‘(i) adopts a standard or regulation

2 recommended by the consensus committee,

3 the Secretary shall—

4 ‘‘(I) issue a final order without

5 further rulemaking; and

6 ‘‘(II) cause the final order to be

7 published in the Federal Register;

8 ‘‘(ii) determines that any standard or

9 regulation should be rejected, the Secretary

10 shall—

11 ‘‘(I) reject the standard or regu12 lation; and

13 ‘‘(II) cause to be published in the

14 Federal Register a notice to that ef15 fect, together with the reason or rea16 sons for rejecting the proposed stand17 ard or regulation; or

18 ‘‘(iii) determines that a standard or

19 regulation recommended by the consensus

20 committee should be modified, the Sec21 retary shall—

22 ‘‘(I) cause the proposed modified

23 standard or regulation to be published

24 in the Federal Register, together with

25 an explanation of the reason or rea-
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1 sons for the determination of the Sec2 retary; and

3 ‘‘(II) provide an opportunity for

4 public comment in accordance with

5 section 553 of title 5, United States

6 Code.

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

8 or regulation under this paragraph shall become

9 effective pursuant to subsection (c).

10 ‘‘(6) FAILURE TO ACT.—If the Secretary fails

11 to take final action under paragraph (5) and to pub12 lish notice of the action in the Federal Register be13 fore the expiration of the 12-month period beginning

14 on the date on which the proposed standard or regu15 lation is submitted to the Secretary under paragraph

16 (4)(A)—

17 ‘‘(A) the recommendations of the con18 sensus committee—

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

20 adopted by the Secretary; and

21 ‘‘(ii) shall take effect upon the expira22 tion of the 180-day period that begins

23 upon the conclusion of such 12-month pe24 riod; and
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1 ‘‘(B) not later than 10 days after the expi2 ration of such 12-month period, the Secretary

3 shall cause to be published in the Federal Reg4 ister a notice of the failure of the Secretary to

5 act, the revised standard or regulation, and the

6 effective date of the revised standard or regula7 tion, which notice shall be deemed to be an

8 order of the Secretary approving the revised

9 standards or regulations proposed by the con10 sensus committee.

11 ‘‘(b) OTHER ORDERS.—

12 ‘‘(1) INTERPRETATIVE BULLETINS.—The Sec13 retary may issue interpretative bulletins to clarify

14 the meaning of any Federal manufactured home

15 construction and safety standard or procedural and

16 enforcement regulation. The consensus committee

17 may submit to the Secretary proposed interpretative

18 bulletins to clarify the meaning of any Federal man19 ufactured home construction and safety standard or

20 procedural and enforcement regulation.

21 ‘‘(2) REVIEW BY CONSENSUS COMMITTEE.—Be22 fore issuing a procedural or enforcement regulation

23 or an interpretative bulletin—

24 ‘‘(A) the Secretary shall—
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1 ‘‘(i) submit the proposed procedural

2 or enforcement regulation or interpretative

3 bulletin to the consensus committee; and

4 ‘‘(ii) provide the consensus committee

5 with a period of 120 days to submit writ6 ten comments to the Secretary on the pro7 posed procedural or enforcement regulation

8 or the interpretative bulletin;

9 ‘‘(B) if the Secretary rejects any signifi10 cant comment provided by the consensus com11 mittee under subparagraph (A), the Secretary

12 shall provide a written explanation of the rea13 sons for the rejection to the consensus com14 mittee; and

15 ‘‘(C) following compliance with subpara16 graphs (A) and (B), the Secretary shall—

17 ‘‘(i) cause the proposed regulation or

18 interpretative bulletin and the consensus

19 committee’s written comments along with

20 the Secretary’s response thereto to be pub21 lished in the Federal Register; and

22 ‘‘(ii) provide an opportunity for public

23 comment in accordance with section 553 of

24 title 5, United States Code.
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1 ‘‘(3) REQUIRED ACTION.—The Secretary shall

2 act on any proposed regulation or interpretative bul3 letin submitted by the consensus committee by ap4 proving or rejecting the proposal within 120 days

5 from the date the proposal is received by the Sec6 retary. The Secretary shall either—

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

8 proposed regulation or interpretative bulletin to

9 be published for public comment in accordance

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

11 or

12 ‘‘(B) reject the proposed regulation or in13 terpretative bulletin and—

14 ‘‘(i) provide a written explanation of

15 the reasons for rejection to the consensus

16 committee; and

17 ‘‘(ii) cause the proposed regulation

18 and the written explanation for the rejec19 tion to be published in the Federal Reg20 ister.

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

22 determines, in writing, that such action is necessary

23 in order to respond to an emergency which jeopard24 izes the public health or safety, or to address an

25 issue on which the Secretary determines that the
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1 consensus committee has not made a timely rec2 ommendation, following a request by the Secretary,

3 the Secretary may issue an order that is not devel4 oped under the procedures set forth in subsection

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

6 ‘‘(A) provides to the consensus committee

7 a written description and sets forth the reasons

8 why emergency actions is necessary and all sup9 porting documentation; and

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

11 Federal Register.

12 ‘‘(5) CHANGES.—Any statement of policies,

13 practices, or procedures relating to construction and

14 safety standards, regulations, inspections, moni15 toring, or other enforcement activities which con16 stitutes a statement of general or particular applica17 bility to implement, interpret, or prescribe law or

18 policy by the Secretary is subject to the provisions

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

20 change adopted in violation of the provisions of sub21 section (a) or (b) of this subsection is void.’’;

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

23 following: ‘‘Federal preemption under this subsection

24 shall be broadly and liberally construed to ensure

25 that disparate State or local requirements or stand-
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1 ards do not affect the uniformity and comprehen2 siveness of the standards promulgated hereunder nor

3 the Federal superintendence of the manufactured

4 housing industry as established by this title. There

5 is reserved to each State the right to establish

6 standards for the stabilizing and support systems of

7 manufactured homes sited within that State, and for

8 the foundations on which manufactured homes sited

9 within that State are installed, and the right to en10 force compliance with such standards, except that

11 such standards shall be consistent with the purposes

12 of this title and shall be consistent with the design

13 of the manufacturer.’’;

14 (3) by striking subsection (e);

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

16 designation and all of the matter that precedes para17 graph (1) and inserting the following:

18 ‘‘(e) CONSIDERATIONS IN ESTABLISHING AND IN19 TERPRETING STANDARDS AND REGULATIONS.—The con20 sensus committee, in recommending standards, regula21 tions, and interpretations, and the Secretary, in estab22 lishing standards or regulations, or issuing interpretations

23 under this section, shall—’’;

24 (5) by striking subsection (g);
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1 (6) in the first sentence of subsection (j), by

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

3 (e)’’; and

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

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

6 SEC. 5. ABOLISHMENT OF NATIONAL MANUFACTURED

7 HOME ADVISORY COUNCIL.

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

9 SEC. 6. PUBLIC INFORMATION.

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

11 (1) in subsection (a)—

12 (A) by inserting ‘‘to the Secretary’’ after

13 ‘‘submit’’; and

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

15 ‘‘The Secretary shall submit such cost and

16 other information to the consensus committee

17 for evaluation.’’;

18 (2) in subsection (d), by inserting ‘‘, the con19 sensus committee,’’ after ‘‘public’’; and

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

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

22 respectively.
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1 SEC. 7. RESEARCH, TESTING, DEVELOPMENT, AND TRAIN2 ING.

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

4 5407(a)) is amended—

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

6 end;

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

8 the end and inserting a semicolon; and

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

10 ‘‘(4) encouraging the government-sponsored

11 housing entities to actively develop and implement

12 secondary market securitization programs for the

13 FHA manufactured home loans and those of other

14 loan programs, as appropriate, thereby promoting

15 the availability of affordable manufactured homes to

16 increase homeownership for all people in the United

17 States; and

18 ‘‘(5) reviewing the programs for FHA manufac19 tured home loans and developing any changes to

20 such programs to promote the affordability of manu21 factured homes, including changes in loan terms,

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

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

24 amended by adding at the end the following:

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

26 following definitions shall apply:
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1 ‘‘(1) GOVERNMENT-SPONSORED HOUSING ENTI2 TIES.—The term ‘government-sponsored housing en3 tities’ means the Government National Mortgage As4 sociation of the Department of Housing and Urban

5 Development, the Federal National Mortgage Asso6 ciation, and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Cor7 poration.

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

9 term ‘FHA manufactured home loan’ means a loan

10 that—

11 ‘‘(A) is insured under title I of the Na12 tional Housing Act and is made for the purpose

13 of financing alterations, repairs, or improve14 ments on or in connection with an existing

15 manufactured home, the purchase of a manu16 factured home, the purchase of a manufactured

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

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

19 manufactured home; or

20 ‘‘(B) otherwise insured under the National

21 Housing Act and made for or in connection

22 with a manufactured home.’’.

23 SEC. 8. FEES.

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

25 follows:
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1 ‘‘AUTHORITY TO COLLECT FEE

2 ‘‘SEC. 620. (a) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out in3 spections under this title, in developing standards and reg4 ulations pursuant to section 604, and in facilitating the

5 acceptance of the affordability and availability of manufac6 tured housing within the Department, the Secretary

7 may—

8 ‘‘(1) establish and collect from manufactured

9 home manufacturers a reasonable fee, as may be

10 necessary to offset the expenses incurred by the Sec11 retary in connection with carrying out the respon12 sibilities of the Secretary under this title,

13 including—

14 ‘‘(A) conducting inspections and moni15 toring;

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

17 administration and implementation of approved

18 State plans under section 623, including rea19 sonable funding for cooperative educational and

20 training programs designed to facilitate uniform

21 enforcement under this title, which funds may

22 be paid directly to the States or may be paid

23 or provided to any person or entity designated

24 to receive and disburse such funds by coopera25 tive agreements among participating States,
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1 provided that such person or entity is not other2 wise an agent of the Secretary under this title;

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

4 administrator;

5 ‘‘(D) providing the funding for Federal

6 staff personnel for the manufactured housing

7 program, subject to subsection (e);

8 ‘‘(E) administering the consensus com9 mittee as set forth in section 604; and

10 ‘‘(F) facilitating the acceptance of the

11 quality, durability, safety, and affordability of

12 manufactured housing within the Department;

13 and

14 ‘‘(2) use amounts from any fee collected under

15 paragraph (1) to pay expenses referred to in para16 graph (1), which shall be exempt and separate from

17 any limitations on the Department of Housing and

18 Urban Development regarding full-time equivalent

19 positions and travel.

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

21 collected under this section, the Secretary shall ensure

22 that separate and independent contractors are retained to

23 carry out monitoring and inspection work and any other

24 work that may be delegated to a contractor under this

25 title.
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1 ‘‘(c) PROHIBITED USE.—Amounts from any fee col2 lected under this section may not be used for any purpose

3 or activity not specifically authorized by this title, unless

4 such activity was already engaged in by the Secretary

5 prior to the date of enactment of this title.

6 ‘‘(d) MODIFICATION.—Beginning on the date of en7 actment of the Manufactured Housing Improvement Act,

8 the amount of any fee collected under this section may

9 only be modified—

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

11 annual appropriations Act; and

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

13 section 553 of title 5, United States Code.

14 ‘‘(e) APPROPRIATION AND DEPOSIT OF FEES.—

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

16 Treasury of the United States a fund to be known

17 as the ‘Manufactured Housing Fees Trust Fund’ for

18 deposit of amounts from any fee collected under this

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

20 only as provided in this title.

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

22 collected under this section shall be available for ex23 penditure only to the extent approved in advance in

24 an annual appropriations Act. Any change in the ex25 penditure of such amounts shall be specifically au-
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1 thorized in advance in an annual appropriations

2 Act.’’.

3 SEC. 9. ELIMINATION OF ANNUAL REPORT REQUIREMENT.

4 The National Manufactured Housing Construction

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

6 seq.) is amended—

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

8 and

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

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

11 respectively.

12 SEC. 10. EFFECTIVE DATE.

13 The amendments made by this Act shall take effect

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

15 amendments shall have no effect on any order or interpre16 tative bulletin that is published as a proposed rule pursu17 ant to section 553 of title 5, United States Code, on or

18 before such date.

19 SEC. 11. SAVINGS PROVISION.

20 (a) STANDARDS AND REGULATIONS.—The Federal

21 manufactured home construction and safety standards (as

22 such term is defined in section 603 of the National Manu23 factured Housing Construction and Safety Standards Act

24 of 1974) and all regulations pertaining thereto in effect

25 immediately before the date of enactment of this Act shall
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1 apply until the effective date of a standard or regulation

2 modifying or superseding the existing standard or regula3 tion which is promulgated under subsection (a) or (b) of

4 section 604 of the National Manufactured Housing Con5 struction and Safety Standards Act of 1974, as amended

6 by this Act.

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

8 a Request for Proposal issued before the date of enact9 ment of this Act shall remain in effect for a period of 2

10 years from the date of enactment of this Act or for the

11 remainder of the contract term, whichever period is short12 er.

13 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS; REF14 ERENCES.

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

16 ‘‘Manufactured Housing Improvement Act of 2000’’.

17 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for

18 this Act is as follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents; references.

Sec. 2. Findings and purposes.

Sec. 3. Definitions.

Sec. 4. Federal manufactured home construction and safety standards.

Sec. 5. Abolishment of National Manufactured Home Advisory Council; manufactured home installation.

Sec. 6. Public information.

Sec. 7. Research, testing, development, and training.

Sec. 8. Fees.

Sec. 9. Dispute resolution.

Sec. 10. Elimination of annual reporting requirement.

Sec. 11. Effective date.

Sec. 12. Savings provisions.
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1 (c) 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 consid4 ered to be made to that section or other provision of the

5 National Manufactured Housing Construction and Safety

6 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 ‘‘SEC. 602. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

11 ‘‘(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 title 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 practical,

2 uniform, and, to the extent possible, performance3 based Federal construction standards for manufac4 tured homes;

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

6 construction techniques for manufactured homes;

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

8 from unreasonable risk of personal injury and prop9 erty damage;

10 ‘‘(6) to establish a balanced consensus process for

11 the development, revision, and interpretation of Fed12 eral construction and safety standards for manufac13 tured homes and related regulations for the enforce14 ment of such standards;

15 ‘‘(7) to ensure uniform and effective enforcement

16 of Federal construction and safety standards for man17 ufactured homes; and

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

19 need for, affordable manufactured housing is duly

20 considered in all determinations relating to the Fed21 eral standards and their enforcement.’’.

22 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

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

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

2 inserting ‘‘retailer’’;

3 (2) in paragraph (12), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the

4 end;

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

6 the end and inserting a semicolon; and

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

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

9 recognized, voluntary, private sector, consensus stand10 ards body with specific experience in developing

11 model residential building codes and standards in12 volving all disciplines regarding construction and

13 safety that administers the consensus standards

14 through a development process;

15 ‘‘(15) ‘consensus committee’ means the committee

16 established under section 604(a)(3);

17 ‘‘(16) ‘consensus standards development process’

18 means the process by which additions, revisions, and

19 interpretations to the Federal manufactured home

20 construction and safety standards and enforcement

21 regulations shall be developed and recommended to the

22 Secretary by the consensus committee;

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

24 agency or private organization that has been ap25 proved by the Secretary to act as a design approval
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1 primary inspection agency or a production inspection

2 primary inspection agency, or both;

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

5 has been approved by the Secretary to evaluate and

6 either approve or disapprove manufactured home de7 signs and quality control procedures;

8 ‘‘(19) ‘installation standards’ means reasonable

9 specifications for the installation of a manufactured

10 home, at the place of occupancy, to ensure proper

11 siting, the joining of all sections of the home, and the

12 installation of stabilization, support, or anchoring

13 systems;

14 ‘‘(20) ‘monitoring’—

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

16 the primary inspection agencies, by the Sec17 retary or by a State agency under an approved

18 State plan pursuant to section 623, in accord19 ance with regulations recommended by the con20 sensus committee and promulgated in accordance

21 with section 604(b), which process shall be for

22 the purpose of ensuring that the primary inspec23 tion agencies are discharging their duties under

24 this title; and
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1 ‘‘(B) may include the periodic inspection of

2 retail locations for transit damage, label tam3 pering, and retailer compliance with this title;

4 and

5 ‘‘(21) ‘production inspection primary inspection

6 agency’ means a State agency or private organization

7 that has been approved by the Secretary to evaluate

8 the ability of manufactured home manufacturing

9 plants to comply with approved quality control proce10 dures and with the Federal manufactured home con11 struction and safety standards promulgated under

12 this title.’’.

13 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—The National Manu14 factured Housing Construction and Safety Standards Act

15 of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5401 et seq.) is amended—

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

17 ‘‘dealer’’ each place it appears and inserting ‘‘re18 tailer’’;

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

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

21 ‘‘retailer’’;

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

23 (A) in subsection (b)(1), by striking ‘‘deal24 er’’ and inserting ‘‘retailer’’;
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1 (B) in subsection (b)(3), by striking ‘‘dealer

2 or dealers’’ and inserting ‘‘retailer or retailers’’;

3 and

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

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

6 ‘‘retailers’’;

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

8 ‘‘dealer’’ and inserting ‘‘retailer’’; and

9 (5) in section 623(c)(9), by striking ‘‘dealers’’

10 and inserting ‘‘retailers’’.

11 SEC. 4. FEDERAL MANUFACTURED HOME CONSTRUCTION

12 AND SAFETY STANDARDS.

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

14 (1) by striking subsections (a) and (b) and in15 serting the following:

16 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—

17 ‘‘(1) AUTHORITY.—The Secretary shall establish,

18 by order, appropriate Federal manufactured home

19 construction and safety standards, each of which—

20 ‘‘(A) shall—

21 ‘‘(i) be reasonable and practical;

22 ‘‘(ii) meet high standards of protection

23 consistent with the purposes of this title;

24 and
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1 ‘‘(iii) be performance-based and objec2 tively stated, unless clearly inappropriate;

3 and

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

5 shall be established in accordance with the con6 sensus standards development process.

7 ‘‘(2) CONSENSUS STANDARDS AND REGULATORY

8 DEVELOPMENT PROCESS.—

9 ‘‘(A) INITIAL AGREEMENT.—Not later than

10 180 days after the date of enactment of the Man11 ufactured Housing Improvement Act of 2000, the

12 Secretary shall enter into a contract with an ad13 ministering organization. The contractual agree14 ment shall—

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

16 contract is entered into under subparagraph

17 (B); and

18 ‘‘(ii) require the administering organi19 zation to—

20 ‘‘(I) appoint the initial members

21 of the consensus committee under para22 graph (3);

23 ‘‘(II) administer the consensus

24 standards development process until

25 the termination of that agreement; and
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1 ‘‘(III) administer the consensus

2 development and interpretation process

3 for procedural and enforcement regula4 tions and regulations specifying the

5 permissible scope and conduct of moni6 toring until the termination of that

7 agreement.

8 ‘‘(B) COMPETITIVELY PROCURED CON9 TRACT.—Upon the expiration of the 4-year pe10 riod beginning on the date on which all members

11 of the consensus committee are appointed under

12 paragraph (3), the Secretary shall, using com13 petitive procedures (as such term is defined in

14 section 4 of the Office of Federal Procurement

15 Policy Act), enter into a competitively awarded

16 contract with an administering organization.

17 The administering organization shall administer

18 the consensus process for the development and in19 terpretation of the Federal standards, the proce20 dural and enforcement regulations, and regula21 tions specifying the permissible scope and con22 duct of monitoring, in accordance with this title.

23 ‘‘(C) PERFORMANCE REVIEW.—The

24 Secretary—
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1 ‘‘(i) shall periodically review the per2 formance of the administering organization;

3 and

4 ‘‘(ii) may replace the administering

5 organization with another qualified tech6 nical or building code organization, pursu7 ant to competitive procedures, if the Sec8 retary determines in writing that the ad9 ministering organization is not fulfilling

10 the terms of the agreement or contract to

11 which the administering organization is

12 subject or upon the expiration of the agree13 ment or contract.

14 ‘‘(3) CONSENSUS COMMITTEE.—

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

16 committee to be known as the ‘consensus com17 mittee’, which shall function as a single com18 mittee, and which shall, in accordance with this

19 title—

20 ‘‘(i) provide periodic recommendations

21 to the Secretary to adopt, revise, and inter22 pret the Federal manufactured housing con23 struction and safety standards in accord24 ance with this subsection;
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1 ‘‘(ii) provide periodic recommendations

2 to the Secretary to adopt, revise, and inter3 pret the procedural and enforcement regula4 tions, including regulations specifying the

5 permissible scope and conduct of monitoring

6 in accordance with this subsection; and

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

8 business in a manner that guarantees a fair

9 opportunity for the expression and consider10 ation of various positions and for public

11 participation.

12 ‘‘(B) MEMBERSHIP.—The consensus com13 mittee shall be composed of—

14 ‘‘(i) 21 voting members appointed, sub15 ject to approval by the Secretary, by the ad16 ministering organization from among indi17 viduals who are qualified by background

18 and experience to participate in the work of

19 the consensus committee; and

20 ‘‘(ii) 1 nonvoting member appointed by

21 the Secretary to represent the Secretary on

22 the consensus committee.

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

24 disapprove, in writing with the reasons set forth,
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1 the appointment of an individual under sub2 paragraph (B)(i).

3 ‘‘(D) SELECTION PROCEDURES AND RE4 QUIREMENTS.—Each member of the consensus

5 committee shall be appointed in accordance with

6 selection procedures, which shall be based on the

7 procedures for consensus committees promulgated

8 by the American National Standards Institute

9 (or successor organization), except that the

10 American National Standards Institute interest

11 categories shall be modified for purposes of this

12 paragraph to ensure equal representation on the

13 consensus committee of the following interest cat14 egories:

15 ‘‘(i) PRODUCERS.—Seven producers or

16 retailers of manufactured housing.

17 ‘‘(ii) USERS.—Seven persons rep18 resenting consumer interests, such as con19 sumer organizations, recognized consumer

20 leaders, and owners who are residents of

21 manufactured homes.

22 ‘‘(iii) GENERAL INTEREST AND PUBLIC

23 OFFICIALS.—Seven general interest and

24 public official members.

25 ‘‘(E) BALANCING OF INTERESTS.—
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1 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—In order to achieve

2 a proper balance of interests on the con3 sensus committee—

4 ‘‘(I) the administering organiza5 tion in its appointments shall ensure

6 that all directly and materially af7 fected interests have the opportunity

8 for fair and equitable participation

9 without dominance by any single in10 terest; and

11 ‘‘(II) the Secretary may reject the

12 appointment of any 1 or more individ13 uals in order to ensure that there is

14 not dominance by any single interest.

15 ‘‘(ii) DOMINANCE DEFINED.—In this

16 subparagraph, the term ‘dominance’ means

17 a position or exercise of dominant author18 ity, leadership, or influence by reason of su19 perior leverage, strength, or representation.

20 ‘‘(F) ADDITIONAL QUALIFICATIONS.—

21 ‘‘(i) FINANCIAL INDEPENDENCE.—An

22 individual appointed under subparagraph

23 (D)(ii) may not have—
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1 ‘‘(I) a significant financial inter2 est in any segment of the manufac3 tured housing industry; or

4 ‘‘(II) a significant relationship to

5 any person engaged in the manufac6 tured housing industry.

7 ‘‘(ii) POST-EMPLOYMENT BAN.—An in8 dividual appointed under clause (ii) or (iii)

9 of subparagraph (D) shall be subject to a

10 ban disallowing compensation from the

11 manufactured housing industry during the

12 1-year period beginning on the last day of

13 membership of that individual on the con14 sensus committee.

15 ‘‘(G) MEETINGS.—

16 ‘‘(i) NOTICE; OPEN TO PUBLIC.—The

17 consensus committee shall provide advance

18 notice of each meeting of the consensus com19 mittee to the Secretary and cause to be pub20 lished in the Federal Register advance no21 tice of each such meeting. All meetings of

22 the consensus committee shall be open to the

23 public.

24 ‘‘(ii) REIMBURSEMENT.—Members of

25 the consensus committee in attendance at
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1 meetings of the consensus committee shall be

2 reimbursed for their actual expenses as au3 thorized by section 5703 of title 5, United

4 States Code, for persons employed intermit5 tently in Government service.

6 ‘‘(H) INAPPLICABILITY OF OTHER LAWS.—

7 ‘‘(i) ADVISORY COMMITTEE ACT.—The

8 consensus committee shall not be considered

9 to be an advisory committee for purposes of

10 the Federal Advisory Committee Act.

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

12 consensus committee shall not be subject to

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

14 United States Code, to the extent of their

15 proper participation as members of the con16 sensus committee.

17 ‘‘(iii) ETHICS IN GOVERNMENT ACT OF

18 1978.—The Ethics in Government Act of

19 1978 shall not apply to members of the con20 sensus committee to the extent of their prop21 er participation as members of the con22 sensus committee.

23 ‘‘(I) ADMINISTRATION.—The consensus com24 mittee and the administering organization

25 shall—
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1 ‘‘(i) operate in conformance with the

2 procedures established by the American Na3 tional Standards Institute for the develop4 ment and coordination of American Na5 tional Standards; and

6 ‘‘(ii) apply to the American National

7 Standards Institute and take such other ac8 tions as may be necessary to obtain accredi9 tation from the American National Stand10 ards Institute.

11 ‘‘(J) STAFF AND TECHNICAL SUPPORT.—

12 The administering organization shall, upon the

13 request of the consensus committee—

14 ‘‘(i) provide reasonable staff resources

15 to the consensus committee; and

16 ‘‘(ii) furnish technical support in a

17 timely manner to any of the interest cat18 egories described in subparagraph (D) rep19 resented on the consensus committee, if—

20 ‘‘(I) the support is necessary to

21 ensure the informed participation of

22 the consensus committee members; and

23 ‘‘(II) the costs of providing the

24 support are reasonable.
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1 ‘‘(K) DATE OF INITIAL APPOINTMENTS.—

2 The initial appointments of all of the members

3 of the consensus committee shall be completed not

4 later than 90 days after the date on which an

5 administration agreement under paragraph

6 (2)(A) is completed with the administering orga7 nization.

8 ‘‘(4) REVISIONS OF STANDARDS AND REGULA9 TIONS.—

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

11 on which all members of the consensus committee

12 are appointed under paragraph (3), the con13 sensus committee shall, not less than once during

14 each 2-year period—

15 ‘‘(i) consider revisions to the Federal

16 manufactured home construction and safety

17 standards and regulations; and

18 ‘‘(ii) submit to the Secretary in the

19 form of a proposed rule (including an eco20 nomic analysis), any proposed revised

standard or regulation approved by a 2 21 ⁄3

22 majority vote of the consensus committee.

23 ‘‘(B) PUBLICATION OF PROPOSED REVISED

24 STANDARDS AND REGULATIONS.—
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1 ‘‘(i) PUBLICATION BY SECRETARY.—

2 The consensus committee shall provide a

3 proposed revised standard or regulation

4 under subparagraph (A)(ii) to the Secretary

5 who shall, not later than 30 days after re6 ceipt, publish such proposed revised stand7 ard or regulation in the Federal Register for

8 notice and comment. Unless clause (ii) ap9 plies, the Secretary shall provide an oppor10 tunity for public comment on such proposed

11 revised standard or regulation and any

12 such comments shall be submitted directly

13 to the consensus committee, without delay.

14 ‘‘(ii) PUBLICATION OF REJECTED PRO15 POSED REVISED STANDARDS AND REGULA16 TIONS.—If the Secretary rejects the pro17 posed revised standard or regulation, the

18 Secretary shall publish in the Federal Reg19 ister the rejected proposed revised standard

20 or regulation, the reasons for rejection, and

21 any recommended modifications set forth.

22 ‘‘(C) PRESENTATION OF PUBLIC COMMENTS;

23 PUBLICATION OF RECOMMENDED REVISIONS.—

24 ‘‘(i) PRESENTATION.—Any public com25 ments, views, and objections to a proposed
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1 revised standard or regulation published

2 under subparagraph (B) shall be presented

3 by the Secretary to the consensus committee

4 upon their receipt and in the manner re5 ceived, in accordance with procedures estab6 lished by the American National Standards

7 Institute.

8 ‘‘(ii) PUBLICATION BY THE SEC9 RETARY.—The consensus committee shall

10 provide to the Secretary any revisions pro11 posed by the consensus committee, which the

12 Secretary shall, not later than 7 calendar

13 days after receipt, publish in the Federal

14 Register a notice of the recommended revi15 sions of the consensus committee to the

16 standards or regulations, a notice of the

17 submission of the recommended revisions to

18 the Secretary, and a description of the cir19 cumstances under which the proposed re20 vised standards or regulations could become

21 effective.

22 ‘‘(iii) PUBLICATION OF REJECTED PRO23 POSED REVISED STANDARDS AND REGULA24 TIONS.—If the Secretary rejects the pro25 posed revised standard or regulation, the
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1 Secretary shall publish in the Federal Reg2 ister the rejected proposed revised standard

3 or regulation, the reasons for rejection, and

4 any recommended modifications set forth.

5 ‘‘(5) REVIEW BY THE SECRETARY.—

6 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall ei7 ther adopt, modify, or reject a standard or regu8 lation, as submitted by the consensus committee

9 under paragraph (4)(A).

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

11 after the date on which a standard or regulation

12 is submitted to the Secretary by the consensus

13 committee, the Secretary shall take action re14 garding such standard or regulation under sub15 paragraph (C).

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

17 ‘‘(i) adopts a standard or regulation

18 recommended by the consensus committee,

19 the Secretary shall—

20 ‘‘(I) issue a final order without

21 further rulemaking; and

22 ‘‘(II) publish the final order in

23 the Federal Register;
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1 ‘‘(ii) determines that any standard or

2 regulation should be rejected, the Secretary

3 shall—

4 ‘‘(I) reject the standard or regula5 tion; and

6 ‘‘(II) publish in the Federal Reg7 ister a notice to that effect, together

8 with the reason or reasons for rejecting

9 the proposed standard or regulation; or

10 ‘‘(iii) determines that a standard or

11 regulation recommended by the consensus

12 committee should be modified, the Secretary

13 shall—

14 ‘‘(I) publish in the Federal Reg15 ister the proposed modified standard or

16 regulation, together with an expla17 nation of the reason or reasons for the

18 determination of the Secretary; and

19 ‘‘(II) provide an opportunity for

20 public comment in accordance with

21 section 553 of title 5, United States

22 Code.

23 ‘‘(D) FINAL ORDER.—Any final standard or

24 regulation under this paragraph shall become ef25 fective pursuant to subsection (c).
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1 ‘‘(6) FAILURE TO ACT.—If the Secretary fails to

2 take final action under paragraph (5) and to publish

3 notice of the action in the Federal Register before the

4 expiration of the 12-month period beginning on the

5 date on which the proposed standard or regulation is

6 submitted to the Secretary under paragraph (4)(A)—

7 ‘‘(A) the recommendations of the consensus

8 committee—

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

10 adopted by the Secretary; and

11 ‘‘(ii) shall take effect upon the expira12 tion of the 180-day period that begins upon

13 the conclusion of such 12-month period; and

14 ‘‘(B) not later than 10 days after the expi15 ration of such 12-month period, the Secretary

16 publish in the Federal Register a notice of the

17 failure of the Secretary to act, the revised stand18 ard or regulation, and the effective date of the re19 vised standard or regulation, which notice shall

20 be deemed to be an order of the Secretary ap21 proving the revised standards or regulations pro22 posed by the consensus committee.

23 ‘‘(b) OTHER ORDERS.—

24 ‘‘(1) INTERPRETATIVE BULLETINS.—The Sec25 retary may issue interpretative bulletins to clarify the
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1 meaning of any Federal manufactured home construc2 tion and safety standard or procedural and enforce3 ment regulation. The consensus committee may sub4 mit to the Secretary proposed interpretative bulletins

5 to clarify the meaning of any Federal manufactured

6 home construction and safety standard or procedural

7 and enforcement regulation.

8 ‘‘(2) REVIEW BY CONSENSUS COMMITTEE.—Be9 fore issuing a procedural or enforcement regulation or

10 an interpretative bulletin—

11 ‘‘(A) the Secretary shall—

12 ‘‘(i) submit the proposed procedural or

13 enforcement regulation or interpretative

14 bulletin to the consensus committee; and

15 ‘‘(ii) provide the consensus committee

16 with a period of 120 days to submit written

17 comments to the Secretary on the proposed

18 procedural or enforcement regulation or the

19 interpretative bulletin;

20 ‘‘(B) if the Secretary rejects any significant

21 comment provided by the consensus committee

22 under subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall pro23 vide a written explanation of the reasons for the

24 rejection to the consensus committee; and
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1 ‘‘(C) following compliance with subpara2 graphs (A) and (B), the Secretary shall—

3 ‘‘(i) publish in the Federal Register the

4 proposed regulation or interpretative bul5 letin and the written comments of the con6 sensus committee, along with the response of

7 the Secretary to those comments; and

8 ‘‘(ii) provide an opportunity for public

9 comment in accordance with section 553 of

10 title 5, United States Code.

11 ‘‘(3) REQUIRED ACTION.—Not later than 120

12 days after the date on which the Secretary receives a

13 proposed regulation or interpretative bulletin sub14 mitted by the consensus committee, the Secretary

15 shall—

16 ‘‘(A) approve the proposal and publish the

17 proposed regulation or interpretative bulletin for

18 public comment in accordance with section 553

19 of title 5, United States Code; or

20 ‘‘(B) reject the proposed regulation or inter21 pretative bulletin and—

22 ‘‘(i) provide to the consensus committee

23 a written explanation of the reasons for re24 jection; and
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1 ‘‘(ii) publish in the Federal Register

2 the proposed regulation and the written ex3 planation for the rejection.

4 ‘‘(4) EMERGENCY ORDERS.—If the Secretary de5 termines, in writing, that such action is necessary in

6 order to respond to an emergency that jeopardizes the

7 public health or safety, or to address an issue on

8 which the Secretary determines that the consensus

9 committee has not made a timely recommendation,

10 following a request by the Secretary, the Secretary

11 may issue an order that is not developed under the

12 procedures set forth in subsection (a) or in this sub13 section, if the Secretary—

14 ‘‘(A) provides to the consensus committee a

15 written description and sets forth the reasons

16 why emergency action is necessary and all sup17 porting documentation; and

18 ‘‘(B) issues the order and publishes the

19 order in the Federal Register.

20 ‘‘(5) CHANGES.—Any statement of policies, prac21 tices, or procedures relating to construction and safety

22 standards, regulations, inspections, monitoring, or

23 other enforcement activities that constitutes a state24 ment of general or particular applicability to imple25 ment, interpret, or prescribe law or policy by the Sec-
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1 retary is subject to subsection (a) or this subsection.

2 Any change adopted in violation of subsection (a) or

3 this subsection is void.’’;

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

5 following: ‘‘Federal preemption under this subsection

6 shall be broadly and liberally construed to ensure that

7 disparate State or local requirements or standards do

8 not affect the uniformity and comprehensiveness of the

9 standards promulgated under this section nor the

10 Federal superintendence of the manufactured housing

11 industry as established by this title. Subject to section

12 605, there is reserved to each State the right to estab13 lish standards for the stabilizing and support systems

14 of manufactured homes sited within that State, and

15 for the foundations on which manufactured homes

16 sited within that State are installed, and the right to

17 enforce compliance with such standards.’’;

18 (3) by striking subsection (e);

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

20 designation and all of the matter that precedes para21 graph (1) and inserting the following:

22 ‘‘(e) CONSIDERATIONS IN ESTABLISHING AND INTER23 PRETING STANDARDS AND REGULATIONS.—The consensus

24 committee, in recommending standards, regulations, and

25 interpretations, and the Secretary, in establishing stand-
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1 ards or regulations or issuing interpretations under this

2 section, shall—’’;

3 (5) by striking subsection (g);

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

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

6 (e)’’; and

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

8 as subsections (f), (g), and (h), respectively.

9 SEC. 5. ABOLISHMENT OF NATIONAL MANUFACTURED

10 HOME ADVISORY COUNCIL; MANUFACTURED

11 HOME INSTALLATION.

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 605 (42 U.S.C. 5404) is

13 amended to read as follows:

14 ‘‘SEC. 605. MANUFACTURED HOME INSTALLATION.

15 ‘‘(a) PROVISION OF INSTALLATION DESIGN AND IN16 STRUCTIONS.—A manufacturer shall provide with each

17 manufactured home, design and instructions for the instal18 lation of the manufactured home that have been approved

19 by a design approval primary inspection agency.

20 ‘‘(b) MODEL MANUFACTURED HOME INSTALLATION

21 STANDARDS.—

22 ‘‘(1) PROPOSED MODEL STANDARDS.—Not later

23 than 18 months after the date on which the initial

24 appointments of all of the members of the consensus

25 committee are completed, the consensus committee
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1 shall develop and submit to the Secretary proposed

2 model manufactured home installation standards,

3 which shall be consistent with—

4 ‘‘(A) the manufactured home designs that

5 have been approved by a design approval pri6 mary inspection agency; and

7 ‘‘(B) the designs and instructions for the in8 stallation of manufactured homes provided by

9 manufacturers under subsection (a).

10 ‘‘(2) ESTABLISHMENT OF MODEL STANDARDS.—

11 Not later than 12 months after receiving the proposed

12 model standards submitted under paragraph (1), the

13 Secretary shall develop and establish model manufac14 tured home installation standards, which shall be con15 sistent with—

16 ‘‘(A) the manufactured home designs that

17 have been approved by a design approval pri18 mary inspection agency; and

19 ‘‘(B) the designs and instructions for the in20 stallation of manufactured homes provided by

21 manufacturers under subsection (a).

22 ‘‘(3) FACTOR FOR CONSIDERATION.—

23 ‘‘(A) CONSENSUS COMMITTEE.—In devel24 oping the proposed model standards under para-
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1 graph (1), the consensus committee shall consider

2 the factor described in section 604(e)(4).

3 ‘‘(B) SECRETARY.—In developing and es4 tablishing the model standards under paragraph

5 (2), the Secretary shall consider the factor de6 scribed in section 604(e)(4).

7 ‘‘(c) MANUFACTURED HOME INSTALLATION PRO8 GRAMS.—

9 ‘‘(1) PROTECTION OF MANUFACTURED HOUSING

10 RESIDENTS DURING INITIAL PERIOD.—During the 5-

11 year period beginning on the date of enactment of the

12 Manufactured Housing Improvement Act of 2000, no

13 State or manufacturer may establish or implement

14 any installation standards that, in the determination

15 of the Secretary, provide less protection to the resi16 dents of manufactured homes than the protection pro17 vided by the installation standards in effect with re18 spect to the State or manufacturer, as applicable, on

19 the date of enactment of the Manufactured Housing

20 Improvement Act of 2000.

21 ‘‘(2) ENFORCEMENT OF INSTALLATION STAND22 ARDS.—

23 ‘‘(A) ESTABLISHMENT OF INSTALLATION

24 PROGRAM.—Not later than the expiration of the

25 5-year period described in paragraph (1), the
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1 Secretary shall establish an installation program

2 that meets the requirements of paragraph (3) for

3 the enforcement of installation standards in each

4 State described in subparagraph (B) of this

5 paragraph.

6 ‘‘(B) IMPLEMENTATION OF INSTALLATION

7 PROGRAM.—Beginning on the expiration of the

8 5-year period described in paragraph (1), the

9 Secretary shall implement the installation pro10 gram established under subparagraph (A) in

11 each State that does not have an installation

12 program established by State law that meets the

13 requirements of paragraph (3).

14 ‘‘(C) CONTRACTING OUT OF IMPLEMENTA15 TION.—In carrying out subparagraph (B), the

16 Secretary may contract with an appropriate

17 agent to implement the installation program es18 tablished under that subparagraph, except that

19 such agent shall not be a person or entity other

20 than a government, nor an affiliate or sub21 sidiary of such a person or entity, that has en22 tered into a contract with the Secretary to im23 plement any other regulatory program under

24 this title.
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1 ‘‘(3) REQUIREMENTS.—An installation program

2 meets the requirements of this paragraph if it is a

3 program regulating the installation of manufactured

4 homes that includes—

5 ‘‘(A) installation standards that, in the de6 termination of the Secretary, provide protection

7 to the residents of manufactured homes that

8 equals or exceeds the protection provided to those

9 residents by—

10 ‘‘(i) the model manufactured home in11 stallation standards established by the Sec12 retary under subsection (b)(2); or

13 ‘‘(ii) the designs and instructions pro14 vided by manufacturers under subsection

15 (a), if the Secretary determines that such

16 designs and instructions provide protection

17 to the residents of manufactured homes that

18 equals or exceeds the protection provided by

19 the model manufactured home installation

20 standards established by the Secretary

21 under subsection (b)(2);

22 ‘‘(B) the training and licensing of manufac23 tured home installers; and

24 ‘‘(C) inspection of the installation of manu25 factured homes.’’.
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1 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 623(c) (42

2 U.S.C. 5422(c)) is amended—

3 (1) in paragraph (10), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the

4 end;

5 (2) by redesignating paragraph (11) as para6 graph (13); and

7 (3) by inserting after paragraph (10) the fol8 lowing:

9 ‘‘(11) with respect to any State plan submitted

10 on or after the expiration of the 5-year period begin11 ning on the date of enactment of the Manufactured

12 Housing Improvement Act of 2000, provides for an

13 installation program established by State law that

14 meets the requirements of section 605(c)(3);’’.

15 SEC. 6. PUBLIC INFORMATION.

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

17 (1) in subsection (a)—

18 (A) by inserting ‘‘to the Secretary’’ after

19 ‘‘submit’’; and

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

21 ‘‘The Secretary shall submit such cost and other

22 information to the consensus committee for eval23 uation.’’;

24 (2) in subsection (d), by inserting ‘‘, the con25 sensus committee,’’ after ‘‘public’’; and
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1 (3) by striking subsection (c) and redesignating

2 subsections (d) and (e) as subsections (c) and (d), re3 spectively.

4 SEC. 7. RESEARCH, TESTING, DEVELOPMENT, AND TRAIN5 ING.

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 608(a) (42 U.S.C. 5407(a))

7 is amended—

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

9 end;

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

11 the end and inserting a semicolon; and

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

13 ‘‘(4) encouraging the government-sponsored hous14 ing entities to actively develop and implement sec15 ondary market securitization programs for the FHA

16 manufactured home loans and those of other loan pro17 grams, as appropriate, thereby promoting the avail18 ability of affordable manufactured homes to increase

19 homeownership for all people in the United States;

20 and

21 ‘‘(5) reviewing the programs for FHA manufac22 tured home loans and developing any changes to such

23 programs to promote the affordability of manufac24 tured homes, including changes in loan terms, amor25 tization periods, regulations, and procedures.’’.
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1 (b) DEFINITIONS.—Section 608 (42 U.S.C. 5407) is

2 amended by adding at the end the following:

3 ‘‘(c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section:

4 ‘‘(1) GOVERNMENT-SPONSORED HOUSING ENTI5 TIES.—The term ‘government-sponsored housing enti6 ties’ means the Government National Mortgage Asso7 ciation of the Department of Housing and Urban De8 velopment, the Federal National Mortgage Associa9 tion, and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corpora10 tion.

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

12 term ‘FHA manufactured home loan’ means a loan

13 that—

14 ‘‘(A) is insured under title I of the National

15 Housing Act and is made for the purpose of fi16 nancing alterations, repairs, or improvements on

17 or in connection with an existing manufactured

18 home, the purchase of a manufactured home, the

19 purchase of a manufactured home and a lot on

20 which to place the home, or the purchase only of

21 a lot on which to place a manufactured home; or

22 ‘‘(B) is otherwise insured under the Na23 tional Housing Act and made for or in connec24 tion with a manufactured home.’’.
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1 SEC. 8. FEES.

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

3 follows:

4 ‘‘SEC. 620. AUTHORITY TO COLLECT FEE.

5 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out inspections under

6 this title, in developing standards and regulations pursuant

7 to section 604, and in facilitating the acceptance of the af8 fordability and availability of manufactured housing with9 in the Department, the Secretary may—

10 ‘‘(1) establish and collect from manufactured

11 home manufacturers a reasonable fee, as may be nec12 essary to offset the expenses incurred by the Secretary

13 in connection with carrying out the responsibilities of

14 the Secretary under this title, including—

15 ‘‘(A) conducting inspections and moni16 toring;

17 ‘‘(B) providing funding to States for the ad18 ministration and implementation of approved

19 State plans under section 623, including reason20 able funding for cooperative educational and

21 training programs designed to facilitate uniform

22 enforcement under this title, which funds may be

23 paid directly to the States or may be paid or

24 provided to any person or entity designated to

25 receive and disburse such funds by cooperative

26 agreements among participating States, provided
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1 that such person or entity is not otherwise an

2 agent of the Secretary under this title;

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

4 administrator within the Department to admin5 ister the manufactured housing program;

6 ‘‘(D) providing the funding for salaries and

7 expenses of employees of the Department to carry

8 out the manufactured housing program;

9 ‘‘(E) administering the consensus committee

10 as set forth in section 604; and

11 ‘‘(F) facilitating the acceptance of the qual12 ity, durability, safety, and affordability of man13 ufactured housing within the Department; and

14 ‘‘(2) subject to subsection (e), use amounts from

15 any fee collected under paragraph (1) of this sub16 section to pay expenses referred to in that paragraph,

17 which shall be exempt and separate from any limita18 tions on the Department regarding full-time equiva19 lent positions and travel.

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

21 collected under this section, the Secretary shall ensure that

22 separate and independent contractors are retained to carry

23 out monitoring and inspection work and any other work

24 that may be delegated to a contractor under this title.
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1 ‘‘(c) PROHIBITED USE.—No amount from any fee col2 lected under this section may be used for any purpose or

3 activity not specifically authorized by this title, unless such

4 activity was already engaged in by the Secretary prior to

5 the date of enactment of the Manufactured Housing Im6 provement Act of 2000.

7 ‘‘(d) MODIFICATION.—Beginning on the date of enact8 ment of the Manufactured Housing Improvement Act of

9 2000, the amount of any fee collected under this section may

10 only be modified—

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

12 annual appropriations Act; and

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

14 section 553 of title 5, United States Code.

15 ‘‘(e) APPROPRIATION AND DEPOSIT OF FEES.—

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

17 Treasury of the United States a fund to be known as

18 the ‘Manufactured Housing Fees Trust Fund’ for de19 posit of amounts from any fee collected under this sec20 tion. Such amounts shall be held in trust for use only

21 as provided in this title.

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

23 collected under this section shall be available for ex24 penditure only to the extent approved in advance in

25 an annual appropriations Act. Any change in the ex-
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1 penditure of such amounts shall be specifically au2 thorized in advance in an annual appropriations

3 Act.’’.

4 SEC. 9. DISPUTE RESOLUTION.

5 Section 623(c) (42 U.S.C. 5422(c)) is amended—

6 (1) by inserting after paragraph (11) (as added

7 by section 5(b) of this Act) the following:

8 ‘‘(12) with respect to any State plan submitted

9 on or after the expiration of the 5-year period begin10 ning on the date of enactment of the Manufactured

11 Housing Improvement Act of 2000, provides for a dis12 pute resolution program for the timely resolution of

13 disputes between manufacturers, retailers, and install14 ers of manufactured homes regarding responsibility

15 for the correction or repair of defects in manufactured

16 homes that are reported during the 1-year period be17 ginning on the date of installation; and’’; and

18 (2) by adding at the end the following:

19 ‘‘(g) ENFORCEMENT OF DISPUTE RESOLUTION STAND20 ARDS.—

21 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT OF DISPUTE RESOLUTION

22 PROGRAM.—Not later than the expiration of the 5-

23 year period beginning on the date of enactment of the

24 Manufactured Housing Improvement Act of 2000, the

25 Secretary shall establish a dispute resolution program
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1 that meets the requirements of subsection (c)(12) for

2 dispute resolution in each State described in para3 graph (2) of this subsection.

4 ‘‘(2) IMPLEMENTATION OF DISPUTE RESOLUTION

5 PROGRAM.—Beginning on the expiration of the 5-year

6 period described in paragraph (1), the Secretary shall

7 implement the dispute resolution program established

8 under paragraph (1) in each State that has not estab9 lished a dispute resolution program that meets the re10 quirements of subsection (c)(12).

11 ‘‘(3) CONTRACTING OUT OF IMPLEMENTATION.—

12 In carrying out paragraph (2), the Secretary may

13 contract with an appropriate agent to implement the

14 dispute resolution program established under para15 graph (2), except that such agent shall not be a per16 son or entity other than a government, nor an affil17 iate or subsidiary of such a person or entity, that has

18 entered into a contract with the Secretary to imple19 ment any other regulatory program under this title.’’.

20 SEC. 10. ELIMINATION OF ANNUAL REPORTING REQUIRE21 MENT.

22 The National Manufactured Housing Construction

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

24 is amended—
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1 (1) by striking section 626 (42 U.S.C. 5425);

2 and

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

4 U.S.C. 5426, 5401 note) as sections 626 and 627, re5 spectively.

6 SEC. 11. EFFECTIVE DATE.

7 The amendments made by this Act shall take effect on

8 the date of enactment of this Act, except that the amend9 ments shall have no effect on any order or interpretative

10 bulletin that is issued under the National Manufactured

11 Housing Construction and Safety Standards Act of 1974

12 (42 U.S.C. 5401 et seq.) and published as a proposed rule

13 pursuant to section 553 of title 5, United States Code, on

14 or before that date of enactment.

15 SEC. 12. SAVINGS PROVISIONS.

16 (a) STANDARDS AND REGULATIONS.—The Federal

17 manufactured home construction and safety standards (as

18 such term is defined in section 603 of the National Manu19 factured Housing Construction and Safety Standards Act

20 of 1974) and all regulations pertaining thereto in effect on

21 the day before the date of enactment of this Act shall apply

22 until the effective date of a standard or regulation modi23 fying or superseding the existing standard or regulation

24 that is promulgated under subsection (a) or (b) of section
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1 604 of the National Manufactured Housing Construction

2 and Safety Standards Act of 1974, as amended by this Act.

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

4 a Request for Proposal issued before the date of enactment

5 of this Act shall remain in effect until the earlier of—

6 (1) the expiration of the 2-year period beginning

7 on the date of enactment of this Act; or

8 (2) the expiration of the contract term.