I
104TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 3404
To amend title VI of the Housing and Community Development Act of
1974 to establish a consensus committee for maintenance and revision
of the Federal manufactured home construction and safety standards,
and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MAY 7, 1996
Mr. MCINTOSH introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Banking and Financial Services
A BILL
To amend title VI of the Housing and Community Develop-
ment Act of 1974 to establish a consensus committee
for maintenance and revision of the Federal manufac-
tured home construction and safety standards, and for
other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; REFERENCE.
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the
‘‘Safe and Affordable Manufactured Housing Improve-
ment Act of 1996.’’
(b) REFERENCE.—Whenever in this Act an amend-
ment is expressed in terms of an amendment to, or repeal
of, a section or other provision, the reference shall be con-
sidered to be made to that section or other provision of
the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974.
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
Section 603 (42 U.S.C. 5402) is amended—
(1) by striking paragraph (7) and inserting the
following new paragraph:
‘‘(7) ‘Federal manufactured home construction
and safety standard’ means a reasonable perform-
ance standard for the construction, design, and
transportation of a manufactured home which meets
the needs of the public including the need for afford-
ability, quality, durability, and safety;’’;
(2) in paragraph (12), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the
end;
(3) in paragraph (13), by striking the period at
the end and inserting a semicolon; and
(4) by adding at the end thereof the following
new paragraphs:
‘‘(14) ‘consensus committee’ means the body es-
tablished to provide periodic recommendations to the
Secretary pursuant to the provisions of section 604;
‘‘(15) ‘consensus process’ means the process by
which the consensus committee, established pursuant
to section 604, recommends to the Secretary any ad-
ditions, revocations, and/or amendments to the Fed-
eral manufactured home construction and safety
standards and any related interpretations;
‘‘(16) ‘transportation’ means the movement of a
manufactured home or manufactured home compo-
nents from the manufacturing facility to a retailer’s
place of business or a location selected by the pur-
chaser, and the movement of a manufactured home
or manufactured home components from the
retailers’s place of business to a site selected by the
home purchaser, where applicable; and
‘‘(17) ‘Secretariat’ means the qualified technical
or building code maintenance organization selected
by the Secretary to administer the consensus proc-
ess, and to appoint the members of the consensus
committee established under section 604.’’.
SEC. 3. FEDERAL MANUFACTURED HOME CONSTRUCTION
AND SAFETY STANDARDS.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 604 (42 U.S.C. 5403) is
amended—
(1) by striking subsection (a) and inserting the
following new subsection:
‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—
‘‘(1) AUTHORITY
OF
SECRETARY.—The Sec-
retary shall establish, by order, appropriate Federal
manufactured home design, construction, transpor-
tation, and safety performance standards that shall
be reasonable, practicable, objectively stated, and re-
flective of current developments in building stand-
ards and technology. The Secretary shall issue such
orders pursuant to the consensus process described
in this section.
‘‘(2) ESTABLISHMENT OF CONSENSUS COMMIT-
TEE AND PROCEDURES.—Not later than 180 days
after the date of the enactment of the Manufactured
Housing Improvement Act of 1996, the Secretary, in
accordance with all relevant statutes, regulations, or-
ders, and directives pertaining to competitively bid
procurement, shall enter into a contract with a
qualified technical or building code organization to
administer a consensus process as its secretariat and
to establish a manufactured housing consensus com-
mittee and appoint the members of that committee.
The performance of such secretariat shall be re-
viewed by the Secretary on a periodic basis. The
consensus committee shall be exempt from the re-
quirements of the Federal Advisory Committee Act.
All meetings shall be open to the public, and ad-
vance notice of such meetings shall be provided in
the Federal Register. Any final action by the consen-
sus committee shall be taken only after notice to the
public and opportunity for public comment in ac-
cordance with the provisions of section 553 and sub-
chapter II of chapter 5 of title 5, United States
Code.
‘‘(3) SELECTION
AND
QUALIFICATIONS.—The
consensus committee shall function, and its members
shall be selected, in accordance with the procedures
for consensus committees promulgated by the Amer-
ican National Standards Institute. Members of the
consensus committee shall be qualified to participate
in the work of the committee. The consensus com-
mittee and the secretariat organization shall be cer-
tified by the American National Standards Institute
and shall be provided reasonable staff resources by
the administering organization.
‘‘(4) RESPONSIBILITIES.—The consensus com-
mittee established under this subsection shall be re-
sponsible for the maintenance and revision of the
Federal manufactured home construction and safety
standards, including the interpretation of such
standards.
‘‘(5) REVISIONS TO STANDARDS.—The consen-
sus committee shall consider additions, deletion, and
amendments to the Federal manufactured home con-
struction and safety standards, as needed, over a 2-
year cycle. The consensus committee, after notice
and an opportunity for public comment, shall pub-
lish any proposed standards or revisions and notice
of their submission to the Secretary, in the Federal
Register. This notice shall describe the cir-
cumstances under which the proposed standards
could become effective.
‘‘(6) SECRETARY’S RESPONSE.—The Secretary
may either adopt or reject the standards submitted
by the consensus committee. A final order adopting
such a standard, or rejecting such a standard, shall
be issued by the Secretary no later than 180 days
after the date the proposed standard or regulation is
submitted to the Secretary by the consensus commit-
tee, and shall be published in the Federal Register.
In the event that the Secretary rejects, in whole or
in part, such a standard, such publication shall be
preceded by publication of the proposed standard
and the Secretary’s proposed final order for public
comment in accordance with section 553 and sub-
that such an interpretation is reasonably necessary,
the consensus committee shall submit to the Sec-
retary written interpretations of the Federal manu-
factured home construction and safety standards.
These interpretations shall become binding upon the
completion of notice and comment rulemaking proce-
dures by the Secretary in accordance with section
553 and subchapter II of chapter 5 of title 5, United
States Code, which shall be instituted within 180
days of the Secretary’s receipt of such an interpreta-
tion. The Secretary may reject, in whole or in part,
an interpretation only upon a written finding that
the interpretation is inconsistent with the purposes
of this title.’’;
(2) in subsection (b)—
(A) by striking ‘‘All’’ and inserting ‘‘Ex-
cept as expressly provided herein, all’’; and
(B) by inserting ‘‘and subchapter II of
chapter 5’’ after ‘‘section 553’’;
(3) in subsection (c), by striking ‘‘Each’’ and
all that follows through ‘‘effect,’’ and inserting the
following: ‘‘Each order establishing, amending, delet-
ing, or interpreting a Federal manufactured home
construction and safety standard shall specify the
date such standard, amendment, or interpretation is
to take effect,’’;
(4) by striking subsections (d), (e), (f), and (g)
and inserting the following new subsections:
‘‘(d) PREEMPTION.—Except as may otherwise be ex-
pressly authorized by the provisions of this title, a State
or local unit of government shall not establish, continue
in effect, or enforce any standard pertaining to the design,
construction, transportation, or safety of manufactured
homes after the effective date of the United States Hous-
ing Act of 1996. The standards mandated by this title are
deemed complete and exhaustive and shall supersede and
preempt State and local law and regulations.
‘‘(e) CONSIDERATIONS.—The consensus committee,
in recommending performance standards and issuing in-
terpretations, and the Secretary, in establishing such
standards and standards interpretations under this title,
shall—
‘‘(1) consider relevant, reliable manufactured
home construction and safety data, including the re-
sults of the research, development, testing, and eval-
uation activities conducted pursuant to this title,
and those activities conducted by private organiza-
tions and other governmental agencies to determine
how best to promote the purposes of this title;
‘‘(2) consult with such State or interstate agen-
cies (including legislative committees) as they deem
appropriate;
‘‘(3) consider whether any such proposed per-
formance standard or standard interpretation is rea-
sonable for the particular type of manufactured
home or for the geographic region for which it is
adopted;
‘‘(4) consider the probable effect of such stand-
ard or standard interpretation on the cost of the
manufactured homes to purchasers and potential
purchasers; and
‘‘(5) consider the extent to which any such
standard or standard interpretation will contribute
to carrying out the purposes of this title.’’;
(5) by redesignating subsections (h), (i), and (j)
as subsections (f), (h), and (i), respectively;
(6) by inserting after subsection (f) (as so re-
designated by paragraph (5) of this subsection) the
following new subsection:
‘‘(g) EVALUATION METHODOLOGIES.—Based on a
finding of need, as determined in writing by the Secretary,
the consensus committee may, in accordance with the pro-
visions of this section, establish reasonable, cost-effective,
uniform evaluation methodologies in order to determine
compliance with existing standards, or may evaluate pro-
posed methodologies.’’; and
(7) by adding at the end the following new sub-
section:
‘‘(j) REQUIRED USE
OF CONSENSUS PROCESS.—
After the date of the enactment of the Manufactured
Housing Improvement Act of 1996, the Secretary shall not
adopt or amend any standards or standards interpreta-
tions other than through the consensus process set forth
in this section.’’.
(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 610 (42
U.S.C. 5409(a)(6)) is amended by striking ‘‘subsection
(h)’’ and inserting ‘‘subsection (f)’’.
SEC. 4. INSPECTION FEES.
Section 620 (42 U.S.C. 5419) is amended to read as
follows:
‘‘INSPECTION AND COLLECTION AND UTILIZATION OF
FEES
‘‘SEC. 620. (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary
may establish and impose, on manufactured home manu-
facturers, distributors, and dealers, a reasonable fee to off-
set the necessary expenses incurred in conducting the in-
spections required by this title and the expenses incurred
by the consensus committee in performing its duties under
this title. Such fees shall be established and/or modified
pursuant to notice and comment rulemaking in accordance
with section 553 and subchapter II of chapter 5 of title
5, United States Code.
‘‘(b) USE.—Fees collected pursuant to this title shall
be deposited in a dedicated fund and shall be expended
only for the functions specified in subsection (a), and shall
be subject for expenditure only to the extent approved in
an appropriations Act. The Secretary shall provide an an-
nual report to the Congress specifying expenditures of
these funds. The Secretary shall also make available to
the public, in accordance with all applicable disclosure
statutes, regulations, orders, or directives, information
pertaining to such funds, including but not limited to, in-
formation pertaining to amounts collected, amounts dis-
bursed, and the fund balance.’’.
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