[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1452 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







106th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1452

 To modernize the requirements under the National Manufactured Housing 
   Construction and Safety Standards Act of 1974 and to establish a 
     balanced consensus process for the development, revision, and 
    interpretation of Federal construction and safety standards for 
                          manufactured homes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             July 28, 1999

Mr. Shelby (for himself, Mr. Bayh, Mr. Bryan, Mr. Rockefeller, and Mr. 
   Bingaman) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
    referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To modernize the requirements under the National Manufactured Housing 
   Construction and Safety Standards Act of 1974 and to establish a 
     balanced consensus process for the development, revision, and 
    interpretation of Federal construction and safety standards for 
                          manufactured homes.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE AND REFERENCES.

    (a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Manufactured 
Housing Improvement Act''.
    (b) References.--Whenever in this Act an amendment is expressed in 
terms of an amendment to, or repeal of, a section or other provision, 
the reference shall be considered to be made to that section or other 
provision of the National Manufactured Housing Construction and Safety 
Standards Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5401 et seq.).

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

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

                        ``findings and purposes

    ``Sec. 602. (a) Findings.--Congress finds that--
            ``(1) manufactured housing plays a vital role in meeting 
        the housing needs of the Nation; and
            ``(2) manufactured homes provide a significant resource for 
        affordable homeownership and rental housing accessible to all 
        Americans.
    ``(b) Purposes.--The purposes of this Act are--
            ``(1) to facilitate the acceptance of the quality, 
        durability, safety, and affordability of manufactured housing 
        within the Department of Housing and Urban Development;
            ``(2) to facilitate the availability of affordable 
        manufactured homes and to increase homeownership for all 
        Americans;
            ``(3) to provide for the establishment of practical, 
        uniform, and, to the extent possible, performance-based Federal 
        construction standards;
            ``(4) to encourage innovative and cost-effective 
        construction techniques;
            ``(5) to protect owners of manufactured homes from 
        unreasonable risk of personal injury and property damage;
            ``(6) to establish a balanced consensus process for the 
        development, revision, and interpretation of Federal 
        construction and safety standards for manufactured homes and 
        related regulations for the enforcement of such standards;
            ``(7) to ensure uniform and effective enforcement of 
        Federal construction and safety standards for manufactured 
        homes; and
            ``(8) to ensure that the public interest in, and need for, 
        affordable manufactured housing is duly considered in all 
        determinations relating to the Federal standards and their 
        enforcement.''.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    (a) In General.--Section 603 (42 U.S.C. 5402) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (2), by striking ``dealer'' and inserting 
        ``retailer'';
            (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 the following:
            ``(14) `administering organization' means the recognized, 
        voluntary, private sector, unitary consensus standards body 
        with specific experience in developing model residential 
        building codes and standards involving all disciplines 
        regarding construction and safety that administers the 
        consensus standards through a unitary development process;
            ``(15) `consensus committee' means the committee 
        established under section 604(a)(3);
            ``(16) `consensus standards development process' means the 
        process by which additions, revisions, and interpretations to 
        the Federal manufactured home construction and safety standards 
        and enforcement regulations shall be developed and recommended 
        to the Secretary by a unitary consensus committee, which shall 
        function as a single committee;
            ``(17) `primary inspection agency' means a State agency or 
        private organization that has been approved by the Secretary to 
        act as a design approval primary inspection agency or a 
        production inspection primary inspection agency, or both;
            ``(18) `design approval primary inspection agency' means a 
        State agency or private organization that has been approved by 
        the Secretary to evaluate and either approve or disapprove 
        manufactured home designs and quality control procedures;
            ``(19) `production inspection primary inspection agency' 
        means a State agency or private organization that has been 
        approved by the Secretary to evaluate the ability of 
        manufactured home manufacturing plants to comply with approved 
        quality control procedures and with the Federal manufactured 
        home construction and safety standards promulgated hereunder; 
        and
            ``(20) `monitoring'--
                    ``(A) means the process of periodic review of the 
                primary inspection agencies, by the Secretary or by a 
                State agency under an approved State plan pursuant to 
                section 623, in accordance with regulations recommended 
                by the consensus committee and promulgated in 
                accordance with section 604(b), which process shall be 
                for the purpose of ensuring that the primary inspection 
                agencies are discharging their duties under this title; 
                and
                    ``(B) may include the periodic inspection of retail 
                locations for transit damage, label tampering, and 
                retailer compliance with this title.''.
    (b) Conforming Amendments.--The National Manufactured Housing 
Construction and Safety Standards Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5401 et seq.) 
is amended--
            (1) in section 613 (42 U.S.C. 5412), by striking ``dealer'' 
        each place it appears and inserting ``retailer'';
            (2) in section 614(f) (42 U.S.C. 5413(f)), by striking 
        ``dealer'' each place it appears and inserting ``retailer'';
            (3) in section 615 (42 U.S.C. 5414)--
                    (A) in subsection (b)(1), by striking ``dealer'' 
                and inserting ``retailer'';
                    (B) in subsection (b)(3), by striking ``dealer or 
                dealers'' and inserting ``retailer or retailers''; and
                    (C) in subsections (d) and (f), by striking 
                ``dealers'' each place it appears and inserting 
                ``retailers'';
            (4) in section 616 (42 U.S.C. 5415), by striking ``dealer'' 
        and inserting ``retailer''; and
            (5) in section 623(c)(9), by striking ``dealers'' and 
        inserting ``retailers''.

SEC. 4. FEDERAL MANUFACTURED HOME CONSTRUCTION AND SAFETY STANDARDS.

    Section 604 (42 U.S.C. 5403) is amended--
            (1) by striking subsections (a) and (b) and inserting the 
        following:
    ``(a) Establishment.--
            ``(1) Authority.--The Secretary shall establish, by order, 
        appropriate Federal manufactured home construction and safety 
        standards, each of which--
                    ``(A) shall--
                            ``(i) be reasonable and practical;
                            ``(ii) meet high standards of protection 
                        consistent with the enumerated purposes of this 
                        title; and
                            ``(iii) be performance-based and 
                        objectively stated, unless clearly 
                        inappropriate; and
                    ``(B) except as provided in subsection (b), shall 
                be established in accordance with the consensus 
                standards development process.
            ``(2) Consensus standards and regulatory development 
        process.--
                    ``(A) Initial agreement.--Not later than 180 days 
                after the date of enactment of the Manufactured Housing 
                Improvement Act, the Secretary shall enter into a 
                contract with an administering organization. The 
                contractual agreement shall--
                            ``(i) terminate on the date on which a 
                        contract is entered into under subparagraph 
                        (B); and
                            ``(ii) require the administering 
                        organization to--
                                    ``(I) appoint the initial members 
                                of the consensus committee under 
                                paragraph (3);
                                    ``(II) administer the consensus 
                                standards development process until the 
                                termination of that agreement; and
                                    ``(III) administer the consensus 
                                development and interpretation process 
                                for procedural and enforcement 
                                regulations and regulations specifying 
                                the permissible scope and conduct of 
                                monitoring until the termination of 
                                that agreement.
                    ``(B) Competitively procured contract.--Upon the 
                expiration of the 4-year period beginning on the date 
                on which all members of the consensus committee are 
                appointed under paragraph (3), the Secretary shall, 
                using competitive procedures (as such term is defined 
                in section 4 of the Office of Federal Procurement 
                Policy Act), enter into a competitively awarded 
                contract with an administering organization. The 
                administering organization shall administer the 
                consensus process for the development and 
                interpretation of the Federal standards, the procedural 
                and enforcement regulations, and regulations specifying 
                the permissible scope and conduct of monitoring in 
                accordance with this title.
                    ``(C) Performance review.--The Secretary--
                            ``(i) shall periodically review the 
                        performance of the administering organization; 
                        and
                            ``(ii) may replace the administering 
                        organization with another qualified technical 
                        or building code organization, pursuant to 
                        competitive procedures, if the Secretary 
                        determines in writing that the administering 
                        organization is not fulfilling the terms of the 
                        agreement or contract to which the 
                        administering organization is subject or upon 
                        the expiration of the agreement or contract.
            ``(3) Consensus committee.--
                    ``(A) Purpose.--There is established a committee to 
                be known as the `consensus committee', which shall, in 
                accordance with this title--
                            ``(i) provide periodic recommendations to 
                        the Secretary to adopt, revise, and interpret 
                        the Federal manufactured housing construction 
                        and safety standards in accordance with this 
                        subsection;
                            ``(ii) provide periodic recommendations to 
                        the Secretary to adopt, revise, and interpret 
                        the procedural and enforcement regulations, 
                        including regulations specifying the 
                        permissible scope and conduct of monitoring in 
                        accordance with this subsection; and
                            ``(iii) be organized and carry out its 
                        business in a manner that guarantees a fair 
                        opportunity for the expression and 
                        consideration of various positions and for 
                        public participation.
                    ``(B) Membership.--The consensus committee shall be 
                composed of--
                            ``(i) 25 voting members appointed, subject 
                        to approval by the Secretary, by the 
                        administering organization from among 
                        individuals who are qualified by background and 
                        experience to participate in the work of the 
                        consensus committee; and
                            ``(ii) 1 member appointed by the Secretary 
                        to represent the Secretary on the consensus 
                        committee, who shall be a nonvoting member.
                    ``(C) Disapproval.--The Secretary may disapprove, 
                in writing with the reasons set forth, the appointment 
                of an individual under subparagraph (B)(i).
                    ``(D) Selection procedures and requirements.--Each 
                member shall be appointed in accordance with selection 
                procedures, which shall be based on the procedures for 
                consensus committees promulgated by the American 
                National Standards Institute (or successor 
                organization), except that the American National 
                Standards Institute interest categories shall be 
                modified for purposes of this paragraph to ensure equal 
                representation on the consensus committee of the 
                following interest categories:
                            ``(i) Home producers.--Five persons 
                        representing manufacturers of manufactured 
                        homes.
                            ``(ii) Other business interests.--Five 
                        persons representing other business interests 
                        involved in the manufactured housing industry 
                        such as retailers, installers, lenders, 
                        insurers, suppliers of products, and community 
                        owners. The business interests represented in 
                        this category shall not be owned or controlled 
                        by manufacturers represented under clause (i).
                            ``(iii) Consumers.--Five persons 
                        representing homeowners and consumer interests, 
                        such as consumer organizations, community 
                        organizations, recognized consumer leaders, and 
                        owners and occupants of manufactured homes.
                            ``(iv) Public officials.--Five persons who 
                        are State or local officials such as building 
                        code enforcement or inspection officials, fire 
                        marshals, and including representatives of 
                        State administrative agencies.
                            ``(v) General interest.--Five persons 
                        representing the public such as architects, 
                        engineers, homebuilders, academicians, and 
                        developers.
                    ``(E) Additional qualifications.--An individual 
                appointed under clause (iii), (iv), or (v) of 
                subparagraph (D) shall not have--
                            ``(i) a significant financial interest in 
                        any segment of the manufactured housing 
                        industry; or
                            ``(ii) a significant relationship to any 
                        person engaged in the manufactured housing 
                        industry.
                    ``(F) Meetings.--
                            ``(i) Notice; open to public.--The 
                        consensus committee shall provide advance 
                        notice of each meeting of the consensus 
                        committee to the Secretary and publish advance 
                        notice of each such meeting in the Federal 
                        Register. All meetings of the consensus 
                        committee shall be open to the public.
                            ``(ii) Reimbursement.--Members of the 
                        consensus committee in attendance at the 
                        meetings shall be reimbursed for their actual 
                        expenses as authorized by section 5703 of title 
                        5, United States Code, for persons employed 
                        intermittently in Government service.
                    ``(G) Inapplicability of other laws.--
                            ``(i) Advisory committee act.--The 
                        consensus committee shall not be considered to 
                        be an advisory committee for purposes of the 
                        Federal Advisory Committee Act.
                            ``(ii) Title 18.--The members of the 
                        consensus committee shall not be subject to 
                        section 203, 205, 207, or 208 of title 18, 
                        United States Code, to the extent of their 
                        proper participation as members of the 
                        consensus committee.
                            ``(iii) Ethics in government act of 1978.--
                        The Ethics in Government Act of 1978 shall not 
                        apply to members of the consensus committee to 
                        the extent of their proper participation as 
                        members of the consensus committee.
                    ``(H) Administration.--The consensus committee and 
                the administering organization shall--
                            ``(i) operate in conformance with the 
                        procedures established by the American National 
                        Standards Institute for the development and 
                        coordination of American National Standards; 
                        and
                            ``(ii) apply to the American National 
                        Standards Institute and take such other actions 
                        as may be necessary to obtain accreditation 
                        from the American National Standards Institute.
                    ``(I) Staff.--The administering organization shall, 
                upon the request of the consensus committee, provide 
                reasonable staff resources to the consensus committee.
                    ``(J) Date of initial appointments.--The initial 
                appointments of all of the members of the consensus 
                committee shall be completed not later than 90 days 
                after the date on which an administration agreement 
                under paragraph (2)(A) is completed with the 
                administering organization.
            ``(4) Revisions of standards and regulations.--
                    ``(A) In general.--Beginning on the date on which 
                all members of the consensus committee are appointed 
                under paragraph (3), the consensus committee shall, not 
                less than once during each 2-year period--
                            ``(i) consider revisions to the Federal 
                        manufactured home construction and safety 
                        standards and regulations; and
                            ``(ii) submit proposed revised standards 
                        and regulations if approved by a \2/3\ majority 
                        vote to the Secretary in the form of a proposed 
                        rule, including an economic analysis.
                    ``(B) Publication of proposed revised standards and 
                regulations.--
                            ``(i) Publication by secretary.--The 
                        consensus committee shall provide a proposed 
                        revised standard or regulation under 
                        subparagraph (A)(ii) to the Secretary who 
                        shall, not later than 30 days after receipt, 
                        publish such proposed revised standard or 
                        regulation in the Federal Register for notice 
                        and comment. Unless clause (ii) applies, the 
                        Secretary shall provide an opportunity for 
                        public comment on such proposed revised 
                        standard or regulation and any such comments 
                        shall be submitted directly to the consensus 
                        committee without delay.
                            ``(ii) Publication of rejected proposed 
                        revised standards and regulations.--If the 
                        Secretary rejects the proposed revised standard 
                        or regulation, the Secretary shall publish the 
                        rejected proposed revised standard or 
                        regulation in the Federal Register with the 
                        reasons for rejection and any recommended 
                        modifications set forth.
                    ``(C) Presentation of public comments; publication 
                of recommended revisions.--
                            ``(i) Presentation.--Any public comments, 
                        views, and objections to a proposed revised 
                        standard or regulation published under 
                        subparagraph (B) shall be presented by the 
                        Secretary to the consensus committee upon their 
                        receipt and in the manner received, in 
                        accordance with procedures established by the 
                        American National Standards Institute.
                            ``(ii) Publication by the secretary.--The 
                        consensus committee shall provide to the 
                        Secretary any revisions proposed by the 
                        consensus committee, which the Secretary shall, 
                        not later than 7 calendar days after receipt, 
                        cause to be published in the Federal Register 
                        as a notice of the recommended revisions of the 
                        consensus committee to the standards or 
                        regulations, a notice of the submission of the 
                        recommended revisions to the Secretary, and a 
                        description of the circumstances under which 
                        the proposed revised standards or regulations 
                        could become effective.
                            ``(iii) Publication of rejected proposed 
                        revised standards and regulations.--If the 
                        Secretary rejects the proposed revised standard 
                        or regulation, the Secretary shall publish the 
                        rejected proposed revised standard or 
                        regulation in the Federal Register with the 
                        reasons for rejection and any recommended 
                        modifications set forth.
            ``(5) Review by the secretary.--
                    ``(A) In general.--The Secretary shall either 
                adopt, modify, or reject a standard or regulation, as 
                submitted by the consensus committee under paragraph 
                (4)(A).
                    ``(B) Timing.--Not later than 12 months after the 
                date on which a standard or regulation is submitted to 
                the Secretary by the consensus committee, the Secretary 
                shall take action regarding such standard or regulation 
                under subparagraph (C).
                    ``(C) Procedures.--If the Secretary--
                            ``(i) adopts a standard or regulation 
                        recommended by the consensus committee, the 
                        Secretary shall--
                                    ``(I) issue a final order without 
                                further rulemaking; and
                                    ``(II) cause the final order to be 
                                published in the Federal Register;
                            ``(ii) determines that any standard or 
                        regulation should be rejected, the Secretary 
                        shall--
                                    ``(I) reject the standard or 
                                regulation; and
                                    ``(II) cause to be published in the 
                                Federal Register a notice to that 
                                effect, together with the reason or 
                                reasons for rejecting the proposed 
                                standard or regulation; or
                            ``(iii) determines that a standard or 
                        regulation recommended by the consensus 
                        committee should be modified, the Secretary 
                        shall--
                                    ``(I) cause the proposed modified 
                                standard or regulation to be published 
                                in the Federal Register, together with 
                                an explanation of the reason or reasons 
                                for the determination of the Secretary; 
                                and
                                    ``(II) provide an opportunity for 
                                public comment in accordance with 
                                section 553 of title 5, United States 
                                Code.
                    ``(D) Final order.--Any final standard or 
                regulation under this paragraph shall become effective 
                pursuant to subsection (c).
            ``(6) Failure to act.--If the Secretary fails to take final 
        action under paragraph (5) and to publish notice of the action 
        in the Federal Register before the expiration of the 12-month 
        period beginning on the date on which the proposed standard or 
        regulation is submitted to the Secretary under paragraph 
        (4)(A)--
                    ``(A) the recommendations of the consensus 
                committee--
                            ``(i) shall be considered to have been 
                        adopted by the Secretary; and
                            ``(ii) shall take effect upon the 
                        expiration of the 180-day period that begins 
                        upon the conclusion of such 12-month period; 
                        and
                    ``(B) not later than 10 days after the expiration 
                of such 12-month period, the Secretary shall cause to 
                be published in the Federal Register a notice of the 
                failure of the Secretary to act, the revised standard 
                or regulation, and the effective date of the revised 
                standard or regulation, which notice shall be deemed to 
                be an order of the Secretary approving the revised 
                standards or regulations proposed by the consensus 
                committee.
    ``(b) Other Orders.--
            ``(1) Interpretative bulletins.--The Secretary may issue 
        interpretative bulletins to clarify the meaning of any Federal 
manufactured home construction and safety standard or procedural and 
enforcement regulation. The consensus committee may submit to the 
Secretary proposed interpretative bulletins to clarify the meaning of 
any Federal manufactured home construction and safety standard or 
procedural and enforcement regulation.
            ``(2) Review by consensus committee.--Before issuing a 
        procedural or enforcement regulation or an interpretative 
        bulletin--
                    ``(A) the Secretary shall--
                            ``(i) submit the proposed procedural or 
                        enforcement regulation or interpretative 
                        bulletin to the consensus committee; and
                            ``(ii) provide the consensus committee with 
                        a period of 120 days to submit written comments 
                        to the Secretary on the proposed procedural or 
                        enforcement regulation or the interpretative 
                        bulletin;
                    ``(B) if the Secretary rejects any significant 
                comment provided by the consensus committee under 
                subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall provide a written 
                explanation of the reasons for the rejection to the 
                consensus committee; and
                    ``(C) following compliance with subparagraphs (A) 
                and (B), the Secretary shall--
                            ``(i) cause the proposed regulation or 
                        interpretative bulletin and the consensus 
                        committee's written comments along with the 
                        Secretary's response thereto to be published in 
                        the Federal Register; and
                            ``(ii) provide an opportunity for public 
                        comment in accordance with section 553 of title 
                        5, United States Code.
            ``(3) Required action.--The Secretary shall act on any 
        proposed regulation or interpretative bulletin submitted by the 
        consensus committee by approving or rejecting the proposal 
        within 120 days from the date the proposal is received by the 
        Secretary. The Secretary shall either--
                    ``(A) approve the proposal and cause the proposed 
                regulation or interpretative bulletin to be published 
                for public comment in accordance with section 553 of 
                title 5, United States Code; or
                    ``(B) reject the proposed regulation or 
                interpretative bulletin and--
                            ``(i) provide a written explanation of the 
                        reasons for rejection to the consensus 
                        committee; and
                            ``(ii) cause the proposed regulation and 
                        the written explanation for the rejection to be 
                        published in the Federal Register.
            ``(4) Emergency orders.--If the Secretary determines, in 
        writing, that such action is necessary in order to respond to 
        an emergency which jeopardizes the public health or safety, or 
        to address an issue on which the Secretary determines that the 
        consensus committee has not made a timely recommendation, 
        following a request by the Secretary, the Secretary may issue 
        an order that is not developed under the procedures set forth 
        in subsection (a) or in this subsection, if the Secretary--
                    ``(A) provides to the consensus committee a written 
                description and sets forth the reasons why emergency 
                actions is necessary and all supporting documentation; 
                and
                    ``(B) issues and publishes the order in the Federal 
                Register.
            ``(5) Changes.--Any statement of policies, practices, or 
        procedures relating to construction and safety standards, 
        regulations, inspections, monitoring, or other enforcement 
        activities which constitutes a statement of general or 
        particular applicability to implement, interpret, or prescribe 
        law or policy by the Secretary is subject to the provisions of 
        subsection (a) or (b) of this subsection. Any change adopted in 
        violation of the provisions of subsection (a) or (b) of this 
        subsection is void.'';
            (2) in subsection (d), by adding at the end the following: 
        ``Federal preemption under this subsection shall be broadly and 
        liberally construed to ensure that disparate State or local 
        requirements or standards do not affect the uniformity and 
        comprehensiveness of the standards promulgated hereunder nor 
        the Federal superintendence of the manufactured housing 
        industry as established by this title. There is reserved to 
        each State the right to establish standards for the stabilizing 
        and support systems of manufactured homes sited within that 
        State, and for the foundations on which manufactured homes 
        sited within that State are installed, and the right to enforce 
        compliance with such standards, except that such standards 
        shall be consistent with the purposes of this title and shall 
        be consistent with the design of the manufacturer.'';
            (3) by striking subsection (e);
            (4) in subsection (f), by striking the subsection 
        designation and all of the matter that precedes paragraph (1) 
        and inserting the following:
    ``(e) Considerations in Establishing and Interpreting Standards and 
Regulations.--The consensus committee, in recommending standards, 
regulations, and interpretations, and the Secretary, in establishing 
standards or regulations, or issuing interpretations under this 
section, shall--'';
            (5) by striking subsection (g);
            (6) in the first sentence of subsection (j), by striking 
        ``subsection (f)'' and inserting ``subsection (e)''; and
            (7) by redesignating subsections (h), (i), and (j), as 
        subsections (f), (g), and (h), respectively.

SEC. 5. ABOLISHMENT OF NATIONAL MANUFACTURED HOME ADVISORY COUNCIL.

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

SEC. 6. PUBLIC INFORMATION.

    Section 607 (42 U.S.C. 5406) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (a)--
                    (A) by inserting ``to the Secretary'' after 
                ``submit''; and
                    (B) by adding at the end the following: ``The 
                Secretary shall submit such cost and other information 
                to the consensus committee for evaluation.'';
            (2) in subsection (d), by inserting ``, the consensus 
        committee,'' after ``public''; and
            (3) by striking subsection (c) and redesignating 
        subsections (d) and (e) as subsections (c) and (d), 
        respectively.

SEC. 7. RESEARCH, TESTING, DEVELOPMENT, AND TRAINING.

    (a) In General.--Section 608(a) (42 U.S.C. 5407(a)) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (2), by striking ``and'' at the end;
            (2) in paragraph (3), by striking the period at the end and 
        inserting a semicolon; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(4) encouraging the government-sponsored housing entities 
        to actively develop and implement secondary market 
        securitization programs for the FHA manufactured home loans and 
        those of other loan programs, as appropriate, thereby promoting 
        the availability of affordable manufactured homes to increase 
        homeownership for all people in the United States; and
            ``(5) reviewing the programs for FHA manufactured home 
        loans and developing any changes to such programs to promote 
        the affordability of manufactured homes, including changes in 
        loan terms, amortization periods, regulations, and 
        procedures.''.
    (b) Definitions.--Section 608 (42 U.S.C. 5407) is amended by adding 
at the end the following:
    ``(c) Definitions.--For purposes of this section, the following 
definitions shall apply:
            ``(1) Government-sponsored housing entities.--The term 
        `government-sponsored housing entities' means the Government 
        National Mortgage Association of the Department of Housing and 
        Urban Development, the Federal National Mortgage Association, 
        and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation.
            ``(2) FHA manufactured home loan.--The term `FHA 
        manufactured home loan' means a loan that--
                    ``(A) is insured under title I of the National 
                Housing Act and is made for the purpose of financing 
                alterations, repairs, or improvements on or in 
                connection with an existing manufactured home, the 
                purchase of a manufactured home, the purchase of a 
                manufactured home and a lot on which to place the home, 
                or the purchase only of a lot on which to place a 
                manufactured home; or
                    ``(B) otherwise insured under the National Housing 
                Act and made for or in connection with a manufactured 
                home.''.

SEC. 8. FEES.

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

                       ``authority to collect fee

    ``Sec. 620. (a) In General.--In carrying out inspections under this 
title, in developing standards and regulations pursuant to section 604, 
and in facilitating the acceptance of the affordability and 
availability of manufactured housing within the Department, the 
Secretary may--
            ``(1) establish and collect from manufactured home 
        manufacturers a reasonable fee, as may be necessary to offset 
        the expenses incurred by the Secretary in connection with 
        carrying out the responsibilities of the Secretary under this 
        title, including--
                    ``(A) conducting inspections and monitoring;
                    ``(B) providing funding to States for the 
                administration and implementation of approved State 
                plans under section 623, including reasonable funding 
                for cooperative educational and training programs 
                designed to facilitate uniform enforcement under this 
                title, which funds may be paid directly to the States 
                or may be paid or provided to any person or entity 
                designated to receive and disburse such funds by 
                cooperative agreements among participating States, 
                provided that such person or entity is not otherwise an 
                agent of the Secretary under this title;
                    ``(C) providing the funding for a noncareer 
                administrator;
                    ``(D) providing the funding for Federal staff 
                personnel for the manufactured housing program, subject 
                to subsection (e);
                    ``(E) administering the consensus committee as set 
                forth in section 604; and
                    ``(F) facilitating the acceptance of the quality, 
                durability, safety, and affordability of manufactured 
                housing within the Department; and
            ``(2) use amounts from any fee collected under paragraph 
        (1) to pay expenses referred to in paragraph (1), which shall 
        be exempt and separate from any limitations on the Department 
        of Housing and Urban Development regarding full-time equivalent 
        positions and travel.
    ``(b) Contractors.--In using amounts from any fee collected under 
this section, the Secretary shall ensure that separate and independent 
contractors are retained to carry out monitoring and inspection work 
and any other work that may be delegated to a contractor under this 
title.
    ``(c) Prohibited Use.--Amounts from any fee collected under this 
section may not be used for any purpose or activity not specifically 
authorized by this title, unless such activity was already engaged in 
by the Secretary prior to the date of enactment of this title.
    ``(d) Modification.--Beginning on the date of enactment of the 
Manufactured Housing Improvement Act, the amount of any fee collected 
under this section may only be modified--
            ``(1) as specifically authorized in advance in an annual 
        appropriations Act; and
            ``(2) pursuant to rulemaking in accordance with section 553 
        of title 5, United States Code.
    ``(e) Appropriation and Deposit of Fees.--
            ``(1) In general.--There is established in the Treasury of 
        the United States a fund to be known as the `Manufactured 
        Housing Fees Trust Fund' for deposit of amounts from any fee 
        collected under this section. Such amounts shall be held in 
        trust for use only as provided in this title.
            ``(2) Appropriation.--Amounts from any fee collected under 
        this section shall be available for expenditure only to the 
        extent approved in advance in an annual appropriations Act. Any 
        change in the expenditure of such amounts shall be specifically 
        authorized in advance in an annual appropriations Act.''.

SEC. 9. ELIMINATION OF ANNUAL REPORT REQUIREMENT.

    The National Manufactured Housing Construction and Safety Standards 
Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5401 et seq.) is amended--
            (1) by striking section 626 (42 U.S.C. 5425); and
            (2) by redesignating sections 627 and 628 (42 U.S.C. 5426, 
        5401 note) as sections 626 and 627, respectively.

SEC. 10. EFFECTIVE DATE.

    The amendments made by this Act shall take effect on the date of 
enactment of this Act, except that the amendments shall have no effect 
on any order or interpretative bulletin that is published as a proposed 
rule pursuant to section 553 of title 5, United States Code, on or 
before such date.

SEC. 11. SAVINGS PROVISION.

    (a) Standards and Regulations.--The Federal manufactured home 
construction and safety standards (as such term is defined in section 
603 of the National Manufactured Housing Construction and Safety 
Standards Act of 1974) and all regulations pertaining thereto in effect 
immediately before the date of enactment of this Act shall apply until 
the effective date of a standard or regulation modifying or superseding 
the existing standard or regulation which is promulgated under 
subsection (a) or (b) of section 604 of the National Manufactured 
Housing Construction and Safety Standards Act of 1974, as amended by 
this Act.
    (b) Contracts.--Any contract awarded pursuant to a Request for 
Proposal issued before the date of enactment of this Act shall remain 
in effect for a period of 2 years from the date of enactment of this 
Act or for the remainder of the contract term, whichever period is 
shorter.
                                 <all>