1-1 By: Raymond (Senate Sponsor - Madla) H.B. No. 3552
1-2 (In the Senate - Received from the House May 9, 2001;
1-3 May 10, 2001, read first time and referred to Committee on
1-4 Intergovernmental Relations; May 11, 2001, reported favorably by
1-5 the following vote: Yeas 5, Nays 0; May 11, 2001, sent to
1-6 printer.)
1-7 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-8 AN ACT
1-9 relating to the regulation of manufactured housing; providing a
1-10 penalty.
1-11 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-12 SECTION 1. Sections 6B(b), (c), and (d), Texas Manufactured
1-13 Housing Standards Act (Article 5221f, Vernon's Texas Civil
1-14 Statutes), are amended to read as follows:
1-15 (b) A manufactured home constructed on or after September 1,
1-16 1997, [the effective date of this section] must meet the Wind Zone
1-17 II standards adopted by the United States Department of Housing and
1-18 Urban Development in order to be installed in a Wind Zone II
1-19 county.
1-20 (c) All manufactured homes constructed prior to September 1,
1-21 1997, [the effective date of this section] may be installed in Wind
1-22 Zone I or Wind Zone II without restriction.
1-23 (d) A consumer purchasing a manufactured home constructed on
1-24 or after September 1, 1997, [the effective date of this section] to
1-25 Wind Zone I standards must be given a notice by the selling
1-26 retailer that:
1-27 (1) the home was not designed nor constructed to
1-28 withstand hurricane force winds which may occur in Wind Zone II or
1-29 III areas; and
1-30 (2) the home is not permitted to be installed in Wind
1-31 Zone II counties in Texas, and there may be restrictions in other
1-32 states prohibiting installation in Wind Zone II or III areas.
1-33 SECTION 2. Section 14(n), Texas Manufactured Housing
1-34 Standards Act (Article 5221f, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), is
1-35 amended to read as follows:
1-36 (n) When a new HUD-code manufactured home is permanently
1-37 affixed to real estate, the manufacturer's certificate of origin is
1-38 surrendered for cancellation [canceled], and a notice of attachment
1-39 or certificate of attachment is filed in the real property [deed]
1-40 records of the county, the seller of the real estate may give the
1-41 initial purchaser a written warranty that combines the
1-42 manufacturer's warranty and the retailer's warranty required in
1-43 this section. If a combination warranty is given, the manufacturer
1-44 and retailer are not required to give separate written warranties;
1-45 however, the manufacturer and retailer are jointly liable with the
1-46 seller of the real estate to the purchaser for the performance of
1-47 their respective warranty responsibilities.
1-48 SECTION 3. Section 17(a), Texas Manufactured Housing
1-49 Standards Act (Article 5221f, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), is
1-50 amended to read as follows:
1-51 (a) A person, individual, or director, officer, or agent of
1-52 a corporation who knowingly and willfully violates a provision of
1-53 this Act or any rule, regulation, or administrative order of the
1-54 department in a manner that threatens the health or safety of any
1-55 purchaser or consumer commits a Class A misdemeanor and on
1-56 conviction shall be fined not more than $4,000 [$2,000] or shall be
1-57 confined in the county jail not longer than one year or both.
1-58 SECTION 4. Sections 19(l) and (o), Texas Manufactured Housing
1-59 Standards Act (Article 5221f, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), are
1-60 amended to read as follows:
1-61 (l) If a manufactured home is permanently affixed to real
1-62 estate, the manufacturer's certificate or the original document of
1-63 title may be surrendered to the department for cancellation. The
1-64 legal description or the appropriate tract or parcel number of the
2-1 real estate must be given to the department when the certificate or
2-2 document of title is surrendered. If a notice of attachment is to
2-3 be filed, a copy of the notice must be submitted with the
2-4 manufacturer's certificate or the original document of title
2-5 surrendered for cancellation. The director may require the filing
2-6 of other information. The department may not cancel a
2-7 manufacturer's certificate or a document of title if a lien has
2-8 been registered or recorded on the manufactured home. If a lien
2-9 has been registered or recorded, the department shall notify the
2-10 owner and each lienholder that the title and a description of the
2-11 lien have been surrendered to the department and that the
2-12 department may not cancel the title until the lien is released.
2-13 Permanent attachment to real estate does not affect the validity of
2-14 a lien recorded or registered with the department before the
2-15 manufactured home is permanently attached. The rights of a prior
2-16 lienholder pursuant to a security agreement or the provisions of a
2-17 credit transaction and the rights of the state pursuant to a tax
2-18 lien are preserved. The department shall issue a certificate of
2-19 attachment to real estate to the person who surrenders the
2-20 manufacturer's certificate or document of title. The certificate
2-21 or document must contain the legal description or the appropriate
2-22 tract or parcel number of the real estate and the identification
2-23 number of the home, and must certify that the manufacturer's
2-24 certificate or original document of title has been canceled.
2-25 Before the issuance of a certificate of attachment, a person who
2-26 surrenders the manufacturer's certificate or the original document
2-27 of title to the department may file a notice of attachment in the
2-28 real property records of the county in which the home is located.
2-29 The notice must state that the manufacturer's certificate or the
2-30 original document of title has been surrendered for cancellation
2-31 and a request has been made for the issuance of a certificate of
2-32 attachment. The notice must include information sufficient to
2-33 identify the home and must contain the legal description or the
2-34 appropriate tract or parcel number of the real property on which
2-35 the home is located. The notice is valid for all purposes until
2-36 the certificate of attachment is issued and filed in the real
2-37 property records of the appropriate county.
2-38 (o)(1) The department shall furnish each county tax
2-39 assessor-collector in this state a monthly [quarterly] report that
2-40 lists:
2-41 (A) the name of the owner of each manufactured
2-42 home installed in the county during the preceding month;
2-43 (B) [calendar quarter,] the name of the
2-44 manufacturer of the manufactured home;
2-45 (C) [,] the model designation of the
2-46 manufactured home;
2-47 (D) [,] the identification number of each
2-48 section or module of the manufactured home;
2-49 (E) [, and] the address or location where the
2-50 manufactured home is installed; and
2-51 (F) the date of the installation of the
2-52 manufactured home.
2-53 (2) The report shall include the same information for
2-54 all manufactured homes previously installed in the county for which
2-55 a transfer of ownership was recorded by the issuance of a document
2-56 of title during the month [quarter].
2-57 (3) The director shall furnish a copy of the report to
2-58 the chief appraiser of the appraisal district established for the
2-59 county in which the manufactured home is installed.
2-60 SECTION 5. Section 2.001(b), Property Code, is amended to
2-61 read as follows:
2-62 (b) A manufactured home is real property if:
2-63 (1) the home is permanently attached to real property;
2-64 and
2-65 (2) the manufacturer's certificate of origin or the
2-66 original document of title is surrendered for cancellation and a
2-67 notice of attachment or a certificate of attachment, as described
2-68 by the Texas Manufactured Housing Standards Act (Article 5221f,
2-69 Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), is filed in the real property
3-1 records of the county in which the home is located.
3-2 SECTION 6. (a) The change in law made in amending Section
3-3 17(a), Texas Manufactured Housing Standards Act (Article 5221f,
3-4 Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), applies only to an offense
3-5 committed on or after the effective date of this Act. For purposes
3-6 of this section, an offense was committed before the effective date
3-7 of this Act if any element of the offense occurs before that date.
3-8 (b) An offense committed before the effective date of this
3-9 Act is covered by the law in effect when the offense was committed,
3-10 and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
3-11 SECTION 7. This Act takes effect September 1, 2001.
3-12 * * * * *