HBA-CBW C.S.H.B. 2481 77(R)BILL ANALYSIS


Office of House Bill AnalysisC.S.H.B. 2481
By: Jones, Jesse
Land & Resource Management
4/16/2001
Committee Report (Substituted)



BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has required Dallas County
to adopt specific flood plain management regulations to participate in the
National Flood Insurance Program. One of the regulations requires persons
seeking to install a manufactured home in the flood plain to elevate the
structure above the 100-year flood level.  Despite the good intentions of
this regulation, people have continued to locate manufactured homes in the
flood plain without meeting the elevation requirements. C.S.H.B.  2481
prohibits certain persons from assisting in the installation of a new or
used manufactured home in an area designated by the director of FEMA as a
flood hazard area and provides that a consumer must provide flood
information to the seller of a new or used manufactured home prior to
closure of an acquisition. 

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does
not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state
officer, department, agency, or institution. 

ANALYSIS

C.S.H.B. 2481 amends law to provide  that unless the retailer, broker, or
salesperson complies  with the requirements of the National Flood Insurance
Act of 1968 and any other applicable local, state, or federal law, and
attempts to ensure the consumer's compliance with those laws, a retailer,
broker, or salesperson who sells, exchanges, or lease-purchases a new or
used manufactured home to a consumer for use as a permanent dwelling may
not: 

   _deliver or arrange for the delivery of the home to a homesite in a
special flood hazard area designated by the director of the Federal
Emergency Management Agency (FEMA); 

   _install or arrange for the installation of the home at a homesite in
that area; or 

   _assist the consumer in the delivery or installation of, or in making
arrangements for the delivery or installation of, the home to or at a
homesite in that area. 
   
Before closing on the acquisition of a new or used manufactured home for
use as a permanent dwelling, the bill provides that a consumer seeking to
acquire the home must provide to the retailer, broker, or salesperson
selling, exchanging, or lease-purchasing the home evidence that the home
will not be  located, in a manner that violates local, state, or federal
law, on a homesite in a special flood hazard area designated by the
director of FEMA. 

EFFECTIVE DATE

On passage, or if the Act does not receive the necessary vote, the Act
takes effect September 1, 2001. 
 

COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL TO SUBSTITUTE

C.S.H.B. 2481 differs from the original bill by providing that unless a
retailer, broker, or salesperson complies with the requirements of the
National Flood Insurance Act and local, state, or federal law the retailer,
broker, or salesperson may not engage in certain activities. The substitute
provides that the consumer must provide to the retailer, broker, or
salesperson selling, exchanging, or lease-purchasing the home evidence that
a home will not be located, in a manner that violates local, state, or
federal law, on a homesite in a special flood hazard area designated by the
director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency.  The original
specifies that such a person must provide proof that the homesite proposed
for the home is not located in a designated special flood hazard area.