Senate Bill No. 586

(By Senators Wooton, Anderson, Bowman, Buckalew, Deem, Dittmar, Grubb, Miller, Ross, Scott, Wagner, White and Wiedebusch)

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[Originating in the Committee on the Judiciary;


reported February 27, 1996.]

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A BILL to amend and reenact section twelve, article nine, chapter twenty-one of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to manufactured housing construction and safety standards; providing technical corrections in section numbers; and civil and criminal penalties for violations thereof.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section twelve, article nine, chapter twenty-one of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 9. MANUFACTURED HOUSING CONSTRUCTION AND SAFETY STANDARDS.
§21-9-12. Civil penalties; criminal penalties.(a) Any person who violates any of the following provisions relating to manufactured homes or any rule or regulation promulgated by the board pursuant to the provisions of this article shall be is liable to the state for a penalty, as determined by the court, of not to exceed one thousand dollars for each violation. Each such violation shall constitute constitutes a separate violation with respect to each manufactured home, except that the maximum penalty shall may not exceed one million dollars for any related series of violations occurring within one year from the date of the first violation. No person shall may:
(1) Manufacture for sale, lease, sell, offer for sale or lease, or introduce or deliver, or import into this state any manufactured home which is manufactured on or after the effective date of any applicable standard established by a rule or regulation promulgated by the board pursuant to the provisions of this article, or any applicable federal standard, which does not comply with any such that standard.
(2) Fail or refuse to permit access to or copying of records, or fail to make reports or provide information or fail or refuse to permit entry or inspection as required by section six the provisions of this article.
(3) Fail to furnish notification of any defect as required by the provisions of 42 U.S.C. §5414.
(4) Fail to issue a certification required by the provisions of 42 U.S.C. §5415 or issue a certification to the effect that a manufactured home conforms to all applicable federal standards, if such when the person knows or in the exercise of due care has would have reason to know that such the certification is false or misleading in a material respect.
(5) Fail to establish and maintain such records, make such reports, and provide such information as the board may reasonably require to enable the board to determine whether there is compliance with the federal standards; or fail to permit, upon request of a person duly authorized by the board, the inspection of appropriate books, papers, records and documents relative to determining whether a manufacturer, dealer, distributor or contractor has acted or is acting in compliance with the provisions of this article or the applicable federal standards.
(6) Issue a certification pursuant to the provisions of 42 U.S.C. §5403(a), if said when the person knows or in the exercise of due care has would have reason to know that said the certification is false or misleading in a material respect.
(b) Subdivision (1), subsection (a) of this section shall does not apply to: (i) The sale or the offer for sale of any manufactured home after the first purchase of it in good faith for purposes other than resale; (ii) any person who establishes that he did not have reason to know in the exercise of due care that such manufactured home is not in conformity with applicable federal standards; or (iii) any person who, prior to such the first purchase, holds a certificate by the manufacturer or importer of such the manufactured home to the effect that such manufactured home conforms to all applicable federal standards, unless such that person knows that such the manufactured home does not so conform to those standards.
(c) Any manufacturer, dealer, distributor and or contractor who engages in business in this state without a current license as required by section seven of the provisions of this article or without furnishing a bond or other form of assurance as required by section eight of the provisions of this article is guilty of a misdemeanor, and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not more than fifty dollars for each day such the violation continues.
(d) Any person or officer, director, partner or agent of a corporation, partnership or other entity who willfully or knowingly violates any of the provisions listed in subsection (a) of this section, in any manner which threatens the health or safety of any purchaser, is guilty of a misdemeanor, and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not more than one thousand dollars or imprisoned in the county jail confined in the county or regional jail for a period of not more than one year, or both fined and imprisoned: Provided, That nothing in this article shall may apply to any bank or financial institution engaged in the disposal of foreclosed or repossessed manufactured home(s).