COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE

FOR

H. B. 4644

(By Delegate Kuhn)


(Originating in the Committee on Government Organization)


[February 26, 2002]


A BILL to amend and reenact sections two and ten, article nine, chapter twenty-one of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to the West Virginia manufactured housing construction and safety standards board created by this article, and relating also to the exclusion from the definition of a contractor of persons performing operations under a contract with a licensed person and restricting the use of funds from the forfeiture of bonds or other form of assurance as defined in section ten of this article.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That sections two and ten, 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 BOARD.

§21-9-2. Definitions.
(a) "Board" means the West Virginia manufactured housing construction and safety board created in this article.
(b) "Commissioner" means the commissioner of the West Virginia state department division of labor.
(c) "Contractor" means any person who performs operations in this state at the occupancy site which render a manufactured home fit for habitation. This definition does not include persons who do work on a manufactured home which is owned or leased by such person doing the work. Such operations include, without limitation, installation or construction of the foundation, positioning, blocking, leveling, supporting, tying down, connecting utility systems, making minor adjustments or assembling multiple or expandable units. Such operations also include transporting the unit to the occupancy site by other than a motor carrier regulated by the West Virginia public service commission.
Contractor does not include:
(1) a person who personally does work on a manufactured home which the person owns or leases; or
(2) a person who is licensed under article eleven of this chapter and is performing work on a manufactured home pursuant to a contract with a person licensed under section nine of this article.
(d) "Dealer" means any person engaged in this state in the sale, leasing or distributing of new or used manufactured homes, primarily to persons who in good faith purchase or lease a manufactured home for purposes other than resale.
(e) "Defect" includes any defect in the performance, construction, components or material of a manufactured home that renders the home or any part thereof not fit for the ordinary use for which it was intended.
(f) "Distributor" means any person engaged in this state in the sale and distribution of manufactured homes for resale.
(g) "Federal standards" means the National Manufactured Housing Construction and Safety Standards Act of 1974, and federal manufactured home construction and safety standards and regulations promulgated by the secretary of HUD to implement such act.
(h) "HUD" means the United States department of housing and urban development.
(i) "Manufacturer" means any person engaged in manufacturing or assembling manufactured homes, including any person engaged in importing manufactured homes for resale.
(j) "Manufactured home" means a structure, transportable in one or more sections, which in the traveling mode is eight body feet or more in width or forty or more feet in length or, when erected on site, is three hundred twenty or more square feet, and which is built on a permanent chassis and designed to be used as a dwelling with or without a permanent foundation when connected to the required utilities, and includes the plumbing, heating, air-conditioning and electrical systems contained therein; except that such term shall include any structure which meets all the requirements of this definition except the size requirements and with respect to which the manufacturer voluntarily files a certificate which complies with the applicable federal standards. Calculations used to determine the number of square feet in a structure will be based on the structure's exterior dimensions measured at the largest horizontal projections when erected on site.
(k) "Purchaser" means the first person purchasing a manufactured home in good faith for purposes other than resale.
§21-9-10. Licensee to furnish bond or other form of assurance.
(a) Each manufacturer, dealer, distributor or contractor which applies for a licensee under the preceding section shall, at the time of making application therefor, furnish a surety bond or such other form of assurance of the applicant's financial responsibility as the board may by rule or regulation permit, such surety bond or other form of assurance to be in such amount as the board may by rule or regulation prescribe. In the event of forfeiture of any such bond or security, the proceeds thereof shall be deposited in the special account created under section nine of this article.
(b) The bond or other form of assurance shall cover any misappropriation of funds of a purchaser or prospective purchaser of a manufactured home, any deception or false or fraudulent representations or deceitful practices in selling or representing a product, any failure by a licensee, because of bankruptcy, insolvency or other reason, to fulfill warranty obligations and any failure of the licensee, its agents or employees, to comply with federal standards, this article or any rules or regulations promulgated by the board pursuant to this article. Provided, That any payment to purchasers or prospective purchasers by the board from licensee bonds or other forms of financial assurance shall not include punitive or exemplary damages, any compensation for property damage other than to the manufactured home, any recompense for any person injury or inconvenience, any reimbursement for alternate housing, or any payments for attorney fees, legal expenses or court costs.