Bill Text: MI HB4888 | 2023-2024 | 102nd Legislature | Introduced
Bill Title: Mobile homes: other; mobile home commission act; modify. Amends secs. 4, 5, 16 & 43 of 1987 PA 96 (MCL 125.2304 et seq.). TIE BAR WITH: HB 4886'23, HB 4887'23, HB 4889'23
Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill
Status: (Introduced) 2023-07-19 - Bill Electronically Reproduced 07/18/2023 [HB4888 Detail]
Download: Michigan-2023-HB4888-Introduced.html
HOUSE BILL NO. 4888
A bill to amend 1987 PA 96, entitled
"The mobile home commission act,"
by amending sections 4, 5, 16, and 43 (MCL 125.2304, 125.2305, 125.2316, and 125.2343), sections 4, 16, and 43 as amended by 2015 PA 40 and section 5 as amended by 2006 PA 328.
the people of the state of michigan enact:
Sec. 4. (1) The commission may do all of the following:
(a) After consultation with and considering comments from representatives of the manufactured housing industry and other interested parties, recommend rules to the department to implement and administer this act.
(b) Act for the purpose of establishing a uniform policy relating to all phases of mobile home businesses, mobile home parks, and seasonal mobile home parks.
(c) Determine the sufficiency of local mobile home ordinances that are designed to provide local governments with superintending control over mobile home businesses, mobile home parks, or seasonal mobile homes parks.
(d) Conduct public hearings relating to the powers prescribed in this subsection.
(2) The director or an authorized representative of the director department shall do all of the following:
(a) After consultation with and considering comments from representatives of the manufactured housing industry and other interested parties, promulgate rules to implement and administer this act.
(b) Conduct hearings relating to violations of this act or rules promulgated under this act.
(c) Make Conduct investigations to determine compliance with this act and rules promulgated under this act.
(d) Provide Ensure that the commission meets not less than once each calendar quarter, take all reasonable steps necessary to ensure that all members of the commission receive notice of scheduled meetings, and provide assistance to the commission as the commission requires.
(e) On not less than a quarterly basis, At every quarterly meeting, report to the commission on the expenditure of all fees collected under this act and the relation of those expenditures to the enforcement and administration of this act.
(f) Post and maintain on the department's website all current guidelines.
(g) Promptly notify a local government of the issuance, amendment, or rescission of a guideline if the department has knowledge that a mobile home park or seasonal mobile home park is located in, or an application has been filed for the licensure of a park proposed to be located in, the local government. The notice shall must be sent by first-class mail or electronic mail email to each of the following:
(i) The clerk of the local government.
(ii) The chief executive officer of the local government.
(iii) The enforcing agency for the local government if, under section 8a or 8b of the Stille-DeRossett-Hale single state construction code act, 1972 PA 230, MCL 125.1508a and 125.1508b, the local government has assumed responsibility for the administration and enforcement within its jurisdiction of that act and the state construction code or a part of the state construction code of limited application.
(h) If the department receives a complaint about a condition at a mobile home park or seasonal mobile home park that imminently threatens the health or safety of the residents of the park, promptly notify each local government in which the park is located of the details of the complaint.
(i) Employ an appropriate number of employees with the appropriate qualifications as required to implement and enforce this act and the rules promulgated under this act, including, but not limited to, staff to conduct community inspections, review financial information, manage the licensing process, and investigate potential violations of this act and the rules promulgated under this act. Beginning January 1, 2025, the department shall employ at least 3 full-time employees whose sole duties are to perform the obligations under this act.
(3) The commission shall not regulate mobile homes that are not located within a mobile home park or a seasonal mobile home park, except as relates to the business, sales, and service practices of mobile home dealers and the business practices of mobile home installers and repairers.
Sec. 5. (1) After consultation with and considering comments from representatives of the manufactured housing industry and other interested parties, the department shall, promulgate the mobile home code subject to section 4. The code shall must consist of rules governing all of the following:
(a) The licensure, density, layout, permits for construction, construction of mobile home parks including standards for roads, utilities, open space, or proposed recreational facilities, and safety measures sufficient to protect health, safety, and welfare of mobile home park residents, except water supply, sewage collection and treatment, and drainage facilities which that are regulated by the department of environmental quality.environment, Great Lakes, and energy.
(b) The business, sales, and service practices of mobile home dealers, including requiring advertisements to contain contact information, or placing parameters on dealer sales, financing practices, or the terms and conditions of the sale of a mobile home.
(c) The business practices of mobile home installers and repairers, including training and licensing requirements for individuals who install or repair mobile homes in mobile home parks or seasonal mobile home parks.
(d) The licensure and regulations of mobile home installers and repairers.
(d) (e) The setup and installation of mobile homes inside mobile home parks or seasonal mobile home parks.
(e) (f) The regulation of the responsibilities, under the mobile home warranty, of the mobile home components manufacturer, the mobile home assembler or manufacturer, and the mobile home dealer, including the time period and relationships of each under the warranty, and the remedies available, if any, if the responsible parties cease to operate as a business.
(f) (g) Abuses relating to all of the following:
(i) Consumer deposits, except utility deposits from consumers who are direct customers of utilities regulated by the Michigan public service commission.
(ii) Detailed listing of furnishings and fixtures by a manufacturer of a new mobile home or a mobile home dealer for a used mobile home.
(iii) Disclosure and delivery of manufacturer's warranties.
(iv) Used mobile homes. A mobile home dealer shall provide detailed listing of its service records for used mobile homes which are being sold by the dealer and of which the dealer has knowledge.
(g) (h) Applications for and issuance of certificates of title for mobile homes.
(h) Inspections of mobile home parks and seasonal mobile home parks, including establishing standard procedures for inspections that include a comprehensive list of items that a mobile home park or seasonal mobile home park must comply with to undergo a satisfactory inspection.
(i) Inspection of the books and records of mobile home parks or seasonal mobile home parks after giving the mobile home parks or seasonal mobile home parks at least 10 days' written notice before the inspection.
(j) The content of a mobile home park or seasonal mobile home park licensing form.
(k) Conduct in mobile home sales, including, but not limited to, substituting of purchased mobile homes, removing equipment from mobile homes after the purchase agreement is executed, and revising a purchase agreement after it has been executed.
(l) Dealer sales financing practices, including, but not limited to, the form of retail installment sales agreement, prohibiting mandatory retailer-obtained financing or insurance of a mobile home as a condition of sale, and requiring a retailer to pay off a loan after taking a mobile home as a trade.
(m) Retailers' and retailers' agents' practices as well as prohibited practices, including violations of this act and the rules promulgated under this act, acting on an unlicensed person's behalf, allowing a license to be used by an unlicensed person, disclosure of retailers' interest to third parties, and disclosure of retailers' interest in transactions.
(n) The hearing process for persons aggrieved by a local government's decision in relation to a mobile home park or seasonal mobile home park licensed under this act.
(o) The process for identifying, documenting, notifying, and undertaking enforcement measures against an unlicensed owner of a mobile home park or seasonal mobile home park.
(2) As part of the code, the department shall also promulgate rules governing the licensure, density, layout, permits for construction, and construction of seasonal mobile home parks, including standards for roads, utilities, open space, proposed recreational facilities, and safety measures sufficient to protect the health, safety, and welfare of seasonal mobile home park residents, except water supply, sewage collection and treatment, and drainage facilities , which shall be that are regulated by the department of environmental quality.environment, Great Lakes, and energy.
(3) The rules promulgated for seasonal mobile home parks may impose a less stringent standard than the rules promulgated for mobile home parks.
(4) All rules promulgated by the department or the commission under this act and not rescinded on the effective date of the amendatory act that added this subsection are authorized, valid, and enforceable, and remain in effect until December 31, 2025 or the date on which the department promulgates rules pursuant to the amendatory act that added this subsection, whichever is earlier.
Sec. 16. (1) A person shall not operate own a mobile home park or seasonal mobile home park without a license. Notwithstanding this subsection, a person shall apply for a license under this subsection within 30 days after becoming an owner of a mobile home park or seasonal mobile home park. If the department determines that an owner of a mobile home park or seasonal mobile home park is not licensed, the department must notify the owner of the mobile home park or seasonal mobile home park in writing regarding the lack of license and provide the owner of the mobile home park or seasonal mobile home park an application for licensure. The term of a license is 3 years. The department shall issue a license only if all of the following requirements are met:
(a) The applicant submits a complete license application.
(b) Certifications and recommendations of appropriate agencies. and local governments are submitted to and approved by the department.
(c) The applicant pays the fee set forth in subsection (4).(7).
(d) The mobile home park or seasonal mobile home park was approved as being in substantial compliance after its most recent inspection under section 17.
(2) A licensed owner of a mobile home park or seasonal mobile home park must post a copy of a license issued pursuant to this section in a conspicuous place and in an area that is accessible to all residents of the mobile home park or seasonal mobile home park.
(3) Not later than January 1, 2025, the department shall establish or cause to be established a database that includes the contact information, license number, and current licensing status of every owner of a mobile home park or seasonal mobile home park, every mobile home dealer, and every mobile home installer and repairer. The department must make the database available to the public on the department's website. The department must establish a method in which the public may submit a reporting form on its website regarding potentially unlicensed owners of mobile home parks or seasonal mobile home parks, mobile home dealers, or mobile home installers and repairers. The department must update the public database within 30 days after a change in licensure status.
(4) The database described in subsection (3) must provide a means by which an owner of a mobile home park or seasonal mobile home park, a mobile home dealer, or a mobile home installer and repairer may update the contact information of the owner of the mobile home park or seasonal mobile home park, the mobile home dealer, or the mobile home installer and repairer. Every owner of a mobile home park or seasonal mobile home park must designate an individual who is an officer, a director, or an employee of the owner of the mobile home park or seasonal mobile home park to communicate with the department and must provide that individual's contact information to the department, including the individual's current street address, monitored email address, and operational telephone number. Within 30 days of the occurrence of any of the following, an owner of a mobile home park shall notify the department of that occurrence:
(a) A sale of a mobile home park.
(b) A change of a designee of the owner of a mobile home park.
(c) A change in the email address, mailing address, or business address of the owner of the mobile home park.
(5) (2) The commission shall promulgate rules to do all of the following:
(a) Provide standards and procedures for the commission to determine whether a mobile home park or seasonal mobile home park that is not in substantial compliance with the rules promulgated under sections 5 and 6 is a distressed park. The standards and procedures shall must provide the owner with an opportunity for an evidentiary hearing and require the commission to consider at least all of the following:
(i) The length of time the mobile home park or seasonal mobile home park has not been in substantial compliance with the rules promulgated under sections 5 and 6.
(ii) Whether the owner or operator was notified and had sufficient opportunity to bring the mobile home park or seasonal mobile home park into substantial compliance.
(iii) Any imminent threat to the health or safety of the residents of the mobile home park or seasonal mobile home park.
(iv) Whether the mobile home park or seasonal mobile home park has been or is likely to be abandoned by the owner. or operator.
(b) Require the owner of a distressed mobile home park or seasonal mobile home park to post financial assurance in the form of a bond, cash deposit, or other financial arrangement to ensure the repair and cleanup of the mobile home park or seasonal mobile home park, including the repair of substandard or noncomplying park-owned utility systems and the removal and disposal of abandoned mobile homes, scrap material, or other waste.
(6) (3) Not more than 180 days after the effective date of the amendatory act that added this subsection, the commission shall submit a report on progress on rule promulgation under subsection (2) (5) to the standing committees of the senate and house of representatives with primary responsibility for legislation affecting mobile home parks.
(7) (4) The Beginning October 1, 2024, the fee for a license to operate own a mobile home park is $225.00, $250.00, plus an additional $3.00 $4.00 for each home site in excess of 25 home sites in the mobile home park, or any lesser amount established pursuant to section 9(5). The fee for a license to operate own a seasonal mobile home park is $120.00, $200.00, plus an additional $1.50 $2.00 for each home site in excess of 25 home sites in the seasonal mobile home park, or any lesser amount established pursuant to section 9(5).
(8) (5) If a person submits a timely application for renewal of a license and pays the appropriate fee, the person may continue to operate own a mobile home park or seasonal mobile home park unless notified that the application for renewal is not approved.
(9) (6) A campground that is currently licensed under sections 12501 to 12516 of the public health code, 1978 PA 368, MCL 333.12501 to 333.12516, and was previously licensed under the former licensing provisions of 1959 PA 243, MCL 125.1035 to 125.1043, as a seasonal trailer park may apply for and shall be granted a license as a seasonal mobile home park under this act if the campground meets all other requirements for licensure under this act as a seasonal mobile home park.
Sec. 43. (1) If, after notice and a hearing as provided in the administrative procedures act of 1969, 1969 PA 306, MCL 24.201 to 24.328, a person is determined to have violated this act, the commission may impose 1 or more of the following penalties:
(a) Censure.
(b) Probation.
(c) License limitation.
(d) License suspension. The commission may request the appointment of a receiver when taking action under this subdivision.
(e) License revocation. The commission may request the appointment of a receiver when taking action under this subdivision.
(f) License denial.
(g) A civil fine of not more than $50,000.00 per violation.
(h) Restitution.
(2) If the department determines that a mobile home park or seasonal mobile home park located in this state is owned by an unlicensed person, the department shall provide written notice to the unlicensed owner of the mobile home park or seasonal mobile home park. The written notice provided under this subsection must require the unlicensed owner of the mobile home park or seasonal mobile home park to apply for a license within 30 days after the date of the written notice. The department shall forward a copy of the written notice provided to the unlicensed owner of a mobile home park or seasonal mobile home park under this subsection to the clerk of the municipality where the mobile home park or seasonal mobile home park is located. If the unlicensed owner of the mobile home park or seasonal mobile home park does not apply for a license within the 30-day period provided under this subsection, the department shall impose a fine of not more than $100,000.00 after notice and a hearing as provided under the administrative procedures act of 1969, 1969 PA 306, MCL 24.201 to 24.328. The department shall advise the attorney general of the failure of any person to pay any fine imposed under this section. The attorney general must bring a civil action in a court of competent jurisdiction to recover the fine.
(3) (2) A fine imposed under subsection (1) or (2) may be collected by the imposition of a judgment lien by a court or obtaining a writ of garnishment against the person determined to have violated this act. A writ of garnishment under this section must be issued by a court of competent jurisdiction and directed to this state or the state treasurer to satisfy the fine. To obtain a writ of garnishment under this subsection, the department must comply with the requirements of chapter 40 of the revised judicature act of 1961, 1961 PA 236, MCL 600.4001 to 600.4065. A fine collected under this section shall must be deposited with the state treasurer and credited to the mobile home code fund created in section 9.
(4) (3) If the department determines that the owner or operator of a mobile home park or seasonal mobile home park has violated this act or rules promulgated under this act by failing to maintain or repair any infrastructure or facilities of the mobile home park or seasonal mobile home park, the department shall give notice of the determination by personal service or first-class mail to the local governments where the mobile home park or seasonal mobile home park is located, the owner , the operator, and, if financial assurance in the form of a bond has been posted under rules promulgated under section 16(2), the surety executing the bond. If the owner , operator, or surety does not perform or commence the specified maintenance or repair within 60 days after service of the notice, the department or its authorized representative may enter the mobile home park or seasonal mobile home park and perform the specified maintenance or repair. At the request of the owner , operator, or surety, the department may grant an extension of up to an additional 90 days. The owner , operator, and any surety are jointly and severally liable for all expenses incurred by the department or its authorized representative in performing the specified maintenance or repair. The department shall certify the claim to the owner , operator, and any surety, listing in the claim the items of expense in performing the maintenance or repair, and shall draw on any financial assurance for the payment of the claim. The department shall notify the local government where the mobile home park or seasonal mobile home park is located when the specified maintenance or repair has been completed.
(5) (4) This section does not prohibit actions from being taken under other sections of this act.
(6) (5) The pursuit in court of the lawful rights of a licensee does not constitute a violation of this act, regardless of the outcome of the court action.
Enacting section 1. This amendatory act does not take effect unless all of the following bills of the 102nd Legislature are enacted into law:
(a) Senate Bill No.____ or House Bill No. 4886 (request no. 03258'23).
(b) Senate Bill No.____ or House Bill No. 4887 (request no. 03259'23).
(c) Senate Bill No.____ or House Bill No. 4889 (request no. 03261'23).
