[House Report 112-191]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
112th Congress Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
1st Session 112-191
======================================================================
CJ'S HOME PROTECTION ACT OF 2011
_______
August 1, 2011.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the
State of the Union and ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Bachus, from the Committee on Financial Services,
submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany H.R. 1751]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Financial Services, to whom was referred
the bill (H.R. 1751) to amend the National Manufactured Housing
Construction and Safety Standards Act of 1974 to require that
weather radios be installed in all manufactured homes
manufactured or sold in the United States, having considered
the same, report favorably thereon without amendment and
recommend that the bill do pass.
Purpose and Summary
H.R. 1751, the CJ's Home Protection Act amends the
Manufactured Housing Construction and Safety Standards Act of
1974 by requiring the installation of National Oceanic &
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) weather radios in all
manufactured homes made or sold in the United States. The
weather radios would broadcast severe weather warnings and
civil emergency messages (including tornado and flood
warnings), AMBER alerts for child abductions, and chemical
spill notifications.
The installation standard is to be established by the
Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) upon
recommendation of the Manufactured Housing Consensus Committee,
which is the federal advisory committee charged with providing
recommendations to the HUD Secretary regarding manufactured
home construction and safety standards.
H.R. 1751 would require weather radios installed in
manufactured housing to meet the following standards:
Capable of broadcasting emergency information
relating to local weather conditions;
Equipped with a tone alarm;
Equipped with Specific Alert Message Encoding
(SAME) technology, which is the protocol used to encode the
Emergency Alert System and NOAA Weather Radio's Public Warning
System in the U.S.; and
Compliance with Consumer Electronics Association
Standard 2009--A Performance Specification for Public Alert
Receivers, which defines minimum performance criteria for
consumer electronic products designed to receive SAME alert
signals broadcast by NOAA's Weather Radio network.
Background and Need for Legislation
Every year, roughly 800 tornadoes sweep across the United
States, resulting in approximately 80 deaths, more than 1,500
injuries, and millions of dollars in property damage. Large
tornadoes can generate wind speeds greater than 250 miles per
hour. Natural catastrophes often strike with little warning,
inflicting property damage on communities, and, in some cases,
resulting in loss of life.
On November 6, 2005, a tornado destroyed the Eastbrook
Mobile Home Park community in Evansville, Indiana. The tornado
killed 19 people, including two-year-old CJ Martine for whom
this legislation is named, and wounding hundreds of other
residents. The storm struck at 2 a.m. and the majority of
Eastbrook residents were asleep and unable to respond to the
tornado warnings issued in advance by NOAA's National Weather
Service.
CJ's family has worked closely with the manufactured
housing industry to develop this legislation to provide early
warning systems within homes with the hope of preventing future
death and injury from such storms. His mother began a campaign
that resulted in an Indiana law requiring that NOAA weather
radios be installed in all new mobile and manufactured housing.
The Indiana law prompted the federal initiative.
Many families that reside in manufactured housing do not
have access to a weather radio and as a result do not receive
immediate alerts regarding storms and tornadoes. H.R. 1751
would provide families with an opportunity to receive a severe
storm alert in order to seek shelter ahead of tornadoes or
flooding.
Hearings
No hearings were held on this legislation in the 112th
Congress.
Committee Consideration
The Committee on Financial Services met in open session on
July 20, 2011 and ordered H.R. 1751 favorably reported to the
House by voice vote.
Committee Votes
Clause 3(b) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of
Representatives requires the Committee to list the record votes
on the motion to report legislation and amendments thereto.
There were no record votes taken on amendments or in connection
with ordering H.R. 1751 reported to the House. A motion by
Chairman Bachus to report the bill to the House with a
favorable recommendation was agreed to by voice vote.
Committee Oversight Findings
Pursuant to clause 3(c)(1) of rule XIII of the Rules of the
House of Representatives, the Committee has held hearings and
made findings that are reflected in this report.
Performance Goals and Objectives
Pursuant to clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII of the Rules of the
House of Representatives, the Committee establishes the
following performance related goals and objectives for this
legislation:
The objectives of H.R. 1751 are to provide families with an
opportunity to receive severe storm alerts or civil emergency
messages and to receive the warnings early so that people who
reside in manufactured housing communities can seek shelter and
safety ahead of natural disasters or other emergency
situations. H.R. 1751 amends the Manufactured Housing
Construction and Safety Standards Act of 1974 by requiring the
installation of National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration
weather radios in all manufactured homes made or sold in the
United States. The weather radios would broadcast severe
weather warnings and civil emergency messages (including
tornado and flood warnings), AMBER alerts for child abductions,
and chemical spill notifications.
New Budget Authority, Entitlement Authority, and Tax Expenditures
In compliance with clause 3(c)(2) of rule XIII of the Rules
of the House of Representatives, the Committee adopts as its
own the estimate of new budget authority, entitlement
authority, or tax expenditures or revenues contained in the
cost estimate prepared by the Director of the Congressional
Budget Office pursuant to section 402 of the Congressional
Budget Act of 1974.
Committee Cost Estimate
The Committee adopts as its own the cost estimate prepared
by the Director of the Congressional Budget Office pursuant to
section 402 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974.
Congressional Budget Office Estimates
Pursuant to clause 3(c)(3) of rule XIII of the Rules of the
House of Representatives, the following is the cost estimate
provided by the Congressional Budget Office pursuant to section
402 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974:
July 25, 2011.
Hon. Spencer Bachus,
Chairman, Committee on Financial Services,
House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 1751, the CJ's
Home Protection Act of 2011.
If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Susan Willie.
Sincerely,
Douglas W. Elmendorf.
Enclosure.
H.R. 1751--CJ's Home Protection Act of 2011
H.R. 1751 would require the Department of Housing and Urban
Development (HUD) to issue a new standard requiring that each
manufactured home delivered for sale be supplied with a weather
radio that meets certain performance specifications, including
the capacity to receive broadcasts of emergency information
related to local weather conditions. Under current law, a
committee representing both producers and users of manufactured
housing makes recommendations to HUD on regulations concerning
such homes. H.R. 1751 would require the committee to develop a
proposed construction and safety standard; HUD would be
required to finalize the standard within 90 days of receiving
the proposal from the committee. The bill also would require
HUD to prepare a report to the Congress that examines whether
the requirement to equip new manufactured homes with weather
radios should be limited to homes located in specific
geographic areas.
Under current law, HUD monitors and enforces safety
standards for manufactured homes through a joint federal and
state program funded partially by inspection fees paid by
builders of manufactured homes; the fees are recorded in the
budget as discretionary offsetting collections and may be spent
subject to provisions in appropriation acts. The program's
administrative costs as well as the balance of costs for
monitoring and enforcement are funded through annual
appropriation acts. Based on information from HUD, CBO
estimates that implementing H.R. 1751 would increase spending
subject to appropriation, though the effect would not be
significant. Enacting H.R. 1751 would not affect direct
spending or revenues; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures do
not apply.
The bill's requirement that each manufactured home
delivered for sale be equipped with a weather radio would
extend an existing preemption of state and local authority that
prohibits state and local governments from establishing or
continuing laws regarding the safety of manufactured homes if
those standards are not identical to the federal standards. CBO
has identified safety standards for manufactured homes in at
least one state that are similar but not identical to the
requirements in H.R. 1751. Preempting such state laws is an
intergovernmental mandate as defined in the Unfunded Mandates
Reform Act (UMRA). Although the preemption would prohibit the
application of state laws, CBO estimates that the cost of the
mandate on state, local, or tribal governments would be
insignificant and well below the threshold established by UMRA
($71 million in 2011, adjusted annually for inflation).
H.R. 1751 also would impose a private-sector mandate, as
defined in UMRA, on builders of manufactured housing. The bill
would require all manufactured homes delivered for sale to be
supplied with weather radios that have a tone alarm and
specific alert message encoding, and that comply with the
Consumer Electronics Association's performance standards for
public alert receivers. Based on information from HUD and
industry sources, the cost for each radio could be about $75,
including overhead costs such as storage, shipment fees, and
taxes. According to information from HUD, approximately 50,000
manufactured homes were sold in both 2009 and 2010.
Consequently, CBO expects that the direct cost of the mandate
would fall below the annual threshold established in UMRA for
private-sector mandates ($142 million in 2011, adjusted
annually for inflation).
The CBO staff contacts for this estimate are Susan Willie
(for federal costs), Lisa Ramirez-Branum (for the state and
local impact), and Paige Piper/Bach (for the private-sector
impact). The estimate was approved by Theresa Gullo, Deputy
Assistant Director for Budget Analysis.
Federal Mandates Statement
The Committee adopts as its own the estimate of Federal
mandates prepared by the Director of the Congressional Budget
Office pursuant to section 423 of the Unfunded Mandates reform
Act.
Advisory Committee Statement
No advisory committees within the meaning of section 5(b)
of the Federal Advisory Committee Act were created by this
legislation.
Applicability to Legislative Branch
The Committee finds that the legislation does not relate to
the terms and conditions of employment or access to public
services or accommodations within the meaning of the section
102(b)(3) of the Congressional Accountability Act.
Earmark Identification
H.R. 1751 does not contain any congressional earmarks,
limited tax benefits, or limited tariff benefits as defined in
clause 9 of rule XXI.
Section-by-Section Analysis of the Legislation
Section 1--Short title
CJ's Home Protection Act of 2011.
Section 2--Congressional findings
Section 2 outlines congressional findings regarding the
positive role manufactured housing plays in providing
affordable housing, and the congressional findings also
encourage manufactured housing communities to provide storm
shelters for its residents and states that manufactured housing
manufacturers should include in the packaging of weather radios
a reminder to replace its batteries twice a year.
Section 3--Federal Manufactured Home Construction and Safety Standard
This section amends the Manufactured Housing Construction
and Safety Standards Act of 1974 by directing the Secretary of
the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to
require that each manufactured home delivered for sale be
supplied with a weather radio inside the manufactured home.
These weather radios shall meet the following standards:
Capable of broadcasting emergency information
relating to local weather conditions;
Equipped with a tone alarm;
Equipped with Specific Alert Message Encoding, or
SAME technology;
Compliance with Consumer Electronics Association
(CEA) Standard 2009-A Performance Specification for Public
Alert Receivers.
In addition, this section exempts manufacturers from
Sections 613 and 615 of the Manufactured Housing Construction
and Safety Standards Act of 1974. Section 613 establishes
procedures for handling a noncompliance or defect in the
construction or installation standard after the sale of the
manufactured home by the ``manufacturer'' to the
``distributor'' or ``retailer'' and prior to a sale of the home
to the ``purchaser.'' Section 615 deals with noncompliance or
defects by the ``manufacturer'' after the home is sold to the
ultimate ``purchaser''. Section 615 governs the relationship
between the ``manufacturer'' and the ``purchaser''; such as how
the manufacturer must provide notice of a noncompliance or
defect; the manufacturer's notice to HUD; HUD's notice to the
manufacturer if a defect or failure to comply is discovered;
the manufacturer's duty to maintain a list of purchasers; and
correction by the manufacturer.
Section 4--Establishment
This section establishes that within 90 days of enactment
of this act, the Manufactured Housing Consensus Committee shall
develop and submit to the Secretary of HUD a proposed
manufactured housing construction and safety standard requiring
that each manufactured home delivered for sale shall be
supplied with a weather radio inside the manufactured home. The
Secretary of HUD must issue the final order promulgating this
standard within 90 days of receipt of the proposed standard
from the Manufactured Housing Consensus Committee.
Section 5--Study
This section directs the Secretary of HUD to conduct a
study of the applicability of the weather radio requirement to
certain geographic locations at which manufactured homes are
placed. The HUD Secretary should take into consideration severe
weather conditions, such as high winds and flooding, and wind
zones and other severe weather data available from the National
Weather Service. This study is to be completed no later than 18
months after the enactment of this act and shall be submitted
to the Committee on Financial Services of the House of
Representatives and to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and
Urban Affairs of the Senate.
Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported
In compliance with clause 3(e) of rule XIII of the Rules of
the House of Representatives, changes in existing law made by
the bill, as reported, are shown as follows (new matter is
printed in italic and existing law in which no change is
proposed is shown in roman):
NATIONAL MANUFACTURED HOUSING CONSTRUCTION AND SAFETY STANDARDS ACT OF
1974
TITLE VI--MANUFACTURED HOME CONSTRUCTION AND SAFETY STANDARDS
SHORT TITLE
Sec. 601. This title may be cited as the ``National
Manufactured Housing Construction and Safety Standards Act of
1974''.
* * * * * * *
FEDERAL MANUFACTURED HOME CONSTRUCTION AND SAFETY STANDARDS
Sec. 604. (a) * * *
* * * * * * *
(i) Weather Radios.--
(1) Construction and safety standard.--The Federal
manufactured home construction and safety standards
established by the Secretary under this section shall
require that each manufactured home delivered for sale
shall be supplied with a weather radio inside the
manufactured home that--
(A) is capable of broadcasting emergency
information relating to local weather
conditions;
(B) is equipped with a tone alarm;
(C) is equipped with Specific Alert Message
Encoding, or SAME technology; and
(D) complies with Consumer Electronics
Association (CEA) Standard 2009-A (or current
revision thereof) Performance Specification for
Public Alert Receivers.
(2) Liability protections.--No aspect of the
function, operation, performance, capabilities, or
utilization of the weather radio required under this
subsection, or any instructions related thereto, shall
be subject to the requirements of sections 613 or 615
or any regulations promulgated by the Secretary
pursuant to the authority under such sections.
* * * * * * *