[DOCID: f:hr415.110]
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110th Congress Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
1st Session 110-415
======================================================================
CJ'S HOME PROTECTION ACT OF 2007
_______
October 30, 2007.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the
State of the Union and ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Frank of Massachusetts, from the Committee on Financial Services,
submitted the following
R E P O R T
together with
ADDITIONAL VIEWS
[To accompany H.R. 2787]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Financial Services, to whom was referred the
bill (H.R. 2787) 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 with an amendment and
recommend that the bill as amended do pass.
CONTENTS
Page
Amendment........................................................ 2
Purpose and Summary.............................................. 3
Background and Need for Legislation.............................. 4
Hearings......................................................... 4
Committee Consideration.......................................... 4
Committee Votes.................................................. 4
Committee Oversight Findings..................................... 5
Performance Goals and Objectives................................. 5
New Budget Authority, Entitlement Authority, and Tax Expenditures 5
Committee Cost Estimate.......................................... 5
Congressional Budget Office Estimate............................. 5
Federal Mandates Statement....................................... 7
Advisory Committee Statement..................................... 7
Constitutional Authority Statement............................... 7
Applicability to Legislative Branch.............................. 7
Earmark Identification........................................... 7
Section-by-Section Analysis of the Legislation................... 7
Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported............ 9
Additional Views................................................. 11
Amendment
The amendment is as follows:
Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the
following:
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``CJ's Home Protection Act of 2007''.
SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL FINDINGS.
The Congress finds that--
(1) nearly 20,000,000 Americans live in manufactured homes,
which often provide a more accessible and affordable way for
many families to buy their own homes;
(2) manufactured housing plays a vital role in providing
housing for low- and moderate-income families in the United
States;
(3) NOAA Weather Radio (NWR) is a nationwide network of radio
stations broadcasting continuous weather information directly
from a nearby National Weather Service (NWS) office, and
broadcasts NWS warnings, watches, forecasts, and other all-
hazard information 24 hours a day;
(4) the operators of manufactured housing communities should
be encouraged to provide a safe place of shelter for community
residents or a plan for the evacuation of community residents
to a safe place of shelter within a reasonable distance of the
community for use by community residents in times of severe
weather, including tornados and high winds, and local
municipalities should be encouraged to require approval of
these plans;
(5) the operators of manufactured housing communities should
be encouraged to provide a written reminder semiannually to all
owners of manufactured homes in the manufactured housing
community to replace the batteries in their weather radios; and
(6) weather radio manufacturers should include, in the
packaging of weather radios, a written reminder to replace the
batteries twice each year and written instructions on how to do
so.
SEC. 3. FEDERAL MANUFACTURED HOME CONSTRUCTION AND SAFETY STANDARD.
Section 604 of the National Manufactured Housing Construction and
Safety Standards Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5403) is amended by adding at
the end the following new subsection:
``(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.--
``(A) 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 section 613 or 615 or any regulations
promulgated by the Secretary pursuant to the authority
under such sections.
``(B) Manufacturers of manufactured homes, as such
term is defined in section 603, shall be immune from
common law civil liability for any aspect of the
function, operation, performance, capabilities, or
utilization of the weather radio receiver mandated by
the Federal manufactured home construction and safety
standard promulgated in accordance with this
subsection, including any instructions related thereto.
``(C) Any reminder, assistance, or instructions
provided by the operator of a manufactured housing
community concerning the function of a weather radio
contained in a manufactured home shall not subject the
operator, an owner or employee of the manufactured home
community, or the manufacturer of the manufactured home
to liability for the functionality of that weather
radio.''.
SEC. 4. ESTABLISHMENT.
Not later than the expiration of the 90-day period beginning on the
date of the enactment of this Act, the consensus committee established
pursuant to section 604(a)(3) of the National Manufactured Housing
Construction and Safety Standards Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5304(a)(3))
shall develop and submit to the Secretary of Housing and Urban
Development a proposed Federal manufactured home construction and
safety standard required under section 604(i) of such Act (as added by
the amendment made by section 3 of this Act). Notwithstanding section
604(a)(5)(B) of such Act, the Secretary of Housing and Urban
Development shall issue a final order promulgating the standard
required by such section 604(i) not later than the expiration of the
90-day period beginning upon receipt by the Secretary of the proposed
standard developed and submitted by the consensus committee.
SEC. 5. STUDY.
The Secretary of Housing and Urban Development shall conduct a study
regarding conditioning the applicability of the requirement under the
amendment made by section 3 of this Act (relating to supplying weather
radios in manufactured homes) on the geographic location at which a
manufactured home is placed, but only to the extent that such
requirement applies to new manufactured homes and new site-built homes.
In conducting such study and making determinations under the study, the
Secretary shall 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. Not later than the
expiration of the 18-month period beginning on the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall complete the study and
submit a report regarding the results of the study to the Committee on
Financial Services of the House of Representatives and to the Committee
on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate.
Purpose and Summary
H.R. 2787, ``CJ's Home Protection Act of 2007,'' requires
the Department of Housing and Urban Development (``HUD'') to
promulgate a new construction and safety standard requiring the
installation of weather radios in manufactured homes.
The bill amends the Manufactured Housing Construction and
Safety Standards Act of 1974 to require weather radios be
installed in all manufactured homes manufactured or sold in the
U.S. The standard, to be established by the Secretary of
Housing and Urban Development upon recommendation of the
Manufactured Housing Consensus Committee, will require each
manufactured home delivered for sale to be supplied with a
weather radio. These weather radios must be:
<bullet> Capable of broadcasting emergency
information relating to local weather conditions;
<bullet> Equipped with a tone alarm;
<bullet> Equipped with Specific Alert Message
Encoding, or SAME technology;
<bullet> Comply with Consumer Electronics Association
(CEA) Standard 2009-A Performance Specification for
Public Alert Receivers.
The bill also includes liability protection for mobile home
manufacturers, mobile home community operators, owners and
employees. It states that any reminder, assistance, or
instructions provided by an operator of a mobile home community
concerning the function of a weather radio contained in a
manufactured home will not subject the operator, an owner or
employee of the mobile home community, or the mobile home
manufacturer to liability for the functionality of the weather
radio.
During markup of the legislation Chairman Frank offered a
manager's amendment, which passed by voice vote. The manager's
amendment changed the bill in four ways: (1) the findings in
the bill were amended to encourage the operators of
manufactured housing communities to provide a safe place of
shelter and plan of evacuation for manufactured housing
community residents, and encourages semiannual replacement of
batteries in the weather radios; (2) liability protections were
clarified for manufacturers of manufactured housing regarding
the radios; (3) requiring the Manufactured Housing Consensus
Committee to develop the rule for requiring the radios pursuant
to the National Manufactured Housing Construction and Safety
Standards Act within 90 days, and requires the HUD Secretary to
issue a final order promulgating the new standard not later
than 90 days after receiving the rule from the Consensus
Committee; and (4) requiring HUD to conduct a study regarding
the conditioning and applicability of the weather radio
requirement to certain geographic locations at which
manufactured homes are placed.
Background and Need for Legislation
H.R. 2787, CJ's Home Protection Act of 2007, represents a
consensus forged by the bill's sponsors and the manufactured
housing industry to promulgate a new HUD safety standard for
the installation of NOAA weather radios in manufactured homes.
On November 6, 2005, Mr. Ellsworth's congressional district
was hit by a tornado that 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 and Mr. Ellsworth have 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.
Hearings
No hearings were held on this legislation in the 110th
Congress.
Committee Consideration
The Committee on Financial Services met in open session on
September 18, 2007, and ordered H.R. 2787, CJ's Home Protection
Act of 2007, as amended, reported by a 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. No
record votes were taken in conjunction with the consideration
of this legislation. A motion by Mr. Frank to report the bill,
as amended, to the House with a favorable recommendation was
agreed to by a voice vote.
During the consideration of the bill, the following
amendment was considered:
An amendment by Mr. Frank, No. 1, a manager's amendment
making various technical and substantive changes, was agreed to
by a 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:
H.R. 2787, ``CJ's Home Protection Act of 2007,'' requires
HUD to promulgate a new construction and safety standard
requiring the installation of weather radios in manufactured
homes with the goal of making residents living in such homes
safer from injury resulting from destruction of the home caused
by violent wind.
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.
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 Estimate
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:
U.S. Congress,
Congressional Budget Office,
Washington, DC, September 27, 2007.
Hon. Barney Frank,
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. 2787, the CJ's
Home Protection Act of 2007.
If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Susan Willie.
Sincerely,
Peter R. Orszag,
Director.
Enclosure.
H.R. 2787--CJ's Home Protection Act of 2007
H.R. 2787 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 and can
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. 2787 would require the committee to develop a proposed
standard meeting the requirements specified in the bill; HUD
would be required to finalize the standard within 90 days of
receiving that proposal. The bill also would require HUD to
prepare a report to the Congress that examines whether the
requirement to provide weather radios in new manufactured homes
should be limited to homes located in specific geographic
areas.
Under current law, HUD monitors and enforces manufactured
home safety standards through a joint federal and state program
funded by inspection fees paid by builders of the manufactured
homes. Such fees are recorded on the budget as discretionary
offsetting collections and may be spent subject to provisions
in appropriation acts. Based on information from HUD, CBO
estimates that implementing H.R. 2787 would have no significant
net effect on spending subject to appropriation in any year.
Enacting H.R. 2787 would not affect direct spending or
revenues.
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 in effect, 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. 2787. Preempting such state laws is
an intergovernmental mandate as defined in the Unfunded
Mandates Reform Act (UMRA). However, because the preemption
would simply prohibit the application of state law, CBO
estimates that the mandate would impose no significant costs on
state, local, or tribal governments and would be well below the
threshold established by UMRA ($66 million in 2007, adjusted
annually for inflation).
H.R. 2787 would impose a private-sector mandate, as defined
in UMRA, on manufacturers of manufactured housing, The bill
would require all manufactured homes delivered for sale to be
supplied with weather radios equipped with a tone alarm and
specific alert message encoding, and in compliance with the
Consumer Electronics Association's performance standards for
public alert receivers. Based on information from industry
sources, the cost of such radio equipment could amount to $30
per radio and up to $50 when including the overhead costs
associated with supplying each radio, such as storage, shipment
fees, and taxes. According to information from HUD,
approximately 100,000 manufactured homes are expected to be
sold in 2008. That number is expected to decrease in subsequent
years if the current trend in sales of manufactured homes
continues. Consequently, CBO expects that the direct cost of
the mandate would fall below the annual threshold established
by UMRA for private-sector mandates ($131 million in 2007,
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 MarDestinee Perez (for the private-sector
impact). This estimate was approved by Peter H. Fontaine,
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.
Constitutional Authority Statement
Pursuant to clause 3(d)(1) of rule XIII of the Rules of the
House of Representatives, the Committee finds that the
Constitutional Authority of Congress to enact this legislation
is provided by Article 1, section 8, clause 1 (relating to the
general welfare of the United States) and clause 3 (relating to
the power to regulate interstate commerce).
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 section
102(b)(3) of the Congressional Accountability Act.
Earmark Identification
H.R. 2787 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 2007.
Section 2--Congressional findings
The Congress finds that--
(1) Nearly 20,000,000 Americans live in manufactured
homes, which often provide a more accessible and
affordable way for many families to buy their own
homes;
(2) Manufactured housing plays a vital role in
providing housing for low- and moderate-income families
in the United States;
(3) NOAA Weather Radio (NWR) is a nationwide network
of radio stations broadcasting continuous weather
information directly from a nearby National Weather
Service (NWS) office, and broadcasts NWS warnings,
watches, forecasts, and other all hazard information 24
hours a day;
(4) the operators of manufactured housing communities
should be encouraged to provide a safe place of shelter
for community residents or a plan for the evacuation of
community residents to a safe place of shelter within a
reasonable distance of the community for use by
community residents in times of severe weather,
including tornados and high winds, and local
municipalities should be encouraged to require approval
of these plans;
(5) the operators of manufactured housing communities
should be encouraged to provide a written reminder
semiannually to all owners of manufactured homes in the
manufactured housing community to replace the batteries
in their weather radios; and
(6) Weather radio manufacturers should include, in
the packaging of weather radios, a written reminder to
replace the batteries twice each year and written
instructions on how to do so.
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:
<bullet> Capable of broadcasting emergency
information relating to local weather conditions;
<bullet> Equipped with a tone alarm;
<bullet> Equipped with Specific Alert Message
Encoding, or SAME technology;
<bullet> Comply with Consumer Electronics Association
(CEA) Standard 2009-A Performance Specification for
Public Alert Receivers.
This section also establishes liability protections for
manufacturers of manufactured homes and manufactured housing
community operators, owners, and employees. No aspect of the
function, operation, performance, capabilities, or utilization
of the weather radio shall subject the manufacturer of
manufactured homes to common law civil liability. This section
also states that any reminder, assistance, or instructions
provided by an operator of a manufactured home community
concerning the function of a weather radio contained in a
manufactured home will not subject the operator, an owner or
employee of the manufactured home community to liability for
the functionality of the weather radio.
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 upon 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 on the applicability of the weather radio requirement to
certain geographic locations at which manufactured homes are
placed. The 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 conducted 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 italics and existing law in which no change is
proposed is shown in roman):
SECTION 604 OF 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.--
(A) 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 section 613 or 615 or any regulations
promulgated by the Secretary pursuant to the
authority under such sections.
(B) Manufacturers of manufactured homes, as
such term is defined in section 603, shall be
immune from common law civil liability for any
aspect of the function, operation, performance,
capabilities, or utilization of the weather
radio receiver mandated by the Federal
manufactured home construction and safety
standard promulgated in accordance with this
subsection, including any instructions related
thereto.
(C) Any reminder, assistance, or instructions
provided by the operator of a manufactured
housing community concerning the function of a
weather radio contained in a manufactured home
shall not subject the operator, an owner or
employee of the manufactured home community, or
the manufacturer of the manufactured home to
liability for the functionality of that weather
radio.
ADDITIONAL VIEWS OF RANKING MEMBER SPENCER BACHUS
H.R. 2787, ``CJ's Home Protection Act,'' is a bipartisan
bill which 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 built or sold in the United
States. These weather radios will provide immediate broadcasts
of severe weather warnings and civil emergency messages,
including tornado and flood warnings, AMBER alerts for child
abductions, and chemical spill notifications.
The legislation is named in memory of CJ Martin, a two year
old boy who was killed during a tornado in southwest Indiana in
2005. His mother, Kathryn, helped pass a state law requiring
the manufactured housing industry to install NOAA weather
radios in all newly built units and has been a strong advocate
of federal legislation to accomplish the same objective.
Despite rapid advances in tornado warning technologies,
residents of manufactured housing communities often do not have
adequate access to proper shelter. That is why I introduced
H.R. 23, the Tornado Shelters Act, which was signed into law in
2003. That bipartisan legislation authorized communities to use
Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds to construct or
improve tornado-safe shelters located in manufactured housing
parks. Unfortunately, this program is not used nearly often
enough.
H.R. 2787 represents the final link in protecting families
and residents in these communities. Weather radios will get
warnings out to those who need to hear them, sometimes as much
as a half hour or more before a severe storm arrives. We have
the ability to build shelters. Now we are going to give
residents an opportunity to hear these warnings earlier so they
can take shelter from the storm. The cost of installing these
radios is very small. This is going to save lives. It is going
to save families.
Every year, approximately 800 tornadoes sweep across the
United States, resulting in an average of 80 deaths, more than
1,500 injuries, and millions of dollars in property damage. One
of nature's most powerful and violent storms, large tornadoes
often record wind speeds in excess of 250 miles per hour.
Natural catastrophes can often strike with little warning,
forcing communities to confront a loss of infrastructure, and,
unfortunately, a loss of life. In my home state of Alabama in
early March, eight people were killed, including students, when
a powerful tornado ripped through a high school.
Often in the face of a tornado threat it is said we can do
two things--pray and prepare. Pray it won't happen again and
prepare for the next line of twisters. While our citizens can
pray, our government and this Committee through the passing of
CJ's Home Protection Act can continue to help them prepare.
Spencer Bachus.
<all>