Texas 2009 - 81st Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB1856 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

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1	1	81R4092 JAM-F
2	2	By: Eltife S.B. No. 1856
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to the regulation of manufactured housing.
8	8	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
9	9	SECTION 1. Subchapter A, Chapter 1201, Occupations Code, is
10	10	amended by adding Section 1201.009 to read as follows:
11	11	Sec. 1201.009. ELECTRONIC MEANS AUTHORIZED. The board
12	12	shall adopt rules to facilitate the use of electronic means for any
13	13	department action under this chapter, as appropriate.
14	14	SECTION 2. Sections 1201.104(c), (e), and (f), Occupations
15	15	Code, are amended to read as follows:
16	16	(c) An applicant for a salesperson's license may apply for a
17	17	license without having completed the course of instruction provided
18	18	that the person successfully completes the [next scheduled] course
19	19	not later than the 90th day [offered] after the date of the person's
20	20	licensure. If the person fails to complete such course
21	21	successfully and in a timely manner, the person's license is
22	22	automatically suspended until the person successfully completes
23	23	the course.
24	24	(e) The board shall adopt rules relating to course content
25	25	and approval. [Classes must be live. Online or other electronic
26	26	classes are not permitted.]
27	27	(f) An applicant for an initial installer's license shall
28	28	receive a license on a provisional [probationary] basis. The
29	29	person's provisional [probationary] status remains [shall remain]
30	30	in effect until [such time as] a sufficient number of installations
31	31	completed by the person have been inspected by the department and
32	32	found not to have any identified material violations of the
33	33	department's rules. The board, with the advice of the advisory
34	34	committee to be established under Section 1201.251, shall adopt
35	35	rules to establish what constitutes a sufficient number of
36	36	installations under this subsection.
37	37	SECTION 3. Section 1201.113(b), Occupations Code, is
38	38	amended to read as follows:
39	39	(b) Completion of [Attendance at] an approved or
40	40	administered continuing education course described by Subsection
41	41	(a) is a prerequisite to renewal of a license.
42	42	SECTION 4. Section 1201.116(c), Occupations Code, is
43	43	amended to read as follows:
44	44	(c) The renewal license expires on the second [first]
45	45	anniversary of the date the license was renewed.
46	46	SECTION 5. Section 1201.204(c), Occupations Code, is
47	47	amended to read as follows:
48	48	(c) After the first retail sale of a manufactured home, the
49	49	retailer must submit the original manufacturer's certificate for
50	50	that home to the department. If an application for an initial
51	51	statement of ownership is made without the required manufacturer's
52	52	certificate and the retailer does not provide it as required, the
53	53	department shall, on or before the issuance of the requested
54	54	statement of ownership and location, send written notice to the
55	55	[each] party currently reflected on the department's records as
56	56	having a recorded lien on the inventory of that retailer with
57	57	respect to that home. Failure to include the original
58	58	manufacturer's certificate with such an application does not impair
59	59	a consumer's ability to obtain, on submittal of an otherwise
60	60	complete application, a statement of ownership and location free
61	61	and clear of any liens other than liens created by or consented to
62	62	by the consumer.
63	63	SECTION 6. Sections 1201.206(g) and (k), Occupations Code,
64	64	are amended to read as follows:
65	65	(g) When the seller files an application for the issuance of
66	66	a statement of ownership and location for a used manufactured home
67	67	that is not in a retailer's inventory, either the seller or the
68	68	office of the tax assessor-collector shall also file with the
69	69	department evidence [a statement] from the tax assessor-collector
70	70	that there are no personal property taxes due on the manufactured
71	71	home that may have accrued on each January 1 that falls within the
72	72	18 months before the date of the sale.
73	73	(k) Notwithstanding any provision in this chapter to the
74	74	contrary, the department may issue a statement of ownership and
75	75	location to any [if a] person who has acquired a manufactured home
76	76	and who claims ownership of that home if:
77	77	(1) there is not an existing owner of record for the
78	78	home or the existing owner of record for the home or an [any]
79	79	intervening holder [owners] of a lien [liens] or equitable interest
80	80	on the home [interests] cannot be located to assist in documenting
81	81	the chain of title; and
82	82	(2) [, the department may issue a statement of
83	83	ownership and location to the person claiming ownership if] the
84	84	person can provide a supporting affidavit describing the chain of
85	85	title and any [such] reasonable supporting proof as the director
86	86	may require.
87	87	SECTION 7. Section 1201.207(c), Occupations Code, is
88	88	amended to read as follows:
89	89	(c) Except with respect to any change in use, servicing of a
90	90	loan on a manufactured home, or change in ownership of a lien on a
91	91	manufactured home, but subject to Section 1201.2075, if the
92	92	department has issued a statement of ownership and location for a
93	93	manufactured home, the department may issue a subsequent statement
94	94	of ownership and location for the home only if all owners and
95	95	lienholders [parties] reflected in the department's records as
96	96	having an ownership interest in the manufactured home give their
97	97	written consent or release their interest, either in writing or by
98	98	operation of law, or the department has followed the procedures
99	99	provided by Section 1201.206(k) to document ownership and lien
100	100	status. Once the department issues a statement of ownership and
101	101	location, the department may [shall] not alter the record of the
102	102	ownership or lien status, other than to change the record to
103	103	accurately reflect the identity of the owner of record or a
104	104	lienholder, of a manufactured home for any activity occurring
105	105	before the issuance of the statement of ownership and location
106	106	without either the written permission of the owner of record for the
107	107	manufactured home, their legal representative, or a court order.
108	108	SECTION 8. Section 1201.219, Occupations Code, is amended
109	109	by amending Subsection (b) and adding Subsection (d) to read as
110	110	follows:
111	111	(b) Except as provided by Subsection (a) and subject to
112	112	Subsection (d), a lien on a manufactured home is perfected only by
113	113	filing with the department the notice of lien on a form provided by
114	114	the department. [The form shall require the disclosure of the
115	115	original dollar amount of the lien and, if a tax lien, the name and
116	116	address of the person in whose name the manufactured home is listed
117	117	on the tax roll.] The department shall disclose on its website the
118	118	date of each lien filing. A[, the original amount of the lien
119	119	claimed by each filing, and the fact that the amount shown does not
120	120	include additional sums including interest, penalties, and
121	121	attorney's fees. The statement required by Section 1201.205(7) is
122	122	notice to all persons that the tax lien exists. Except as expressly
123	123	provided by Chapter 32, Tax Code, a] lien recorded with the
124	124	department has priority, according to the chronological order of
125	125	recordation, over another lien or claim against the manufactured
126	126	home[. Tax liens shall be filed by the tax collector for any taxing
127	127	unit having the power to tax the manufactured home. A single filing
128	128	by a tax collector is a filing for all the taxing units for which the
129	129	tax collector is empowered to collect].
130	130	(d) Except as provided by Subsection (a), a tax lien on a
131	131	manufactured home is perfected only by filing with the department
132	132	the notice of the tax lien on a form provided by the department in
133	133	accordance with the requirements of Chapter 32, Tax Code. The form
134	134	must require the disclosure of the original dollar amount of the tax
135	135	lien and the name and address of the person in whose name the
136	136	manufactured home is listed on the tax roll. The department shall
137	137	disclose on its Internet website the date of each tax lien filing,
138	138	the original amount of the tax lien claimed by each filing, and the
139	139	fact that the amount shown does not include additional sums,
140	140	including interest, penalties, and attorney's fees. The statement
141	141	required by Section 1201.205(7) is notice to all persons that the
142	142	tax lien exists. A tax lien recorded with the department has
143	143	priority, according to the chronological order of recordation, over
144	144	another lien or claim against the manufactured home. Tax liens
145	145	shall be filed by the tax collector for any taxing unit having the
146	146	power to tax the manufactured home. A single filing by a tax
147	147	collector is a filing for all the taxing units for which the tax
148	148	collector is empowered to collect.
149	149	SECTION 9. Section 1201.361(a), Occupations Code, is
150	150	amended to read as follows:
151	151	(a) For all installations, the installer shall give the
152	152	manufactured home owner a written warranty that the installation of
153	153	the home was performed in accordance with all department standards,
154	154	rules, orders, and requirements. The warranty for the installation
155	155	of a new HUD-code manufactured home is to be given by the retailer,
156	156	who is responsible for installation. If the retailer subcontracts
157	157	this function to a licensed installer, the retailer is not required
158	158	to hold an installer's license, but the retailer and installer are
159	159	jointly and severally responsible for performance of the warranty.
160	160	SECTION 10. Section 1201.2055(b), Occupations Code, is
161	161	repealed.
162	162	SECTION 11. (a) Sections 1201.104(c) and (f), Occupations
163	163	Code, as amended by this Act, apply only to a license application
164	164	filed with the executive director of the manufactured housing
165	165	division of the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs
166	166	on or after the effective date of this Act. An application filed
167	167	with the executive director of the manufactured housing division of
168	168	the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs before the
169	169	effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect
170	170	immediately before that date, and the former law is continued in
171	171	effect for that purpose.
172	172	(b) Sections 1201.113(b) and 1201.116(c), Occupations Code,
173	173	as amended by this Act, apply only to a license that expires on or
174	174	after the effective date of this Act. A license that expires before
175	175	the effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect
176	176	immediately before that date, and the former law is continued in
177	177	effect for that purpose.
178	178	(c) Sections 1201.206(g) and (k), Occupations Code, as
179	179	amended by this Act, apply only to an application for a statement of
180	180	ownership and location filed on or after the effective date of this
181	181	Act. An application for a statement of ownership and location filed
182	182	before the effective date of this Act is governed by the law in
183	183	effect immediately before that date, and the former law is
184	184	continued in effect for that purpose.
185	185	SECTION 12. This Act takes effect September 1, 2009.