88R3171 JAM-F
By: Shine H.B. No. 2706
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the regulation of manufactured homes.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subchapter C, Chapter 1201, Occupations Code, is
amended by adding Section 1201.1021 to read as follows:
Sec. 1201.1021. POWERS OF DIRECTOR DURING DECLARED
EMERGENCY. (a) For purposes of this section, a declared emergency
exists when an emergency declaration is issued by the governor or a
federal agency.
(b) During a declared emergency that exceeds a period of 14
days, the director may:
(1) waive licensing requirements to ensure the
continued and adequate supply of professionals to build, sell,
transport, insure, finance, and install manufactured homes; and
(2) require a person to register with the department
before engaging in any activity regulated under this chapter.
(c) Following the cessation of a declared emergency, the
director may require a person registered with the department under
Subsection (b)(2) to comply with the criminal history background
check requirements and other licensing requirements of this
chapter.
SECTION 2. Section 1201.1025, Occupations Code, is amended
by adding Subsection (a-1) and amending Subsection (c) to read as
follows:
(a-1) A person is exempt from holding a retailer's license
as required by Section 1201.101(b) if all manufactured homes sold
or offered for sale by the person are:
(1) located in a manufactured home community, as
defined by Section 94.001, Property Code; and
(2) sold or offered for sale to the same purchaser in
connection with a sale of the real property of the community.
(c) A person who is eligible for an exemption under this
section remains subject to the other applicable provisions of this
subchapter and department rules regarding the sale or transfer of
manufactured homes.
SECTION 3. Section 1201.1031(a), Occupations Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(a) Except as provided by Section 1201.1021, the [The]
department shall require that an applicant for a license or renewal
of an unexpired license submit a complete and legible set of
fingerprints, on a form prescribed by the board, to the department
or to the Department of Public Safety for the purpose of obtaining
criminal history record information from the Department of Public
Safety and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The applicant is
required to submit a set of fingerprints only once under this
section unless a replacement set is otherwise needed to complete
the criminal history check required by this section.
SECTION 4. Section 1201.104(g), Occupations Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(g) Subsections (a), (a-2), (a-3), and (a-4) do not apply:
(1) to a license holder who applies:
(A) [(1)] for a license for an additional
business location; or
(B) [(2)] to renew or reinstate a license; or
(2) during a declared emergency as described by
Section 1201.1021.
SECTION 5. Section 1201.153(c), Occupations Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(c) The notice must:
(1) contain the information required by:
(A) the United States Department of Housing and
Urban Development; or
(B) the board; and
(2) be of the type, size, and format required by the
director.
SECTION 6. Section 1201.201(5), Occupations Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(5) "Inventory":
(A) has the meaning assigned by Section 9.102,
Business & Commerce Code; and
(B) does not include manufactured homes used by a
retailer as equipment, as defined by Section 9.102(a)(33), Business &
Commerce Code [means new and used manufactured homes that:
[(A) a retailer has designated as the
retailer's inventory for sale pursuant to the process implemented
by the department; and
[(B) are not used as residential
dwellings when so designated].
SECTION 7. Sections 1201.219(a) and (c), Occupations Code,
are amended to read as follows:
(a) A lien on manufactured homes in inventory is perfected
only by filing a financing statement in accordance with Section
9.310, Business & Commerce Code, and the other provisions of that
code related to security interests for inventory [the lien with the
department on the required form]. Once perfected, the lien applies
to the manufactured homes in the inventory as well as to any
proceeds from the sale of those homes. The department may suspend
or revoke the license of a retailer who fails to satisfy a perfected
inventory lien.
(c) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section or
any other law, the filing of a financing statement to perfect a lien
[security agreement] on the inventory of a retailer as described by
Subsection (a) does not prevent a buyer in the ordinary course of
business, as defined by Section 1.201, Business & Commerce Code,
from acquiring good and marketable title free of that lien, and the
department may not consider that lien for the purpose of title
issuance.
SECTION 8. Section 1201.357(b), Occupations Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(b) If the manufacturer, retailer, or installer, as
applicable, fails or refuses to provide warranty service in
accordance with the department order under Section 1201.356, the
director may [shall] hold an informal meeting at which the
manufacturer, retailer, or installer must show cause as to why the
manufacturer's, retailer's, or installer's license should not be
suspended or revoked and at which the consumer may express the
person's views. Following the meeting, the director shall either
resolve the matter by agreed order, dismiss the matter if no
violation is found to have occurred, or institute an administrative
action, which may include license suspension or revocation, the
assessment of administrative penalties, or a combination of such
actions.
SECTION 9. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.