Introduced Version
House Bill 4644 History
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Key: Green = existing Code. Red = new code to be enacted
H. B. 4644
(By Delegate Kuhn)
[Introduced February 22, 2002; referred to the
Committee on Government Organization.]
A BILL to amend and reenact sections two and ten, article nine,
chapter twenty-one of the code of West Virginia, one thousand
nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, all relating to the West
Virginia manufactured housing construction and safety
standards board created by this article, and relating also to
the exclusion from the definition of a contractor of persons
performing operations under a contract with a licensed person
and restricting the use of funds from the forfeiture of bonds
or other form of assurance as defined in section ten of this
article.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section two and ten, article nine, chapter twenty-one of
the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be amended and reenacted, all to read as follows:
ARTICLE 9. MANUFACTURED HOUSING CONSTRUCTION AND SAFETY STANDARDS
BOARD.
§21-9-2. Definitions.
"Board" means the West Virginia manufactured housing
construction and safety board created in this article.
"Commissioner" means the commissioner of the West Virginia
state department division of labor.
"Contractor" means any person who performs operations in this
state at the occupancy site which render a manufactured home fit
for habitation. This definition does not include persons who do
work on a manufactured home which is owned or leased by such the
person doing the work or persons who perform the operations
pursuant to a contract with a person who is licensed under section
nine of this article. Such These operations include, without
limitation, installation or construction of the foundation,
positioning, blocking, leveling, supporting, tying down, connecting
utility systems, making minor adjustments or assembling multiple or
expandable units. Such operations also include transporting the
unit to the occupancy site by other than a motor carrier regulated
by the West Virginia public service commission.
"Dealer" means any person engaged in this state in the sale, leasing or distributing of new or used manufactured homes,
primarily to persons who in good faith purchase or lease a
manufactured home for purposes other than resale.
"Defect" includes any defect in the performance, construction,
components or material of a manufactured home that renders the home
or any part thereof not fit for the ordinary use for which it was
intended.
"Distributor" means any person engaged in this state in the
sale and distribution of manufactured homes for resale.
"Federal standards" means the National Manufactured Housing
Construction and Safety Standards Act of 1974, and federal
manufactured home construction and safety standards and regulations
promulgated by the secretary of HUD to implement such act.
"HUD" means the United States department of housing and urban
development.
"Manufacturer" means any person engaged in manufacturing or
assembling manufactured homes, including any person engaged in
importing manufactured homes for resale.
"Manufactured home" means a structure, transportable in one
or more sections, which in the traveling mode is eight body feet or
more in width or forty or more feet in length or, when erected on site, is three hundred twenty or more square feet, and which is
built on a permanent chassis and designed to be used as a dwelling
with or without a permanent foundation when connected to the
required utilities, and includes the plumbing, heating,
air-conditioning and electrical systems contained therein; except
that such term shall include any structure which meets all the
requirements of this definition except the size requirements and
with respect to which the manufacturer voluntarily files a
certificate which complies with the applicable federal standards.
Calculations used to determine the number of square feet in a
structure will be based on the structure's exterior dimensions
measured at the largest horizontal projections when erected on
site.
"Purchaser" means the first person purchasing a manufactured
home in good faith for purposes other than resale.
§21-9-10. Licensee to furnish bond or other form of assurance.
(a) Each manufacturer, dealer, distributor or contractor which
applies for a licensee under the preceding section shall, at the
time of making application therefor, furnish a surety bond or such
other form of assurance of the applicant's financial responsibility
as the board may by rule or regulation permit, such surety bond or other form of assurance to be in such amount as the board may by
rule or regulation prescribe. In the event of forfeiture of any
such bond or security, the proceeds thereof shall be deposited in
the special account created under section nine of this article.
(b) The bond or other form of assurance shall cover any
misappropriation of funds of a purchaser or prospective purchaser
of a manufactured home, any deception or false or fraudulent
representations or deceitful practices in selling or representing
a product, any failure by a licensee, because of bankruptcy,
insolvency or other reason, to fulfill warranty obligations and any
failure of the licensee, its agents or employees, to comply with
federal standards, this article or any rules or regulations
promulgated by the board pursuant to this article.
(c) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (b) of this
section, payments from the bond or other form of financial
assurance shall be limited to actual expenses incurred, as
determined by the board. The bond or other form of financial
assurance shall not be used to pay for any incidental expenses of
the consumer, including claims for personal injuries, claims for
property damage other than to the home itself, inconvenience,
alternate housing, attorney's fees, punitive or exemplary damages or other legal or court costs.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to exclude from the
definition of a contractor required to be licensed under this
article a person who performs operations under contract with a
person who is so licensed and to restrict payments from forfeited
bonds or other form of financial assurance.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.
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