S 2724
110th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 2724
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.
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
March 6, 2008
Mr. BAYH (for himself, Ms. LANDRIEU, and Mr. LUGAR) introduced the
following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on
Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs
A BILL
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.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the `CJ's Home Protection Act of 2008'.
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 INSTALLATION STANDARDS.
Section 605 of the National Manufactured Housing Construction and Safety
Standards Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5404) is amended by adding at the end
the following new subsection:
`(1) PROVISION OF INSTALLATION INSTRUCTIONS- A manufacturer shall
provide with each manufactured home (other than a manufactured home
affixed to a permanent foundation), instructions for the installation
of a weather radio required under this section.
`(2) MODEL INSTALLATION STANDARDS- The Federal manufactured home installation
standards established by the Secretary under this section shall require
that each manufactured home (other than a manufactured home affixed
to a permanent foundation) shall be installed 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.
`(3) RESPONSIBILITY OF MANUFACTURED HOME INSTALLERS- It shall be the
duty of manufactured home installers to ensure that manufactured homes
(other than manufactured homes affixed to a permanent foundation)
are supplied and installed with a weather radio required under this
subsection.
`(4) DEFINITION OF AFFIXED TO A PERMANENT FOUNDATION- For purposes
of this subsection, the term `affixed to a permanent foundation' has
the meaning given that term in the Department of Housing and Urban
Development's publication entitled `Permanent Foundations Guide For
Manufactured Housing' dated September 1996.
`(5) LIABILITY PROTECTIONS-
`(A) IMMUNITY FOR MANUFACTURERS- Manufacturers of manufactured homes
shall be immune from common law civil liability for any aspect of
the installation, furnishing, function, operation, performance,
capabilities, or utilization of the weather radio mandated by the
Federal manufactured home installation standards promulgated in
accordance with this subsection, including any instructions related
thereto.
`(B) IMMUNITY FOR INSTALLERS- Manufactured home installers shall
be immune from common law civil liability for any aspect of the
installation, furnishing, function, operation, performance, capabilities,
or utilization of the weather radio mandated by the Federal manufactured
home installation standards promulgated in accordance with this
subsection, including any instructions related thereto.
`(C) IMMUNITY FOR RETAILERS- Retailers of manufactured homes shall
be immune from common law civil liability for any aspect of the
installation, furnishing, function, operation, performance, capabilities,
or utilization of the weather radio mandated by the Federal manufactured
home installation standards promulgated in accordance with this
subsection, including any instructions related thereto.
`(D) IMMUNITY FOR OPERATORS OF HOUSING COMMUNITIES- 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.
`(6) EXEMPTION FOR MODULAR HOMES-
`(A) IN GENERAL- The installation standards required to be established
under paragraph (2) shall not apply to modular homes.
`(B) DEFINITION OF MODULAR HOME- For purposes of this paragraph,
the term `modular home' has the meaning given such term in the law
of the State in which the modular home is located.'.
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 installation standards required under section
605(d) 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 605(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 the installation
of 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 to 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 Banking, Housing,
and Urban Affairs of the Senate and to the Committee on Financial Services
of the House of Representatives.
END
