Section 24-4A-3

Powers and duties of commission generally; insignia of approval; modification of units prior to or during installation; authority of local government agencies; fee schedule; manufactured buildings approved by other states.

(a) The commission is authorized to promulgate rules, and enter into contracts, and do such things as may be necessary and incidental to the administration of its authority pursuant to this chapter.

(b) After the effective date of the rules adopted pursuant to this chapter, no manufactured building shall be sold, or offered for sale, or installed, in this state unless it is approved and bears the insignia of approval of the commission.

(c) The Factory-Built Housing Act of 1971 and the rules promulgated under that act shall continue until the effective date of subsection (b) of this section, and thereafter shall be repealed. All personnel of the Modular Housing Division of the Alabama Development Office shall be transferred without impairment of their Merit System status to the commission, and all funds, appropriations, papers, documents, files, materials, equipment, supplies and other effects employed and used for the administration and enforcement of the previous act shall become the property of the commission. All approvals issued by the commission under the provisions of the prior act shall be deemed to comply with the requirements of this chapter.

(d) All manufactured buildings issued and bearing insignia of approval pursuant to subsections (b) and (c) of this section shall be deemed to comply with the requirements of all ordinances or regulations enacted by any local government which are applicable to the construction of manufactured buildings. The determination by the commission of the scope of such approval is final.

(e) No manufactured building bearing commission insignia of approval pursuant to subsection (b) of this section shall be in any way modified prior to or during installation unless approval is first obtained from the commission.

(f) Manufactured buildings which have been issued and bear the insignia of approval pursuant to this chapter upon manufacture or first sale shall not require an additional approval or insignia by a local government in which they are subsequently sold or installed, except a residential dwelling unit that is resold, whether by a manufacturer, manufacturer's representative or dealer; these units must bear an additional seal of approval issued by the commission.

(g) The commission by rule shall establish a schedule of fees to give cost relief to the commission for the work related to the administration and enforcement of this chapter. All fees collected under the provisions of this chapter, or otherwise inuring to the credit of the commission, shall be deposited in the State Treasury in a fund to be designated as the "State Fire Marshals Fund."

(h) If the commission determines that standards for construction and inspection of manufactured buildings prescribed by statute or rule of another state are at least equal to standards prescribed by the commission under this chapter and such standards are actually enforced by such other state, the commission may provide by rule that a manufactured building, which has been inspected and approved by such other state or its delegated inspection agency, shall be deemed to have been approved by the commission, and shall authorize the affixing of the appropriate insignia of approval.

(i) The use of the word "modular," singular or in combination with any other word to describe a mobile home or manufactured home, is hereby prohibited, and said use shall constitute a violation of the provisions of this chapter.

(j) Any city or county official who violates the provisions of this chapter by refusing to accept a manufactured building approved by the commission shall personally be liable and not be immune from prosecution if suit is brought by a party to said transaction.

(k) This section shall not apply to factory built housing which is inspected and approved by a local government agency at the place of, and during the time of manufacture in accordance with local building requirements if the requirements are reasonably consistent with standards established by the Southern Building Codes Congress, the National Fire Protection Association and the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development. The cost of the inspection shall be borne by the manufacturer.

(l) All factory-built housing bearing an insignia of approval issued by the commission pursuant to this chapter shall be deemed to comply with the requirements of all ordinances or regulations enacted by any local government which are applicable to the manufacturer of such housing. The determination by the commission of the scope of such approval is final.

(m) No factory-built housing bearing a commission insignia of approval pursuant to this chapter shall be in any way modified prior to or during installation unless approval is first obtained from the commission.

(n) Factory-built housing which has been inspected and approved by a local government agency shall not be modified prior to or during installation unless approval for the modification is first obtained from the local government agency.

(o) The commission by rule shall establish a schedule of fees to pay the costs incurred by it for the work related to administration and enforcement of this section.

(Acts 1981, No. 81-706, p. 1183, §3.)