New York
The New York Housing Council convened a conference call last month to discuss their efforts in introducing proposed legislation that would change the way modular housing is taxed, and bring it in line with site-built residential construction. Currently, modular homes are not taxed on par with site-built homes, as modular homes are taxed on the full sales price of the home, including labor. The proposed language would give manufacturers the option of either itemizing out the actual cost of materials used in the home, or could streamline the process by using the formula of sixty percent of the manufacturer’s selling price of the home. For more information on the legislation, please contact the New York Housing Council at (518) 435-9858 or email nancy@nyhousing.org.

For more general information on how modular homes are taxed, please contact the NMHC at info@modularcouncil.org or (703) 558-0678.

Northeast Transportation Initiative
The Northeast MHA continues its work towards resolving transportation obstacles within the region. Among other activities, it is currently lobbying members of Congress in raising this issue with the Governors and other officials of the targeted states where assistance is required. The Northeast MHA, NMHC, and MHI are currently working on a draft letter with such a purpose in mind. Also, the Northeast MHA is developing a closer tie to the divisional offices of the Federal Highway Administration and asking them to weigh in on the issue. The Northeast Association of Transportation Officials (NASTO) will be meeting in Worcester, Massachusetts on October 5th, with this as an agenda item.

These industry efforts would not be possible without the financial support of members. The Northeast MHA would like to thank MHI and the NMHC for a $10,000 contribution, the Commodore Homes family of manufacturers for $6,000; the Modular Building Institute for $5,000 and New Jersey MHA for $1500 donations to the Northeast Transportation Fund.

For more information, contact the NMHC at info@modularcouncil.org.


Ohio
The Ohio Industrialized Unit program has been relocated and is now operating within the Ohio Board of Building Standards (BBS). There have also been several other changes within the program. In May the Ohio Board of Building Standards instituted a new application fee. Each modular (industrialized unit) application submitted to the Ohio BBS must be accompanied by a non-refundable preliminary payment of $135 before the submission will be up for review. $100 of the payment will be used for initial review time.

Also, a new on-line submittal system was activated June 1st. All manufacturers are required to submit their application for plan approvals on-line. Each manufacturer was provided with an ID# and password to use in the new on-line program. The new on-line program has many benefits, including the ability to track the status of each plan submitted. This new program should eliminate some of the problems experienced within the department over the last year. As always if you are experiencing trouble with the plan approval process in the state of Ohio please feel free to contact Holly Dorr at the OMHA office 614-799-2340.

South Carolina
The South Carolina state legislature has given final approval to new regulations detailing how modular homes should be taxed in South Carolina.

The SC Department of Revenue (DOR) issues regulations to serve as the agency’s official interpretation of South Carolina’s tax laws and to spell out details not covered by the tax laws.

The DOR consulted with the South Carolina Modular Housing Institute (SCMHI) as it began drafting the regulations. The regulations are important to the industry because they are the first DOR guidelines issued after legislation revamping modular laws went into effect in 2005.

SCMHI and its affiliate, the Manufactured Housing Institute of SC (MHISC), drafted and successfully lobbied for passage of H4725. The legislation a) outlawed low-end “trailer mods” in South Carolina, b) lowered the modular sales tax rate and c) placed all modular homes under the same tax formula. The new interpretation issued by DOR reinforces industry goals.

For more information contact South Carolina at (803) 771-9046.