New York

More than 30 people attended the Modular Building Systems Council of New York meeting June 29, 2005 in Syracuse, New York. Kathleen Klingenbeck and Charles Swink from the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance reviewed the current law regarding the taxation of modular home sales in the state. Attendees had the opportunity to ask questions and review various scenarios with the department. A revised tax bulletin clarifying the policies is expected soon and will become effective September 1, 2005. Mark Glaser from Greenberg Traurig LLC moderated the discussion. Mark updated the attendees on the New York State Coalition for Modular Tax Reform and the status of proposed legislation. Executive Director of the MBSC of New York, Nancy Geer, reviewed some proposed changes to the building code for modulars and recent transportation issues.

Additional seminars with the Department of Taxation & Finance have been planned in July and August. July 20, 2005 at the Holiday Inn Airport in Rochester, NY; July 26, 2005 at the Best Western Sovereign in Albany, NY and August 4, 2005 at the Holiday Inn Islip, Ronkonkoma, NY. All seminars will begin with registration and continental breakfast at 8:30 am. The program will begin at 9:00 am and be followed by a networking luncheon at 12:00 pm. Pre-registration is required and the cost is $35 per person to cover materials, room rental, refreshments and lunch. To register for the seminars please contact the Council office at 800-721-HOME or modularcouncil@nymha.org.

The next regularly scheduled meeting for the Modular Building Systems Council of New York will be September 7, 2005 in Syracuse, New York.

To be put on the council’s mailing list or to receive more information about any of the topics above contact Nancy Geer at 800-721-HOME or nancy@nymha.org.

Pennsylvania

After months of arduous negotiations and a lot of hard work by the Pennsylvania MHA, the legislature has sent a transportation bill onto the Governor for his signature to reduce the number of flag cars required on the state highways. The Governor is expected to sign the bill now on his desk. House Bill 489 includes language that reduces the pilot cars from two to one for loads greater than 13 feet in width and less than 14 feet in width. The location of the remaining pilot car (front or back) is yet to be determined by the Department of Transportation. This legislation will reduce the financial and logistical burden of manufacturers and retailer/ builder-dealers when transporting homes. This bill will also allow trailers or semi-trailers with a gross weight or gross vehicle weight rating of greater than 17,000 pounds to obtain a federal certificate of inspection that will help manufacturers when transporting outside the state.

For more information contact the PMHA at general@pmha.org, or (888) 242-7642.


South Carolina

The South Carolina Modular Housing Institute now serves as an umbrella organization for modular issues and programs in the state.

In addition to the usual day-to-day activities of running an association and serving as the key advocate for the modular industry, key features of the association include:

• 12-member steering committee that meets quarterly

• State board representation. Under South Carolina law, the SC Modular Housing Institute holds a seat on the South Carolina Building Codes Council. The state agency oversees modular building codes, plan review, and licensing issues.

• Strong statehouse and state agency presence, six-figure political donation fund, and quarterly newsletter.

One of the first orders of business for the SC Modular Housing Institute has been to actively work against legislation mandating modular homes be taxed as manufactured homes. HB4011 would have lumped them all together, taxing them at retail. The SC Modular Housing Institute testified against the bill, since a majority of companies producing and selling modulars in the state prefer the traditional modular sales tax formula based on a percentage of the invoice. For now, the proposal to change the law has been taken off the table.

Other initiatives that were defeated by the South Carolina Modular Housing Institute included a legislation allowing the SC Building Codes Council to set modular program fees, and another bill that went further by allowing the head of the state agency to set fees without approval of the legislature of the Building Code Council.

The South Carolina Modular Housing Institute did work hard this year on HB3909, which lowers the tax rate by excluding the cost of freight and equalizes sales tax for all modular homes. The state association is working with the Department of Revenue on properly interpreting the law.

In other South Carolina news, state modular official Doug Green says that neither manufacturers nor his agency have had major problems implementing the new modular compatibility standards law that went into effect this year. Requirements govern roof pitch, eave overhang, wall height, and building material requirements. “We’ve only had one plan that we’ve had to send back so far.”

Homes built since the implementation of the new law are now coming onto the market. Homes that entered production after January 17 must be built to the new standards.

The great majority of modular homes approved for placement in South Carolina already met the new appearance requirements. The purpose of the law was to eliminate unsightly homes that harmed the image of the modular industry. The law had the strong support of the South Carolina Modular Housing Institute.

“It would be nice if every new law went into effect as smoothly as this one has” said Green.

For more information contact modularinfo@mhisc.com or (803) 771-9046.

Vermont

Vermont HB 243 was passed and signed by the Governor this legislative session, requiring new-single family homes, as well as condominiums and other residential structures that share a common roof, to have carbon monoxide detectors installed. Existing homes built prior to this law and are sold or transfer ownership must have carbon monoxide detectors installed at time of sale.

HB 243 went into effect July 1, 2005, and will be enforced for residential homes sold in Vermont beginning October 1, 2005.

Please contact Thayer Long at (703) 558-0678 or tlong@modularcouncil.org with questions.