Title: An act relating to retaining fees for mobile/manufactured homes and factory built housing and commercial structures.

Brief Description: Retaining fees for mobile/manufactured homes and factory built housing and commercial structures.

Sponsors: By Senate Committee on Financial Services, Insurance & Housing (originally sponsored by Senators Benton, Keiser, Berkey and Winsley; by request of Department of Labor & Industries).

Brief Summary of Substitute Bill

(As Amended by House)

• Extends until April 1, 2009, the Department of Labor and Industries' authority to adopt a temporary statewide fee schedule for permits and inspections relating to mobile/manufactured home and factory assembled structures.

Majority Report: Do pass as amended. Signed by 8 members: Representatives Conway, Chair; Wood, Vice Chair; McMorris, Ranking Minority Member; Condotta, Assistant Ranking Minority Member; Crouse, Holmquist, Kenney and McCoy.

The 2001 Legislature established the Joint Legislative Task Force on Mobile/Manufactured Home Alteration and Repair (Task Force) to review issues involving the alteration of mobile and manufactured homes. The Task Force made several recommendations to the Legislature in January 2002.

One recommendation related to the process for obtaining alteration permits. The Task Force recommended that the Department of Labor and Industries (Department) and the local building officials develop a pilot project for a coordinated system that could process mobile/manufactured home alteration permit applications in either jurisdiction. As part of implementing the pilot project, the Department was authorized to adopt a temporary statewide fee schedule. Under this schedule, fees were decreased for mobile/manufactured home alteration permits and fees were increased for plan review and inspection services for factory-built housing and commercial structures. These fee increases were allowed to exceed the fiscal growth factor as necessary to fund the cost of administering the factory assembled structures program, but the increases could not exceed 40 percent. The Department was also allowed to waive mobile/manufactured home alteration permit fees for indigent permit applicants.

The Department's authority to adopt a temporary fee schedule expires April 1, 2004. After expiration, the Department must adopt the fee schedule that was in place prior to the temporary schedule, as adjusted by the fiscal growth factors.

The Department's authority to adopt a temporary statewide fee schedule for permits and inspections relating to mobile/manufactured home and factory assembled structures is extended from April 1, 2004, to April 1, 2009. References to the purpose of the fee schedule and to the authority to increase the fees in excess of the fiscal growth factor are deleted. The Department's authority to waive mobile/manufactured home alteration permit fees for indigent permit applicants is retained under its general fee setting authority.

Effective Date of Amended Bill: The bill contains an emergency clause and takes effect on March 31, 2004.