BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Senator Ricardo Lara, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular Session
SB 1106 (Leyva) - Mobilehome parks
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|Version: February 17, 2016 |Policy Vote: T. & H. 11 - 0, |
| | JUD. 7 - 0 |
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|Urgency: No |Mandate: No |
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|Hearing Date: May 2, 2016 |Consultant: Mark McKenzie |
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This bill does not meet the criteria for referral to the
Suspense File.
Bill
Summary: SB 1106 would authorize the Department of Housing and
Community Development (HCD) and specified local enforcement
agencies to issue a citation to mobilehome park owners or
operators and mobilehome owners when the responsible party has
failed to correct specified health and safety violations, as
specified. Civil penalties would range from $100 to $500, as
noted below.
Fiscal
Impact:
HCD staffing costs of approximately $240,000 for two
additional staff for an anticipated increase in administrative
workload associated with informal conferences, hearings, and
appeals proceedings related to the new citation authority.
(Mobilehome-Manufactured Home Revolving Fund)
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Estimated HCD staff cost savings of approximately $20,000 to
$40,000 annually associated with a reduction in second
reinspections associated with health and safety violations, to
the extent the new fines act as an incentive for owners and
operators to correct violations. (Mobilehome-Manufactured
Home Revolving Fund)
Estimated HCD fine and fee revenue gains, potentially in
excess of $300,000 initially, due to new citation authority.
These revenue gains would likely decrease in future years as
compliance increases. (Mobilehome-Manufactured Home Revolving
Fund)
Background: Existing law, The Mobilehome Parks Act (MPA), authorizes HCD
to regulate mobilehome parks to assure the protection of the
health, safety, and general welfare of all mobilehome park
residents. HCD has adopted statewide regulations to this end,
covering both park owners and park residents. Local agencies
have the option of assuming enforcement authority within their
jurisdictions through an agreement with HCD. Currently, HCD
exercises enforcement authority over approximately 4,200
mobilehome parks, and local agencies - about 70 in total -
enforce the act and its regulations in just over 1,000 parks.
One of the duties of enforcement agencies is performing health
and safety inspections of mobilehome parks.
If an enforcement agency, upon inspection, determines that a
mobilehome park is in violation of any provision of the MPA or
applicable regulations, the enforcement agency issues a notice
to correct the violation to the owner or operator of the
mobilehome park and to the responsible person, as specified.
The owner or operator of the mobilehome park is responsible for
the correction of these violations. If an enforcement agency
determines that a mobilehome, an accessory building or
structure, or lot is in violation of specified provisions of the
MPA or applicable regulations, the enforcement agency must issue
a notice to correct the violation to the mobilehome owner and
occupant. The mobilehome owner is responsible for the
correction of these violations.
If the owner or operator of the mobilehome park or the mobilhome
owner disputes a determination by the enforcement agency
regarding a violation, the failure to correct the violation in
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the required timeframe, or the reasonableness of the deadline
for correction specified by the notice of violation, the park
owner/operator or mobilehome owner may request an informal
conference with the enforcement agency. The informal
conference, and any subsequent hearings or appeals of the
decision of the enforcement agency, shall be conducted in
accordance with procedures prescribed by HCD.
Existing law establishes that a willful violation of the
portions of the Health and Safety Code or HCD regulations
related to mobilehome parks is a misdemeanor, punishable by a
$400 fine or 30 days in prison. Any person who willfully
violates these provisions and regulations is also liable for a
civil penalty of $500 for each day of a continuing violation.
Proposed Law:
SB 1106 would authorize HCD or a local enforcement agency to
issue a citation that assesses a civil penalty to a park owner
or operator, or mobilehome owner or other responsible party, who
violates the MPA or applicable regulations, if that person has
permitted the continuation of a violation at least 30 days after
the expiration of a notice to correct the violation.
This bill specifies the amount of the civil penalty at $100 for
violations determined to be a hazard constituting an
unreasonable risk to life, health, or safety, and increases the
penalty to $250 for each subsequent violation within one year of
the first violation. For violations determined to be an
imminent hazard representing an immediate risk to life, health,
or safety requiring immediate correction, the civil penalty
would be $250, and $500 for each subsequent violation within one
year of the first violation. Payment must be remitted to the
enforcement agency within 45 days.
SB 1106 would also authorize a park owner/operator or resident
to petition the enforcement agency to dismiss or modify the
citation within 30 days of issuance, and require the enforcement
agency to hold an informal hearing when it receives a petition
showing good cause, as specified. A park owner/operator or
mobilehome owner who receives a final determination from an
enforcement agency may subsequently petition HCD to review and
investigate the enforcement activities. HCD must consider the
petition and initiate corrective actions, as specified.
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Staff
Comments: Current enforcement authority for violations of the
MPA do not appear to serve as a sufficient incentive for park
owners/operators or mobilehome owners to take corrective action.
Enforcement data from HCD's Mobilehome Park Maintenance and
Inspection Task Force indicates that in 2015, 5,040 notices of
violation were issued to park owners, of which 2,723 had been
uncorrected by January 2016, and 10,860 notices were issued to
mobilehome owners, of which 5,317 went uncorrected. In
addition, 168 of the 216 mobilhome parks inspected in 2014
required 599 reinspections by enforcement agencies to correct
violations found during initial inspections. The average HCD
inspection costs are $196 per inspection, and the costs for
reinspection are not recoverable.
HCD estimates that the citation authority provided by SB 1106
could result in the collection of approximately $319,000
initially, based upon a $100 citation level using the amount of
violations that remained uncorrected after a second park
reinspection. The revenues from citations would be lower in
subsequent years, to the extent the citation authority serves as
an incentive to correct violations and compliance increases.
HCD also indicates that it is likely to conduct 100-200 fewer
reinspections annually with increased compliance, resulting in
inspection staff savings of approximately $20,000 to $40,000 per
year.
HCD would also incur additional administrative costs to conduct
informal hearings from park owners and mobilehome operators
petition the department to review a citation, and subsequent
investigations and formal appeals. These new activities would
require the addition of two new staff to handle the
administrative workload at a cost of approximately $240,000
annually.
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