BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    



                                                                  AB 2029
                                                                  Page  1

          Date of Hearing:   April 14, 2010

               ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
                                 Norma Torres, Chair
                  AB 2029 (Cook) - As Introduced:  February 17, 2010
           
          SUBJECT  :   Mobilehomes:  annual registration fee

           SUMMARY  :   Exempts manufacture home or mobilehome households  
          whose income is below the federal poverty level from paying  
          annual registration fees.

           EXISTING LAW  

          1)Establishes an annual registration fee of $23 per  
            transportable section of a manufactured home, mobilehome, or  
            commercial coach (Health and Safety Code Section 18114).

          2)Establishes an annual fee of $5 per transportable section for  
            every mobilehome that is not located on a parcel owned by the  
            homeowner, which is deposited in the Mobilehome Park Purchase  
            Fund (Health and Safety Code Section 18114.1).

           FISCAL EFFECT  :  Unknown

           COMMENTS  :   

          All mobilehome and manufactured home owners must pay an annual  
          registration fee of $23 per transportable section to the  
          Department of Housing and Community Development.  This fee had  
          been $11 per transportable section since 1967, but was raised to  
          $23 last year [ABX4 12 (Evans), Chapter 12, Statues of 2009].   
          The registration fee funds a variety of HCD's statutory  
          responsibilities related to mobilehomes, including statewide  
          enforcement of mobilehome park health and safety codes.  

          In addition to the annual registration fee, mobilehome owners  
          who do not own their lot pay an annual fee of $5 per  
          transportable section to fund the Mobilehome Park Resident  
          Ownership Program, which provides loans to help mobilehome  
          owners purchase their parks.  Most mobilehome owners also pay  
          property tax, although some still pay a vehicle license fee  
          (VLF) instead.  The VLF for mobilehomes is referred to as the  
          "in lieu tax" fee and applies only to mobilehomes installed  
          prior to 1981 where the owner has chosen not to be placed on the  








                                                                  AB 2029
                                                                  Page  2

          local property tax rolls.

          AB 2029 exempts homeowners whose household is below the federal  
          poverty level from paying the annual registration fee.  The bill  
          does not establish a method for HCD to determine that a  
          mobilehome owner qualifies for this exemption, and it is unclear  
          how this would be accomplished.  It is also unclear how many  
          homeowners would qualify for the exemption, what sort of fiscal  
          impact the bill would have, and how that impact would be offset  
          so that HCD could continue code enforcement activities in  
          mobilehome parks and other statutorily mandated duties related  
          to mobilehomes.  

           

          REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION  :   

           Support 
           
          None on file

           Opposition 
           
          None on file

           
          Analysis Prepared by  :    Anya Lawler / H. & C.D. / (916)  
          319-2085