To: Mobile Home Owners Association of Illinois
From: Martin Corry, Director, Federal Affairs
Subject: Status of Federal Manufactured Housing Legislation

When I last contacted you we were anticipating a conference committee of House and Senate negotiators to iron out differences in manufactured housing legislation between the House-passed version, HR 1776 (Title XI), and the Senate-passed version, S1452. A formal conference never took place. Rather, informal negotiations resulted in a bill incorporating the major reforms from House and Senate versions of the bill. This bill, which included some provisions from HR 1776 (a larger affordable homeownership bill), was approved by a voice vote on October 24th. The House-passed version of S. 1452 is now before the Senate.

It is unclear whether passage will occur in the Senate since there is some resistance in that chamber to the inclusion of the affordable homeownership provisions. Since passage in the Senate this late in the session would likely require unanimous consent, it unlikely that the bill will be adopted as passed by the House. Prospects in the Senate would be enhanced if the manufactured housing provisions stood alone, and were not part of a larger bill. With Congress expected to adjourn in the next few days, however, the expectations for passage of even the stand-alone measure are not high.

While prospects are not bright, we are hopeful that manufactured housing reform legislation will yet be passed. We will continue to advocate for these reforms until Congress adjourns. In any case, with your help, we have advanced the starting point for any subsequent legislation in the direction of stronger consumer protections.

Thanks again for your help thus far. Please feel free to contact MHOAI if you have any questions or concerns.