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LMHA End of Summer,
Hello, Fall Newsletter
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In This Issue...
September 27th, 2023
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- LMHA Annual Meeting 2023
- Continuing Ed Information
- State News
- National News
- Manufacturing & Shipment Update
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Be a part of the one of our biggest annual gatherings of LMHA Members as at the Hyatt Centric Hotel on October 18th-19th in New Orleans! In addition to the networking and regular business at hand, our President's Reception and Continuing Education for Retailer and Developers await you at the LMHA Annual Meeting! October is RIGHT around the corner, so please make sure that you've registered and made your reservations for one of our biggest Annual Events!
Also, be on the lookout for your ballot and cast your vote for the LMHA Board of Directors, it will be emailed to all LMHA Members early next week. All results, and the election of Officers will take place at the Annual Meeting!
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LMHA Members,
The 2023 Continuing Education Class Registration Dates have been set and the options and links to registration forms for this year are:
Retailer/Developer CE-Thurs., October 19th, 10:30 am, Hyatt Centric French Quarter, New Orleans
Retailer/Developer CE-Mon., November 6th, 1pm, Margaritaville Resort Casino, Bossier City
Installer CE-Tuesday November 7th, 9am, Margaritaville Resort Casino, Bossier City
Installer CE-Wednesday, November 29th, L'Auberge Casino & Hotel, Baton Rouge
**THESE ARE THE ONLY CLASSESS OFFERED BY THE LMHA FOR CONTINUING ED THIS YEAR, SO PLEASE MAKE SURE YOU SIGN UP FOR ONE OF THEM IN ORDER TO RENEW YOUR LICENSE FOR 2024! **
Online registration and payment can be made on our website, LMHA.com. Scroll to the bottom of the main page and all events are listed to register. Unfortunately our room block at the Hyatt Centric in New Orleans has expired, but we have discounted room blocks at the other locations:
Rooms have been blocked at Margaritaville Bossier for a rate of $79/night, call 1-855-346-2489 and ask for Group Code: S11lh23 to get the discounted rate! The L'Auberge in Baton Rouge has a block rate of $129/night. For Reservations in Baton Rouge, Call 1-866-261-7777, and reference Group Code: LMHA2023, or use this link to reserve online!
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LA State News:
Surge Protectors - Update
The LMHA has confirmed with the LA State Uniform Construction Code Council (LSUCCC) that the Council will not be enforcing the “Surge Protector” provisions of the National Electrical Code (NEC) on Manufactured Housing installations in Louisiana. The LSUCCC will be publishing updated rules to clarify their position in an upcoming addition of the LA State Register. Further, the LMHA was recently able to meet with and confirm with South Central Planning department that they would no longer be requiring Surge Protectors for M.H. in any of the parishes where they control permitting. This is a good win for our industry and consumers, as this requirement was expensive and in conflict with the federal construction standard.
Please keep in mind that our Modular homes are not exempt from this requirement, as our Modular homes are built to LA’s state adopted residential construction standard.
If you have any questions, please contact the LMHA Office for further guidance.
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Important Reminders from the LA Manufactured Housing Commission (LMHC) | |
Troxie Snearl of the LMHC would like to share the following VERY IMPORTANT reminders for all Retailers and Installers:
- Make sure homes on the Retail Lot are installed per the Manufacturer’s Guidelines-Lot Set.
- Make sure license are correct and posted in the office for consumers to see.
- Make sure ALL documents are filled out completely, example: purchase agreement and the Standard Installation and Transportation Contract are signed and dated by all parties.
- Site Preparation is required on both New and Used Homes, no exceptions!
- Permit Sticker needs to be placed where the electricity goes into the home.
- Permit Sticker White Card should be filled out completely with correct information.
- All information the Monthly Report asks for should be entered and upload Data Sheet and White Card. If Plans are required to install the home please upload to the monthly report.
- Any New applicants, such as Salespeople, must go through a State Police Background check that could take 8 weeks!
THANK YOU!
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Avoid Conflicting Federal Agency Standards:
Ask Your Congressional Representative To Cosponsor H.R. 3327
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After successfully delaying the compliance date for the Energy Rule, we need to fix the law to avoid conflicting regulations coming from two different federal agencies in the future. Representatives Kustoff (R-TN) and Sewell (D-AL) introduced H.R. 3327, the Manufactured Housing Affordability and Energy Efficiency Act of 2023, bipartisan legislation that clarifies and reaffirms the longstanding role of HUD as the sole regulator of federal manufactured housing construction standards.
Co-sponsorship is important because it shows support among Members and improves the chances that the bill language will be incorporated into a moving legislative vehicle and become law. MHI has made it easy for industry members to ask their Representative to support H.R. 3327. Please share the link to the MHI Action Center with your networks. In addition, MHI has drafted a template letter for state associations and companies to send a letter on their letterhead. Contact MHI if you need an updated list of staff contacts for this letter.
Thus far, MHI members have sent almost 360 messages to their representatives. The top states contacting their members of Congress are Texas, Pennsylvania, Florida, Wisconsin and Louisiana. Thanks to these efforts, twelve additional Representatives have signed on to cosponsor the legislation including Representatives Warren Davidson (OH-8), Charles Fleischmann (TN-3), Mike Rogers (AL-3), Rudy Yakym (IN-2), John Rose (TN-6), Bryan Steil (WI-1), Glenn Thompson (PA-15), Lori Chavez-DeRemer (OR-5), Andy Barr (KY-6), French Hill (AR-2), Tracy Mann (KS-1), and Tim Burchett (TN-2). Thank you for your continued efforts to increase co-sponsorship of this critical legislation.
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DOL Publishes Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on Overtime Regulations
The Department of Labor (DOL) has published a notice of proposed rulemaking revising overtime pay regulations under the Fair Labor Standards Act. The publication of the proposed rule starts a 60 day comment period. The proposal increases the minimum salary threshold to $55,068, up from the current $35,568: an increase of nearly 55%. The proposal also implements automatic increases to the threshold. The threshold will be updated every 3 years and tied to the 35th percentile of weekly earnings of full-time non hourly workers in the lowest-wage Census Region. MHI has advocated against these changes to overtime pay regulations and will continue to monitor the situation and respond to the DOL’s proposed rule.
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CFPB Announces Rulemaking Process to Remove Medical Bills from Credit Reports
Last Thursday, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced it was beginning a rulemaking process to remove medical bills from credit reports. The proposed rulemaking would enact the following measures: medical bills would be removed from consumers’ credit reports, creditors would be prevented from relying on medical bills for underwriting decisions, and it prevent debt collectors from using medical debt reporting as a method of collection. This announcement represents a set of proposals and alternatives under consideration for the CFPB’s Fair Credit Reporting Act Rulemaking.
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Manufacturing and Shipment Update | |
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Manufacturing Report
In July 2023, 6,144 new manufactured homes were shipped, a decrease of 2,035 homes or 24.9 percent compared to June 2023, and a decrease of 1,899 homes or 23.6 percent compared to July 2022. Compared with the same month last year, shipments of both single-section and multi-section homes were down by 15.5 percent and 30.2 percent, respectively. Total floors shipped in July 2023 were 9,348, a decrease of 3,296 floors or 26.1 percent compared with the same month last year.
The seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of shipments was 88,920 in July 2023, down 0.7 percent compared to the adjusted rate of 89,521 in June 2023. The SAAR corrects for normal seasonal variations and projects annual shipments based on the current monthly total.
Cumulative shipments through July this year totaled 50,037 homes compared with 69,693 homes for the same seven months of 2022, a net decrease of 28.2 percent.
In July 2023, 6,134 new manufactured homes were produced, a decrease of 2,035 homes or 24.9 percent compared to June 2023, and a decrease of 1,916 homes or 23.8 percent compared to July 2022. MHI's Monthly Economic Report includes numbers for both manufactured home production and shipments. The difference between the two is attributed to the number of homes that have been produced, but their destinations are pending. Of the homes produced, 228 were FEMA designated units for Alabama.
The number of plants reporting production in July 2023 was 145 and the number of active corporations was 34, the same number of plants and corporations as in the prior month.
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