NEWS & UPDATES
March 2, 2022
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- Upcoming Events
- MHI News
- News from Washington
- Member Resources
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Register for Congress & Expo by March 7 to Save $100
2022 Congress & Expo is your opportunity to attend the largest manufactured home event of the year! Join industry leaders in Orlando at Rosen Shingle Creek, April 11-13. With three days of networking at the largest tradeshow in the industry, Congress & Expo is the place to be to grow your business.
There is something for everyone at 2022 Congress & Expo! By the numbers:
Don't forget - register by March 7th before rates increase and save $100!
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Meet MHI’s New Director of Research and Policy
Josh Adams, PhD, recently joined MHI as the Director of Research and Policy. He is an advocacy professional who has built a career as a researcher, writer, and creator of data-informed messaging. His work has taken him through a diversity of environments, ranging from academia and non-profit organizations to trade associations and consulting firms. These experiences have allowed him to develop a unique skill set that combines the technical aspects of quantitative and qualitative research methodologies, the interpretation of public policy, and the nuanced elements of communicating and framing issues. At MHI, Josh will develop industry-specific research to inform policy, educate members, and generate real-world evidence to support the growth of the manufactured housing industry.
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MHI Proposes Alternative Energy Efficiency
Standards to DOE
As part of its comprehensive strategy with the Administration and the Department of Energy (DOE) about energy efficiency standards for manufactured housing, MHI and the industry again reiterated its commitment to supporting energy efficiency conservation efforts and other reasonable environmental protection initiatives so long as they are cost effective and are feasible for the industry from a construction and transportation standpoint. Towards that effort, MHI, in addition to ongoing meetings and outreach, submitted another official comment letter in response to the DOE’s draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), which evaluates potential impacts of the Department’s proposed action to establish energy efficiency standards for manufactured housing. MHI’s letter provides an alternative technical proposal for energy efficiency manufactured housing standards focused on improvements that would be feasible in the factory-built environment. Developed by MHI, its members and other industry experts, the technical proposal makes changes to the original DOE proposal that would result in a final rule that achieves the legislative goal of increased energy efficiency, without threatening low- and moderate-income families with losing the most affordable homeownership option in America, manufactured housing, as a result of excessive cost increases and feasibility challenges in the proposed standard.
MHI also argued in its comment letter that the proposed standards do not take into consideration current construction methods and transportation requirements, or testing and compliance requirements. Therefore, the impact of the proposal on consumers and the industry is clearly and significantly underestimated in the EIS both with respect to the expected increase in costs and overall feasibility. Further, MHI states that the proposed rule raises a wide range of legal, policy, environmental, and implementation questions citing a recent court injunction blocking the Administration from using the use of “Social Cost of Carbon” estimates in federal rulemaking. It also fails to comply with the statutory requirement to be cost effective and to adopt a more stringent standard when it would be cost effective. Finally, the proposed rule fails to consult with HUD, as required by statute, and to address the primacy of the HUD Code and the Manufactured Housing Consensus Committee’s role in establishing safety and construction standards.
More than 300 comments were submitted as a result of MHI’s Call to Action including letters from state associations, individual company letters, and member responses. Since the release of the proposed rule, MHI has been working with the DOE and the Administration to ensure that any manufactured housing energy efficiency changes are feasible for manufactured housing and will not hurt the availability of manufactured homes for homebuyers.
MHI will continue to actively engage with the DOE and Administration to ensure any manufactured housing energy efficiency standards do not harm this affordable homeownership option. Click here to read MHI’s letter.
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FCC Ends Some Community Broadband Agreements
The FCC adopted new rules that would limit manufactured housing communities, apartment buildings and other multi-housing development owners from entering into exclusive agreements with broadband internet providers. The aim of the new rule is to create more internet options for tenants but disregards the high cost of building out an internet infrastructure and the cost savings of group pricing. The new rule would specifically:
- Ban revenue-sharing deals between community owners and broadband providers.
- Require internet providers to provide plain-language disclosures of any marketing deals they have with community owners.
- Forbid sale-and-leaseback workarounds, in which an internet provider sells its wiring to a community owner, who then leases them back to that provider exclusively.
The new rule will take effect 180 days from the date it is published in the U.S. government’s Federal Register. The publication hasn’t yet happened, but it could be any time. MHI’s staff will continue to follow its progress and implications for community owners. Click here to learn more.
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MHEI Adds New Continuing Education Course for South Carolina
The Manufactured Housing Educational Institute (MHEI) has added a new 5 hour continuing education course for manufactured home installers in South Carolina.. The course will guide installers step-by-step through video presentations and a final test. This course will meet 5 of the 6 hours needed for the continuing education requirement to renew a South Carolina installer’s license. Register here.
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MHI News & Updates is a bi-weekly, members-only publication with important updates on federal legislative and regulatory activities, association accomplishments, industry events and other items important to our membership. |
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© 2021 the Manufactured Housing Institute (MHI), Arlington, Virginia. All rights reserved. The content and works provided herein are protected under US copyright law and, where indicated, US trademark law. Without the prior written consent of MHI (which may be withheld in MHI's sole discretion), reproduction, distribution, transmission, caching or other commercialization of MHI copyrighted or trademarked material is strictly prohibited.
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