§911.26. Louisiana Manufactured Housing Commission

A.(1) The Louisiana Manufactured Housing Commission is hereby created. The commission shall be composed of seven members, with at least one member appointed from each Public Service Commission district and two at-large members, all appointed by the governor with the consent of the Senate as provided in this Section.

(2) Three members shall be appointed by the governor from a list of six individuals submitted by the Louisiana Manufactured Housing Association or its successor. Each nominee shall have a minimum of five years of industry experience as a manufacturer, retailer, or installer as provided in this Part or Part XIV-B1 of this Chapter.

(3) Repealed by Acts 2017, No. 221, §2.

B.(1) The term of office of each commissioner shall be coterminous with that of the governor making his appointment, and each commissioner shall serve until his successor is appointed and is qualified. However, the term of office of any member appointed from within a specific Public Service Commission district as provided above shall automatically expire if that member moves out of such Public Service Commission district. In the event of any vacancy, whether by death, resignation, removal, expiration of term, or otherwise, the vacancy shall be filled for the unexpired portion of the term in the manner in which the original appointment was made.

(2) The commission shall meet at Baton Rouge and complete its organization immediately after the entire membership has been appointed. The commission shall elect a chairman and vice chairman at its organizational meeting and as needed thereafter as determined by a majority of the commission.

(3) The chairman and each member of the commission shall take and subscribe to the oath of office required of public officers.

(4) When dealing with commission matters, a commissioner may recuse himself in the event of a real or perceived conflict of interest.

C. The chairman and members of the commission shall receive seventy-five dollars for each and every day actually and necessarily spent in attending meetings of the commission, including any commission committee meetings, and shall be reimbursed for subsistence and traveling expenses incurred in the performance of their duties as provided by the travel regulations issued by the commissioner of administration. Such meeting payments shall not exceed the sum of five thousand dollars per annum to any one person within a calendar year.

D.(1) The commission may hire a qualified person to serve as executive director who shall have had sufficient management and organizational experience to direct the day-to-day operations of the commission. The commission shall fix the salary and shall define and prescribe the duties of the executive director.

(2) The executive director shall be in charge of the commission's office and shall devote such time as directed by the commission to fulfill the duties thereof.

(3) The commission may employ such clerical, technical, legal, and other help and incur such expenses as may be necessary for the proper discharge of its duties as provided in this Part and Part XIV-B of this Chapter.

(4) The commission shall maintain its office and transact its business in Baton Rouge and is authorized to adopt and use a seal.

E. The commission is hereby vested with the powers and duties necessary and proper to enable it to fully and effectively carry out and enforce the provisions and objectives of this Chapter, and is hereby authorized and empowered to make and enforce all reasonable rules and regulations and to adopt and prescribe all forms necessary to accomplish said purpose. The enumeration of any power or authority herein shall not be construed to deny, impair, disparage, or limit any others necessary to the attainment thereof. All rules and regulations shall be adopted in accordance with the provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act. Oversight review shall be conducted by the House Committee on Commerce and the Senate Committee on Commerce, Consumer Protection, and International Affairs.

F. The powers and duties of the commission shall include but are not limited to the following:

(1) Licensing of manufacturers, retailers, developers, salesmen, transporters, and installers as provided in this Part and Part XIV-B of this Chapter.

(2) Inspecting a reasonable sample of installations of manufactured and modular homes within this state to ensure compliance with state and federal standards.

(3) Working with consumers, manufacturers, retailers, developers, salesmen, transporters, and installers to hear complaints and make determinations relating to construction defects, warranty issues, service complaints, and other matters which are not set forth pursuant to 24 CFR Part 3280 and 24 CFR Part 3282.

(4) Establishing an alternative dispute resolution process for manufactured and modular home consumers in Louisiana. The commission may charge a reasonable fee to defray the cost of establishing the alternative dispute resolution process.

(5) Requiring all licensees to maintain their records for a period of three years and to keep their records open to inspection by any authorized employee of the commission during reasonable hours.

(6) Holding and conducting hearings on any violation of the provisions of this Part or Part XIV-B of this Chapter and on the imposition of a civil penalty, fine, suspension, or revocation for any such violation.

(7) The ability to issue cease and desist orders, and to subpoena individuals and records as it deems necessary.

(8) The ability to take action against any licensee that hires an individual that has been found to be in violation of the law and has a license that is either suspended or revoked.

(9) Review and approve continuing education course work, required under this Part or Part XIV-B of this Chapter, offered in other states, if the other state allows for reciprocity of Louisiana continuing education course work.

(10) The authority to establish a mandatory uniform written transportation and installation contract that is required to be used by all transporters and installers when moving or installing a manufactured or modular home in this state. Transporters and installers shall be required to give their customers a copy of the contract, itemizing all services being provided and the cost associated with those services, prior to beginning work or moving a home. These records shall be maintained for at least three years and shall be made available to the commission for inspection. Transporters who are only passing through the state or are delivering a home from a manufacturer to a licensee of the commission are not required to comply with the provisions of this Paragraph. The commission has the authority to promulgate rules and regulations in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act in order to implement the provisions of this Paragraph.

(11) The authority to adopt rules governing the repairs or renovations of manufactured homes.

G. All expenses incurred by the commission in carrying out the provisions of this Part including but not limited to per diem, wages, salaries, rent, postage, supplies, bond premiums, travel and subsistence for the commissioners and the executive director, printing, and utilities shall be proper charges against the fund.

H. The commission shall, in addition to the powers herein conferred, be constituted a body politic or political corporation, invested with the powers inherent in corporations. It may sue and be sued under the style of the Louisiana Manufactured Housing Commission, and all process against the corporation shall be served on the chairman or executive director, and all suits on behalf of the commission shall be brought by the chairman or his designee. The domicile for the purpose of being sued shall be in East Baton Rouge Parish. Service of process shall be made upon the chairman or upon the executive director of the commission in person. No member of the board shall be held liable as an individual in any suit against the board.

I. Repealed by Acts 2007, No. 441, §2.

J. Repealed by Acts 2017, No. 221, §2.

Acts 2001, No. 718, §2; Acts 2003, No. 183, §8; Acts 2003, No. 661, §1; Acts 2004, No. 419, §1, eff. July 1, 2004; Acts 2007, No. 441, §2; Acts 2008, No. 825, §1; Acts 2008, No. 831, §4, eff. July 1, 2008; Acts 2010, No. 1018, §1; Acts 2017, No. 221, §§1, 2.

1 In par. (A)(2), Part XIV-B, "Minimum Standards for Installation of Manufactured Homes," see R.S. 51:912.21 et seq.

2 In subsec. E, Administrative Procedure Act, see R.S. 49:950 et seq.