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Manufactured-housing elevation bill deferred after lawmakers seek clearer flood-standard language
Summary
Lawmakers voluntarily deferred House Bill 318, which would adopt FEMA minimum standards for manufactured and modular housing flood elevations, after committee members raised concerns about conflicting language on local freeboard requirements and field permitting. Sponsors said they would refine the bill language and return next week.
Lawmakers voluntarily deferred House Bill 318 after committee members raised questions about how the bill would interact with local freeboard requirements and field permitting practices for manufactured housing.
Representative Gadbury presented the bill as an effort to align manufactured and modular housing installation standards with Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) minimums. "FEMA requires the lowest horizontal member to be at or above the base flood elevation," a proponent representing the Manufactured Housing Association explained, describing how the bottom of a home—s I-beam ties to FEMA—s standard.
Witnesses and committee members said that when local jurisdictions impose additional freeboard requirements (additional elevation above base flood elevation), installers can face conflicting guidance in the field. Steve Duke of the Manufactured Housing Association described cases where installers set an elevation per one map or permit and a later inspector cited a different requirement, forcing costly adjustments. "They're getting conflicting information in the field, on setting the finished floor of that home and it's causing the installers to go back out there and raise it, you know, dollars 4,000 or $5,000 for it to raise that home back up," Duke said.
Representative Landry and other members said the bill could reduce costs for residents in parishes where multiple flood-zone maps or freeboard rules create inconsistent expectations. Committee members asked the author to refine paragraph (b) language that currently could be read as prohibiting local governments from adopting freeboard requirements that are more restrictive than FEMA—s minimum standard; sponsors said they would address the conflict.
Representative Jordan moved to voluntarily defer the bill for one week so sponsors could revise the language; the motion carried with no recorded objection. Support cards on the record included representatives of the Louisiana Manufactured Housing Association.
