Committee advances H.757 to Ways and Means after clarifying rules for manufactured homes and limited‑equity co‑ops

The General & Housing committee voted to find H.757 favorable with amendment (draft 3.1) and referred the bill to the House Ways and Means Committee. The bill covers two main areas: changes that apply to all manufactured homes, and provisions specific to limited‑equity cooperatives organized as manufactured‑home parks.

Committee chair summarized the core changes as simple, technical fixes intended to make financing and ownership clearer for manufactured homes. Among the changes, the bill replaces the term "mobile home" in the code with "manufactured home," adopts a technical definition of what it means for a manufactured home to be "attached" (four listed criteria, any one of which establishes attachment), and clarifies that manufactured homes are exempt from sales tax while transfers are subject to the property‑transfer tax.

For limited‑equity cooperatives (limited‑equity co‑ops or LECs) organized as manufactured‑home parks, the amendment narrows and clarifies new restrictions on subleasing. Under the amendment the articles of incorporation must prohibit subleasing of a unit except where a member demonstrates a hardship; the coop board may grant an exemption by majority vote and subleasing may only be to an individual of low or moderate income as defined in statute. The bill also requires that a unit owner may not sublease for an amount greater than necessary to cover the unit’s costs to the member, including membership fee, mortgage costs, and utilities passed through.

Counsel Cameron Wood (Office of Legislative Council) described a related reporting requirement: the Department of Taxes must deliver a report to the Senate Committee on Economic Development and the Senate Committee on Finance by Nov. 15, 2026, providing an inventory and analysis of the appraised value of each mobile‑home park registered as a limited‑equity cooperative. The report must identify appraisal methods used, explain differences in approaches, and recommend ways to ensure consistent and appropriate appraisals that account for transfer‑value limitations written into limited‑equity formulas.

Members asked technical questions about statutory cross‑references for parcel division and appraisal approaches. John (identified in the record as John Graves/John Grayoffs of Legislative Council) said the intent of the report is informational and agnostic about methodology: "you're being agnostic as to the approaches that folks may take across the state" and the Department of Taxes should document why approaches differ and make recommendations accordingly.

After brief committee discussion and expressions of thanks to stakeholders who helped craft the bill, a member moved to find H.757 favorable with amendment (draft 3.1). The motion passed on a committee tally reported as "8 0 3." The committee clerk and chair indicated the bill would be referred to Ways and Means and the reporter will coordinate submission of the clean copy.

The committee signaled that H.757 is an initial, layered step toward broader reforms: members said they expect follow‑up work next year as additional issues surface.