Senator Curry introduces LD 364 to shift manufactured-housing oversight to MOCA; industry urges safeguards
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Summary
Senator Chip Curry presented LD 364 to transfer regulatory responsibility for manufactured housing communities and installation to the Maine Office of Community Affairs and to recodify outdated statutory chapters; industry representatives urged preserving technical oversight and legislative confirmation for a board and asked to be listed stakeholders.
Senator Chip Curry presented LD 364, a resolve directing the Maine Office of Community Affairs (MOCA) to prepare legislation and take actions to transition responsibility for regulating manufactured housing communities and the construction and installation of manufactured homes from the Manufactured Housing Board to MOCA. "This is the resolve directing the main office of community affairs to submit legislation and take other actions to execute the transition of responsibility for regulating manufactured housing communities," Curry said as he summarized the bill and the need to recodify two chapters of Title 10 because of inconsistent, decades-old language.
Brian Hubbell of the governor's office testified in support, urged using the three working groups that produced underlying recommendations as consultants and said the office is "committed to working with you all" to ensure a substantive policy review. Representative Amanda Collamore and others asked whether the resolve should be limited to directing recodification only if the budget transfer goes into effect; Curry acknowledged that wording could be tightened to avoid attempting to "further effectuate something that didn't happen."
Julie Smith, executive director of the Manufactured Housing Association of Maine, testified neither for nor against the bill and warned that the proposal "represents a significant structural change in the regulation of manufactured housing." She said the existing Manufactured Housing Board, appointed by the governor and confirmed by the Legislature, provides technical expertise for licensing, inspections and enforcement and recommended preserving an industry-informed oversight board, legislative confirmation, clear guardrails to protect owner and resident rights, and explicit stakeholder inclusion for MAM and current inspectors.
Sandra Hinckley, a long-time community owner, also testified neither for nor against the resolve and urged including retailers and both state and municipal inspectors on the consult list and ensuring Maine retains HUD authorization for state-administered inspection responsibilities.
The committee closed the public hearing and did not take immediate action; members signaled technical edits and stakeholder-list clarifications should be considered in the work-session process.
