AB 557: California Factory-Built Housing Law.

Existing law, the California Factory-Built Housing Law, requires all factory-built housing after a specified date that is sold or offered for sale to first users within the state to bear insignia of approval issued by the department, deems that housing to comply with the requirements of all ordinances or regulations enacted by any city, city and county, county, or district that may be applicable to the construction of housing, as specified, and prohibits a city, city and county, county, and district from requiring submittal of plans for any factory-built housing manufactured, or to be manufactured pursuant to these provisions, as specified. The law requires the Department of Housing and Community Development to enforce its provisions, except for in-plant inspections of the manufacture and installation of factory-built housing by local enforcement or inspection agencies, as specified. Existing law requires the department to provide by regulation for the qualification and disqualification of design approval agencies to perform approval of factory-built housing plans and specification and of quality assurance agencies to perform inspections of factory-built housing. Existing law specifications and makes approval by these agencies the equivalent of department approval. The law requires the department to adopt rules and regulations to interpret and make specific these provisions, as specified. The law provides that any person who violates any of these provisions and other specified law is guilty of a misdemeanor, as specified.

This bill would expand the application of the California Factory-Built Housing Law to include the inspection and approval of factory-built developments, defined to mean any development project that uses factory-built housing for at least 50% of the residential square footage of the project. The bill would remove the inspection and enforcement duties on local governments and would require the department to provide by regulation for the qualification and disqualification of installation inspection agencies, as defined and specified. The bill would additionally authorize licensed architects, under penalty of perjury, to approve factory-built housing and factory-built development plans and specifications on behalf of the department. The bill would require plans or specifications of factory-built housing approved pursuant to these provisions to be approved by unit serial number, as specified. The bill would make conforming changes. number and would authorize the approved plans or specifications to be used in subsequent development projects unless building standards relating to factory-built housing are modified, as specified. The bill would require the department and the design approval agencies to limit their review to the portions of a plan or specification that has not already received approval, as specified. By expanding the scope of existing crimes, an existing crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

The bill would include findings that changes proposed by this bill address a matter of statewide concern rather than a municipal affair and, therefore, apply to all cities, including charter cities.