Panel briefly advances LB888 to align state manufactured-housing penalties with federal law

Senator Stan Clouse introduced LB888 to align Nebraska’s penalty amounts under the Uniform Standards for Modular Housing Units Act and related statutes with federal requirements under HUD’s manufactured housing program. Clouse said the state must match federal per-violation amounts and the federal maximum for series-of-violation penalties and adopt federal CPI adjustments.

Tim Schram of the Nebraska Public Service Commission testified the PSC serves as the state administrative agency for HUD’s manufactured-home program and cited the federal regulatory citations (24 CFR references) requiring alignment. He explained Nebraska’s penalty amounts have not been updated since 2005, creating a disparity with current federal figures and a risk to the state’s program approval; Schram said civil penalty revenues would be deposited in the state common school fund per the Nebraska Constitution.

Committee members asked why the bill appeared in HHS and other procedural clarifying questions; sponsors and PSC staff said the change is technical and required for ongoing HUD compliance. Senator Klaus urged a green vote to keep Nebraska in compliance with federal rules.

No opponents appeared in the hearing. The committee closed the LB888 portion and moved to the next bill.