The Senate approved the Manufactured Housing Improvement Act of 2000, S. 1452, by unanimous consent late May 4. The bill had been sent to the full Senate after it was approved March 8 by the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs.

The bill, introduced by Sen. Richard Shelby and cosponsored by a majority of Banking Committee members, would modernize the requirements of the National Manufactured Housing Construction and Safety Standards Act of 1974.

The bill is intended to provide fair, practical federal construction standards that reflect the current state of the manufactured housing industry. It would establish a consensus committee and a process for the development and regulation of construction and safety standards. It would also require the Department of Housing and Urban Development to respond to consensus committee suggestions for improvements and updates to the HUD code for manufactured housing.

A Housing Subcommittee hearing on the bill was held on October 5, 1999.