Factory-built housing: building standards and local requirements.

New Section 19966.1 defines 'building assembly' as assembled construction materials, components, subsystems, or other systems designed for use in factory-built housing, excluding listed appliances and equipment.

Section 19971 definition of 'factory-built housing' is substantially expanded from a simple 15% ratio test to include buildings, dwelling units, individual rooms, building components, assemblies, and systems manufactured offsite, with explicit exclusions for manufactured homes, mobilehomes, recreational vehicles, and commercial modulars.

New Section 19971.1 defines 'factory-built housing structure' as a residential building where at least two-thirds of new or converted square footage is residential use AND at least 30% of the residential portion is built using factory-built housing, calculated by area, volume, or size.

New Section 19993.1 prohibits cities, counties, and districts from imposing local building standards on factory-built housing structures that exceed or differ from mandatory state standards in the California Building Standards Code, including energy efficiency (Part 6) and green building (Part 11) amendments.

Section 19993.1 creates a rebuttable presumption in favor of determinations that facilitate factory-built housing use and allow a project to qualify as a factory-built housing structure, which can only be overcome by a written finding supported by a preponderance of evidence.

Section 19993.1 allows cities or counties to modify state building standards only upon an express finding that changes are reasonably necessary for minimum health and safety due to local climatic, geological, or topographical conditions, with findings required to be filed with the California Building Standards Commission before taking effect.

Section 19993's list of requirements reserved to local jurisdictions changes: it removes 'local flood resistant control standards' and 'local wildfire safety building requirements' and replaces them with 'local snow load requirements, local wind pressure requirements, local fire zones, building setback, side and rear yard requirements, site development and property line requirements, and review and regulation of architectural and aesthetic requirements.'

Section 19981 now references both Section 19993 and the new Section 19993.1 as exceptions to the preemption of local ordinances, and adds a new subdivision (c) requiring approval from the local enforcement agency for modifications made during installation.

New Section 6012.7 of the Revenue and Taxation Code sets gross receipts from factory-built housing sales at 40% of the sales price for tax purposes, defines included items (residential buildings, modular housing, sectionalized housing, utility/wet cores) and excluded items (mobilehomes, precut packages over 50% lumber, incomplete panelized construction, porches/awnings).

Vehicle Code Sections 321 and 387 are updated to align definitions with the expanded Health and Safety Code definitions, and Section 387 now explicitly includes 'manufactured home' as a defined term in the Vehicle Code.

The definition of 'factory-built housing' in Section 19971 is completely rewritten. The old definition was based on manufacturing process (concealed parts that cannot be inspected without disassembly) and covered dwelling units, rooms, components, assemblies, and systems. The new definition is a simple cost-ratio test: a residential building with a factory-built ratio of at least 15 percent where at least two-thirds of the new or converted square footage is designated for residential use.

A new Section 19993(c) defines 'local flood resistant control standards' as Appendix (G) of Part 2 of Title 24 of the California Building Code as incorporated by a city, county, or city and county.

The definition of 'design approval agency' in Section 19969.3 changes from performing 'evaluation of factory-built housing plans and specifications' to 'evaluation of factory-built components,' narrowing the scope of what these agencies evaluate.

The definition of 'quality assurance agency' in Section 19976.05 changes from performing 'in-plant inspections of the construction of factory-built housing' to 'in-plant inspections of the manufacture of factory-built components,' shifting focus from finished housing to individual components.

The definition of 'local inspection agency' in Section 19975.1 changes 'inspection of in-plant construction' to 'inspection of in-plant manufacture,' a terminology shift consistent with the component-based approach.

The definition of 'first user' in Section 19972 is simplified from 'a person who subsequently purchases a building which wholly or partially consists of factory-built housing is not a first user' to 'a person who subsequently purchases factory-built housing is not a first user.'

The standalone definition of 'hard costs' previously included in Section 19993(b)(2) (total cost of labor and materials required for the construction scope) is removed, as the concept is now handled through the 'factory-built ratio' and 'cost of vertical construction' definitions in Section 19971.1.

The preemption provision in Section 19993(b)(1) removes the requirement that 'at least 15 percent of the hard costs for each building in the project are spent on factory-built housing that bears the insignia of the Department of Housing and Community Development.' This threshold is now built into the definition of 'factory-built housing' itself, so any project meeting that definition automatically qualifies for preemption. The provision also changes from applying to 'a housing construction project that utilizes factory-built housing' to 'a factory-built housing construction project.'

A new Section 19993(b)(2) clarifies that if a development project includes both factory-built housing and other structures that are not factory-built housing, the preemption provision applies only to the factory-built housing portion.

The list of local requirements specifically reserved to local jurisdictions in Section 19993(a)(1) is substantially changed. Removed: local snow load requirements, local wind pressure requirements, local fire zones, building setback/side and rear yard requirements, site development and property line requirements, and the specific reference to 'review and regulation of architectural and aesthetic' design standards. Added: 'local flood resistant control standards.' The remaining reserved categories are now: local use zone requirements, local design standard requirements, local flood resistant control standards, and local wildfire safety building requirements.

The bill text was reformatted from a printed legislative document style (with line numbers, page headers, and column layout) into a web page format with navigation elements, search functionality, and different heading structure. No changes to the statutory language itself were made.

New Section 19970.1 defines 'factory-built component' as a volumetric modular unit, panelized system, or assembly bearing the department's insignia, manufactured offsite with concealed parts that cannot be inspected before installation without disassembly, damage, or destruction. Excludes mobilehomes, recreational vehicles, and commercial modulars.

New Section 19971.1 defines 'factory-built ratio' as the percentage of cost of factory-built components relative to cost of vertical construction, along with detailed definitions for 'cost of factory-built components,' 'cost of vertical construction,' 'general conditions,' 'insurances,' 'overhead,' and 'profit.'

Section 19971 definition of 'factory-built housing' is revised to require a factory-built ratio of at least 15 percent and that at least two-thirds of new or converted square footage be designated for residential use, in addition to the existing concealed-parts criterion.

Section 19969.3 ('design approval agency') is revised to reference evaluation of 'factory-built housing components' rather than 'plans and specifications,' aligning with the new component-based framework.

Section 19976.05 ('quality assurance agency') is revised to reference in-plant inspections of 'manufacture of factory-built housing components' rather than 'construction of factory-built housing.'

Section 19993(a)(1) expands the list of requirements specifically reserved to local jurisdictions to include 'local design standard requirements' and 'local wildfire safety building requirements' alongside the previously listed use zone, snow load, wind pressure, fire zones, setback, site development, and architectural/aesthetic requirements.

Section 19993(b)(1) changes the preemption trigger from 'a housing construction project that utilizes factory-built housing' to 'a factory-built housing construction project,' narrowing which projects qualify for the prohibition on local standards exceeding state minimums.

The bill now amends Sections 19969.3, 19971, 19972, 19975.1, and 19976.05 in addition to Section 19993, and adds new Sections 19970.1 and 19971.1, expanding from a single-section amendment to a multi-section statutory revision.

New Section 19993(a)(3) adds a legislative finding that Chapter 16 of the California Building Standards Code robustly addresses regional variations in snow load and wind pressure, supporting the preemption of local snow load and wind pressure requirements.

New provision amending Section 19993 of the Health and Safety Code prohibits cities, counties, or city and counties from imposing or enforcing building standards that exceed state minimum building standards (Title 24) on housing construction projects using factory-built housing, if at least 15% of the project's hard costs are spent on factory-built housing bearing DHCD insignia.

Preserves local authority over use zone requirements, snow load, wind pressure, fire zones, building setback and yard requirements, site development and property line requirements, and architectural/aesthetic review. Requires that any local requirements on factory-built housing not vary substantially from those imposed on other residential buildings of similar size.

Adds a legislative finding (Section 2) declaring that adequate housing is a matter of statewide concern, making the bill applicable to all cities including charter cities.

Defines 'hard costs' as the total cost of labor and materials required for the construction scope.

Adds a no-reimbursement provision (Section 3) stating no state reimbursement is required under Article XIII B because local agencies can levy sufficient fees or charges, or because costs arise from changes to crime definitions.

Fiscal committee designation changed from 'no' to 'yes' and state-mandated local program designation changed from 'no' to 'yes,' reflecting that the bill now imposes new duties on local officials.

Coauthors Assembly Members Mark Gonzalez, Harabedian, and Hoover were added to the bill.

The 15 percent hard costs threshold for factory-built housing now applies per building in the project, rather than across the entire project. Previously a project could qualify if 15% of total project hard costs went to factory-built housing overall; now each individual building must independently meet that 15% threshold.

The bill no longer amends Section 19985 of the Health and Safety Code, which dealt with the department's ability to recognize out-of-state factory-built housing standards as equivalent to California's. That provision was dropped entirely.

Section references were corrected throughout: the bill title and digest now consistently reference Section 19993 instead of the previously erroneous Section 19985, and Section 2 now correctly states it amends (rather than adds) Section 19993.

Quirk-Silva was added as a co-introducer and Caloza was added as a coauthor, reflecting changes in legislative sponsorship.