TITLE: CONCERNING THE REGISTRATION OF PERSONS INVOLVED IN PROVIDING SERVICES RELATED TO MANUFACTURED HOUSING, AND, IN CONNECTION THEREWITH, REQUIRING DEALERS AND INSTALLERS TO REGISTER ANNUALLY, AND MAKING AN APPROPRIATION.

Fiscal Impact Summary	FY 1999/2000	FY 2000/2001
State Revenues General Fund	Minimal Penalty Revenues	Minimal Penalty Revenues
State Expenditures Cash Fund	$2,929	$4,601
FTE Position Change	0.0 FTE	0.0 FTE
Other State Impact: TABOR
Effective Date: January 15, 2000 (Refer to the Technical Error section of this fiscal note on page 4)
Appropriation Summary for FY 1999-2000: Department of Regulatory Agencies - $2,929 - Cash Fund
Local Government Impact: A local government may incur minimal costs to enforce provisions of the Colorado Consumer Protection Act.

This bill requires the Division of Real Estate in the Department of Regulatory Agencies to establish an annual registration program for each manufactured housing dealer and installer in Colorado. The bill specifies requirements for registration, violations that constitute grounds for registration revocation, and requirements for registration reinstatement. The bill requires the division to promulgate rules by January 15, 2000, to implement the program.

The bill specifies certain conditions under which any dealer or installer is considered to engage in a deceptive trade practice under the provisions of the Colorado Consumer Protection Act (CCPA). The bill allows a manufactured housing purchaser, under certain conditions, to seek civil remedies for negligence from a dealer or installer under the CCPA.

The bill creates the Manufactured Housing Registration Cash Fund in the Department of Regulatory Agencies. The General Assembly is to annually appropriate a sufficient amount of moneys from the cash fund to the division to cover program expenses. The bill creates the Mobile Home Unclaimed Moneys Fund in the State Treasury. The bill specifies the manner in which moneys collected by the State Treasurer, as a result of amounts due and payable from the Department of Regulatory Agencies from recovery funds, are to be credited to the Mobile Home Unclaimed Moneys Fund. The bill requires the State Treasurer, between November 1 and December 30 of each year, to credit up to $5,000 from the Mobile Home Unclaimed Moneys Fund to the Manufactured Housing Registration Cash Fund.

The bill makes an appropriation from the Manufactured Housing Registration Cash Fund to the Department of Regulatory Agencies for FY 1999-2000. The program is to be repealed effective July 1, 2005, subject to legislative review.

Colorado Consumer Protection Act. The Colorado Consumer Protection Act (CCPA) prescribes a civil penalty, payable to the state General Fund, of not more than $2,000 for each violation of the Act; and of not more than $100,000 for any series of violations. The CCPA also prescribes a civil penalty, payable to the state General Fund, of not more than $10,000 for each violation of a court order pursuant to the Act. There are no historical records for these offenses. Any additional revenues are anticipated to be minimal.

Manufactured Housing Recovery Fund. Under current law, the unencumbered balance of the Manufactured Housing Recovery Fund is approximately $124,614. This amount represents the remaining unclaimed portion of fees that were once collected by the Division of Real Estate under a former agency program.

This bill would transfer that amount to the Mobile Home Unclaimed Moneys Fund. The bill requires the State Treasurer to determine an appropriate amount to be retained in the fund for future recovery claims. Of the remaining amount, the State Treasurer is to annually credit up to $5,000 to the Manufactured Housing Registration Cash Fund for appropriation to the Department of Regulatory Agencies.

Department of Regulatory Agencies. The Department of Regulatory Agencies' annual expenses starting in FY 1999-2000 are based upon the following assumptions:

• that the Division of Real Estate will register all known Colorado manufactured housing dealers and installers between January 15 and June 30, 2000;

• that the division will promulgate program rules with existing budgeted resources;

• that, based upon recent studies conducted by the Department of Local Affairs, approximately 327 dealers and 450 installers will be subject to the registration requirements;

• that the division will annually develop, print, and distribute approximately 1,500 communications and 800 licenses;

• that the division will require additional personal services to process registration applications, renewals, and licenses; and

• that the bill does not require the division to enforce the provisions of the bill, therefore, the division's only enforcement activities will be one "show cause" hearing during the first year and three hearings for each year thereafter.

Table 1 provides a summary of the department's annual expenses to administer the provisions of this bill.

Colorado Consumer Protection Act. The Office of the Attorney General and the district courts of the state are concurrently responsible for the enforcement of the CCPA. The Attorney General or district attorney is authorized to take necessary actions, including issuing subpoenas, conducting hearings, and promulgating rules to administer the provisions of the Act.

Under current law, district attorneys refer most all civil consumer protection cases to the Office of the Attorney General because of case matter experience and resource limitations. District attorneys’ salaries are funded 80 percent state and 20 percent county. The remaining administrative and personal services costs of each district attorney’s office are funded by the county.

Actions instituted pursuant to the Act may be brought in the county where an alleged deceptive trade practice occurred or where any portion of a transaction involving an alleged deceptive trade practice occurred, or in the county where the principal place of business of any defendant is located, or in the county in which any defendant resides.

As a result, additional state costs may be incurred to enforce the provisions of this bill. Based upon an assumption that there will be few of these offenses during FY 1999-2000 and FY 2000-01, it is believed that any additional state costs would be absorbed within existing budgets.

Colorado Consumer Protection Act. At the local level, district attorneys may be responsible for the enforcement of the CCPA. Under current law, county district attorneys’ salaries are funded 80 percent state and 20 percent county. The remaining administrative and personal services costs of each district attorney’s office are funded by the county. Additional local government costs may be incurred to enforce the provisions of this bill, but the amount of these costs are anticipated to be minimal. The CCPA does not prescribe a jail sentence as a penalty.

This bill will require a transfer of $124,614 from the Manufactured Housing Recovery Fund to the Mobile Home Unclaimed Moneys Fund for FY 1999-2000. Of this amount, the bill requires the State Treasurer to credit $2,929 to the Manufactured Housing Registration Cash Fund. Of this amount, the Department of Regulatory Agencies will require a Manufactured Housing Registration Cash Fund appropriation of $2,929 for FY 1999-2000. Of this amount, the Department of Law will require a cash fund exempt spending authority of $297, and the Department of Personnel will require a cash fund exempt spending authority of $540.

The bill specifies an effective date of January 15, 2001. This fiscal note is based upon the assumption the effective date will be amended to January 15, 2000.

Table 1 - Department of Regulatory Agencies Manufactured Housing Registration Expenses
	FY 1999-2000	FY 2000/2001
Contracted Personal Services	$883	$883
Operating Expenses	1,209	1,209
Legal Expenses - Dept of Law	297	890
Hearing Expenses - Dept of Personnel	540	1,619
Total Expenses	$2,929	$4,601