It is the express intent of this chapter to give administrative relief to the Fire Marshal Division of the Insurance Department in the supervision of any current or future federal and state statutes and codes relating to manufactured and modular housing and buildings. For such purposes, the Alabama Manufactured Housing Commission is created to perform such administrative functions.

The Alabama Manufactured Housing Commission, hereinafter referred to as 'the commission,' is hereby created and shall function as the principal executive branch agency with powers to provide for a comprehensive manufactured and modular housing and building program with respect to construction, transportation, site location or manufacturing standards for such structures. The commission shall consist of an advisory board of nine members, an administrator, and other staff and personnel. The membership of the commission shall be inclusive and reflect the racial, gender, geographic, urban/rural, and economic diversity of the state. The advisory board members shall serve in an advisory capacity only to the administrator. The administrator shall have the sole and complete authority to formulate, implement, and execute policy, laws, and regulations for the commission, and will consult with the advisory board as necessary during its scheduled meetings. The commission shall have such other powers and duties as are hereinafter provided.

(a) The advisory board of the commission shall be composed of nine advisory only members, each of whom shall have been a resident of Alabama for at least five years prior to appointment.

(b) Six of the members shall be appointed by the Governor, subject to Senate confirmation, as follows:

(1) From a list of nine nominees submitted by the Alabama Manufactured Housing Institute, the Governor shall appoint three members who shall be from the Alabama manufactured housing industry and of those three members, two members shall represent the manufacturers and one member shall represent the retailers. No employee of AMHI shall serve on the commission. The terms of office of the initial appointees shall be one for one year, one for two years, and one for three years.

(2) There shall be three consumer representatives appointed as follows: The Governor shall appoint from the general public three members who shall serve as consumer representatives and whose initial term of office shall be one for one year, one for two years, and one for three years. The appointees from the general public shall serve as consumer representatives with one appointee living in a manufactured home at the time of appointment. The appointments shall be selected from the current congressional districts as follows: One appointee shall reside in congressional district 4 or 5, one appointee shall reside in congressional district 3 or 6, one appointee shall reside in congressional district 1 or 2 or 7.

(c) There shall be three governmental representatives appointed as follows:

(1) The President Pro Tempore of the Senate shall appoint one member who is a representative from any local government for an initial term of two years.

(2) The Speaker of the House of Representatives shall appoint one member who is a member of the House of Representatives.

(3) The Lieutenant Governor shall appoint one member who is a member of the Senate.

(d) Appointment, reappointment, vacancies, compensation, meetings, and responsibilities shall be as follows:

(1) Appointed members shall be eligible for reappointment.

(2) Any vacancy or new appointment shall be filled by the appointing authority for the unexpired term in the same manner as the original appointment was made, except that the number of nominees for the industry members shall be reduced to three for each vacancy.

(3) The successors to the initial appointees shall serve terms of five years.

(4) The members who are appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Lieutenant Governor, and the President Pro Tempore of the Senate shall serve for the initial terms of their elected office and may be reappointed by the appointing authority for additional terms.

(5) The administrator, or other persons responsible for handling all matters under the National Manufactured Housing Construction and Safety Standards Act of 1974, shall have no actual or potential conflict of interest nor be under the influence or control of a manufacturer of products or a retailer, supplier, or vendor of products in any manner which may affect his or her capacity to perform the function of the job objectively and without bias. The Alabama Ethics Commission shall investigate any report of a conflict of interest and, upon a finding of a conflict of interest, the Governor shall remove any such person having a conflict of interest. A member of the advisory board of the housing commission who has a direct pecuniary interest in any matter before the advisory board of the housing commission shall disclose that fact before the advisory board takes action at any meeting with respect to the matter, and he or she shall not vote, participate, or be present at any such meeting. Disclosure of such a pecuniary interest shall become a part of the official record of the proceedings of the advisory board of the commission.

(6) A person appointed as a general consumer or government representative shall not have any ownership interest in or income benefit from a manufacturer of manufactured homes, a retail seller of manufactured homes, a community, or a supplier of products or services to the manufactured housing industry. These appointees shall not have any financial contracts or provide or accept any services with anyone in the manufactured housing industry except to the extent the consumer lives in a manufactured home.

(7) The members of the advisory board of the commission shall select from its membership a person to serve as chair. The chair shall preside over the advisory board meetings. The chair may not serve for more than two consecutive terms of two years each.

(8) The Governor shall make appointments within 30 days following receipt of the list of nominees from the agencies and if not made within 30 days, nominees are no longer valid and a new list of nominees must be submitted. Appointments requiring Senate approval made at times when the Legislature is not in session shall be effective ad interim. Ad interim appointments shall be made in the same manner as appointments made during a legislative session. An appointment made by the Governor when the Legislature is in session shall be submitted to the Senate not later than the third legislative day following the date of the appointment. An appointment made when the Legislature is not in session shall be submitted to the Senate not later than the third legislative day following the reconvening of the Legislature.

(9) All members of the advisory board of the commission, except legislative members, shall be paid one hundred dollars ($100) for each day the members of the advisory board of the commission meet and shall receive the same per diem and allowance for meetings of the advisory board as is paid to state employees for official state business. Legislative members shall be entitled to receive their regular legislative compensation.

(10) The advisory board shall meet at least four times per year and at such times as called by the chair. Notice of regular meetings shall be given by the chair to advisory board members at least five business days prior to the meeting. Special called meetings shall similarly require five days' notice in writing. Five members of the advisory board shall constitute a quorum for all purposes. Vacancies on the advisory board shall be filled by nomination and appointment within 30 days by the same procedure as the original appointments. Vacancies may occur through death or resignation of an advisory board member, or other reasons.

(a) The commission, in an advisory capacity, shall be the principal staff agency of the executive branch to provide, with the cooperation of other departments of state governmental units, a comprehensive housing program and procedures which include the relevance for housing programs administered by the state and the governmental structures required to put such programs into effect. The commission, through its administrator, shall perform all the duties and exercise all the powers and authority relative to modular housing, manufactured buildings, manufactured housing and pre-HUD 1976 mobile homes, heretofore vested in the Fire Marshal's Division within the State Department of Insurance, and other implied powers. All the functions, powers, authority and duties provided by law, specifically, but not limited to: Sections 24-5-1 through 24-5-14; 24-5-30 through 24-5-34; and 24-4A-1 through 24-4A-7, all books, records, and supplies, pursuant to and under the authority of the aforesaid code sections through legislative budgetary authority and duties provided by law, specifically, but not limited to: Sections 24-5-1 through 24-5-14; 24-5-30 through 24-5-34; and 24-4A-1 through 24-4A-7, and all books, records, supplies, equipment, documents, files, papers, materials, and personnel of the Fire Marshal's Division subject to and authorized by, or under these various code sections and related thereto are also hereby transferred to the commission.

(b) There is established a revolving fund in the State Treasury to be known as the 'Alabama Manufactured Housing Commission Fund' (Fund). Any proceeds remaining at the end of each fiscal year shall not revert to the State General Fund, but shall carry forward to the succeeding fiscal years in the fund for the use of the commission. All proceeds from federal grants, loans, funds, fees, and state or federal appropriations received or collected by the commission heretofore or hereafter are so appropriated and shall be deposited in the fund, and used only for and to the enurement of this commission.

(c) The commission is authorized, through its administrator, to promulgate such rules and regulations not inconsistent with this chapter as are implied or stated as are necessary to carry out the provisions of this chapter, pertaining specifically to the manufacture, transportation, or site location of said manufactured and modular housing and buildings and building programs in the State of Alabama. The commission is further authorized, through its administrator, to promulgate such rules and regulations as it may deem necessary to meet the requirements of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the National Fire Protection Association, or any other recognized standards.

(d) The advisory board may recommend a schedule of fees to the administrator, who, through commission rules and regulations, will establish the fees to pay the cost incurred by the said commission for the work related to the administration and enforcement of this chapter. All fees, funds, and moneys received or collected by the commission are hereby appropriated to the commission and shall be deposited in the fund to be used only for the enrichment of the commission.

(e) The commission, through its administrator, may enter into any contracts with public or private agencies and said contracts shall be submitted to the Contract Review Permanent Legislative Oversight Committee for approval.

(f) The administrator is authorized to set qualifications for employees of the commission and compensation through the state Merit System for the necessary employees to carry out the provisions of this chapter. The administrator and all other current Merit System employees shall retain their Merit System status under this chapter. The Governor is authorized to set the qualifications and compensation of future administrators. The members of the advisory board shall serve only in an advisory capacity and may make recommendations to the Governor for the hiring or firing of the administrator. The Governor has the sole authority to hire or fire the administrator.

(g) The administrator shall serve as the department head for the purposes of all commission business, including, but not limited to, the hiring and firing of commission employees under the rules of the State Personnel Board for state Merit System employees, as required to perform the duties and responsibilities necessary in order to accomplish the state and federal regulatory functions of the agency including implementation of the state plan on file with the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

(h) The commission, through its administrator, is authorized to: Make comprehensive and detailed plans for combating the shortage of safe and sanitary housing in Alabama; apply for and accept advances, loans, grants, contributions, and any other forms of assistance from the federal government, state or other public body, or from any other source, public or private; enter into and carry out contracts or agreements in connection with programs funded by the aforesaid sources to serve a public purpose and benefit the citizens of the State of Alabama; and prepare proper legislation to administer the programs.

(i) This chapter shall not prevent an agency or department of state government from administering the program for which they are responsible.

(j) The operations of the commission shall be subject to termination October 1, 2001, and every fourth year thereafter unless continued in accordance with the Alabama Sunset Law.