California Factory-Built Housing Law.

Assembly Member McKinnor's factory-built housing legislation aims to streamline California's approval process for manufactured housing by establishing a serial number system for approved plans and specifications. The measure modifies the California Factory-Built Housing Law to allow manufacturers to reuse previously approved designs across multiple development projects without requiring complete re-approval.

Under the proposed changes, plans approved by the Department of Housing and Community Development or authorized design approval agencies would receive unique serial numbers. These approved plans could then be used in subsequent projects within the same three-year building code cycle. Plans could also carry forward into future code cycles if no relevant building standards have changed. When reviewing new submissions, agencies would examine only portions of plans that have not previously received approval, rather than conducting full plan reviews.

The bill's findings cite California's housing shortage as justification for standardizing these approval processes statewide. The measure would apply uniformly to all municipalities, including charter cities, reflecting the Legislature's determination that streamlining factory-built housing approvals constitutes a matter of statewide concern rather than a municipal affair. Local agencies would not receive state reimbursement for any costs associated with implementing the new requirements, as such expenses would stem from modifications to existing enforcement provisions rather than new mandates.