In this subtitle the following words have the meanings indicated. “Department” means the Maryland Department of Labor. “First user” means a person who initially installs an industrialized building or manufactured home in the State. “First user” does not include a person who subsequently buys a building that consists wholly or partly of an industrialized building. “Industrialized building” means a building assembly or system of building subassemblies manufactured in its entirety, or in substantial part, off site and transported to a site for installation or erection, with or without other specified components, as a finished building or as part of a finished building that comprises two or more industrialized building units. “Industrialized building” includes the electrical, plumbing, heating, ventilating, insulation, and other service systems of the building assembly or system of building subassemblies if the service systems are installed at the off site manufacture or assembly point. “Industrialized building” does not include: open frame construction that can be completely inspected on site; a manufactured home; or a building 8 body feet or less in width and 40 body feet or less in length that is: used for business purposes, mobile offices, or storage; and not open to the general public. “Install” means to assemble an industrialized building or manufactured home on site and to affix the industrialized building or manufactured home to land, a foundation, footings, or an existing building. “Local enforcement agency” means an agency of the governing body of a county or municipal corporation that enforces laws that govern the construction of buildings. “Manufactured home” means a structure that: is transportable in one or more sections; is 8 body feet or more in width and 30 body feet or more in length; is built on a permanent chassis; and is designed to be used as a dwelling, with or without a permanent foundation, when connected to the required utilities. “Manufactured home” includes the plumbing, heating, air–conditioning, and electrical systems contained in the structure. “Manufactured Home Construction and Safety Standards Act” means the National Manufactured Home Construction and Safety Standards Act of 1974, 42 U.S.C. § 5401 et seq. “Site” means the entire tract, subdivision, or parcel of land on which an industrialized building or manufactured home is installed.

The General Assembly finds that: with the acceleration in development of new materials, processes, and assemblies of building components, industrialized buildings, manufactured homes, and subassemblies, and the increased use of temporary and mobile structures, there is a need for a statewide building regulatory system; until the recent increase in demand for use of temporary and mobile structures, the present system with its essentially local building regulatory departments has done a creditable job protecting the health and safety of the public in their respective communities; this new demand calls for more in depth performance evaluations in terms of the intent of the building regulations and inspection services that usually involve going beyond the boundaries of local units of government and require the assistance of the State; local officials in the State possess great knowledge and insight in this field and are aware of the needs for modification, and their cooperation in developing, applying, and refining a satisfactory program is essential; there is a great opportunity to cooperate with other states, with organizations that have published widely used model building codes or standards of regulations, and with other similarly engaged agencies, including the National Institute of Standards and Technology; this cooperation shall be an integral element in the application and enforcement of this statewide program; and the health and safety of the public will be protected best if the State assumes the responsibility to enforce in the State federal construction and safety standards in accordance with the Manufactured Home Construction and Safety Standards Act.

Notwithstanding any other provision of this subtitle, local land use requirements, building setback requirements, side and rear yard requirements, site development and property line requirements, zoning requirements and uniform fire control regulations, regardless of where the requirements, ordinances, regulations, or statutes are set forth, are reserved to local government.

The Department shall establish a schedule of fees to administer the inspection and certification program for industrialized buildings and the on-site inspection and enforcement program for manufactured homes. To the extent possible, the fees shall be based on the cost of administration of these programs. The payments of the fees shall be included in the money of the Department with receipts from contracts or grants under federal or interstate programs. Any money unexpended at the end of the fiscal year does not revert to the General Fund, but shall be kept in a special fund available to the Department to carry out this subtitle. The Department: shall enforce this subtitle and the regulations adopted under this subtitle; and may refer an apparent violation of this subtitle to the appropriate State’s Attorney.

The Department: shall adopt regulations that set standards to which industrialized buildings shall comply to protect against the hazards of industrialized buildings to safety, health, and property; may adopt regulations that govern the enforcement, inspection, and certification programs authorized by this subtitle; and with respect to industrialized buildings, shall adopt the Maryland Building Performance Standards with exceptions or modifications that, after adequate public notice and public hearing, the Department considers appropriate to meet the needs and judgments of the State. If practical, the regulations that set standards for industrialized buildings shall be stated in terms of required levels of performance to facilitate the prompt approval of acceptable new building materials and methods. If generally recognized standards of performance are not available, the regulations shall provide for acceptance of materials and methods whose performance has been determined by the Department, on the basis of reliable test and evaluation data presented by the proponent, to be substantially equal in safety to the materials and methods specified when used for the purpose and in the manner recommended. The Department shall have printed and keep in pamphlet form the regulations that set standards for industrialized buildings. The pamphlets shall be provided at cost to the public on request. The Department may adopt regulations that relate to issues of construction or safety of manufactured homes for which a federal standard has not been established and which are not reserved to a local government under § 12-303 of this subtitle.

An industrialized building that is manufactured after June 30, 1977, may not be sold, offered for sale, or installed in the State unless the industrialized building: is certified by the Department for sale in the State; and bears the insignia provided by the Department. A manufactured home that is manufactured after January 1, 1973, may not be sold or offered for sale to a first user in the State unless the manufactured home: is certified by the Department for sale in the State and bears the insignia provided by the Department; or is certified and labeled under the Manufactured Home Construction and Safety Standards Act.

The Department shall determine whether each proposed industrialized building meets the standards contained in the regulations of the Department. The determination shall include the evaluation and testing of the industrialized building and the quality control system at the factory of origin and at the building site. The Department shall perform the determination required by subsection (a) of this section through its own personnel or through a designated agent. The designated agent shall be: qualified personnel of a local enforcement agency; or a testing facility that is approved by the Department. The testing facility shall be: an architect or professional engineer whose registration is accepted by the State; or a testing organization that is determined by the Department to be specifically qualified by reason of facilities, personnel, experience, and demonstrated reliability to investigate, test, and evaluate industrialized buildings or their component parts. In addition to evaluating and testing industrialized buildings or their component parts, the testing facility shall: list the units in compliance with the standards adopted by the Department; provide adequate follow–up services at the point of manufacture to ensure that production units are in full compliance; and provide for each unit an insignia in the form of a label, seal, or other evidence of compliance. A manufacturer of a building exempted from the applicability of this subtitle under § 12–301(d)(3)(iii) of this subtitle may elect to have the Department perform a determination under subsection (a) of this section for the purpose of the Department certifying and providing an insignia for the building under this subtitle.

If the Department determines that an industrialized building meets the standards set by the regulations of the Department, the Department shall certify the industrialized building for the prescribed area. If a problem arises that is limited to a particular locality in the State, the Department if practicable shall hold a public hearing in that locality. By regulation, the Department may provide that industrialized buildings approved by another state are entitled to certification by the Department if, after public hearing, the Department determines that the standards set by law of the other state: are at least equal to the regulations adopted under this subtitle; and are enforced adequately by the other state.

Industrialized buildings certified by the Department for sale in the State shall bear the insignia provided by the Department. An industrialized building that bears an insignia provided by the Department is acceptable in all localities of the State: to comply with the requirements of this subtitle; and to meet the requirements of safety to life, health, and property required by a law or ordinance of a local governing body of the State without further investigation or inspection by the local governing body if the industrialized building is erected or installed in accordance with the conditions of the certification. An industrialized building that was manufactured on or before June 30, 1977, and is not required to bear the insignia provided by the Department: may be lawfully sold or installed; and is subject to regulation by the local governing body of the jurisdiction where the industrialized building will be installed. If an industrialized building that is not required to bear the insignia provided by the Department is offered for sale, the seller or manufacturer shall specifically advise the prospective purchaser that the building has not been certified by the State.

The issuance, denial, or modification of a certification: shall be made by the Department; and may be reviewed by the Department’s board of review. Local enforcement agency representatives, manufacturers, and installers of industrialized buildings may seek review by the Department of the issuance or denial of a certification. Any alteration, modification, or attempted use of an industrialized building beyond the scope of the certification results in forfeiture of the certification and insignia unless approval for the modification or use is secured from the Department in advance.

The Department shall maintain a program of adequate inspection of industrialized buildings. Each manufacturer of industrialized buildings to be sold or offered for sale to first users in the State shall agree that the Department has the right to conduct unannounced inspections at the manufacturing site to review any aspect of the manufacturer’s quality control program. The cost of two unannounced inspections may be charged to the manufacturer in accordance with a fee schedule established by the Department. In addition, the total travel costs on published air fare, or equivalent rate, between Baltimore and the location of the factory, plus necessary supplemental surface transportation and reimbursement for food and lodging consistent with allowances for State employees may be charged to the manufacturer. The Department may establish a program of training and accreditation of local enforcement agency personnel to: enable them to be most effective in inspection of industrialized buildings or manufactured homes; and promote the possibility of reciprocal reliance between building personnel in this State and between this State and other states. In those jurisdictions that employ accredited local enforcement agency personnel, the function of on-site inspection of the installation or assembly of industrialized buildings is reserved to those jurisdictions with appropriate appeal procedures from their decisions. Local enforcement agency representatives, manufacturers, and installers may report to the Department an industrialized building that has been damaged en route to the site so that the Department may arrange for a reinspection of the industrialized building. The Department may charge a reinspection fee to the installer of the industrialized building.

The Department may act as necessary or desirable to carry out a State plan of enforcement under the Manufactured Home Construction and Safety Standards Act. The authority of the Department under subsection (a) of this section includes the authority to: contract with or accept grants from the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the National Conference of States on Building Codes and Standards, their successors, or other similar organizations with respect to the enforcement of manufactured home standards and perform the undertakings and conditions of the contract or grant; engage in factory inspection and quality control monitoring of manufactured home manufacturers in the State and outside the State with respect to manufactured homes to be sold in the State or, if on a reciprocal or cooperative basis, not intended for sale in the State; train and accredit local enforcement agency personnel with respect to manufactured home construction and safety standards and manufactured home installation; inspect manufactured homes in the possession of dealers or otherwise distributed in the State, to: verify that the federal certification is proper for the intended zone; and ascertain any damage in transit that affects compliance with construction or safety standards or constitutes a safety hazard; establish procedures to ascertain, report on, and correct complaints and reports of defects from or to dealers or users of manufactured homes; conduct on-site inspection of the installation of manufactured homes, require a permit or other evidence of approval of the on-site installation, and charge a fee to cover costs although these functions may be performed by a local enforcement agency that employs accredited inspectors; and require manufactured home dealers and manufactured home park operators to allow entry and inspection of manufactured homes for purposes of this subtitle and submit reports for purposes of this subtitle.

A person may not violate this subtitle or a regulation adopted under this subtitle. A person who violates this subsection is guilty of a misdemeanor and on conviction is subject for each violation to a fine not exceeding $1,000. This subsection does not apply to a violation of 42 U.S.C. § 5409. A person may not in the State violate 42 U.S.C. § 5409 or a regulation adopted or order issued under it. A person who violates this subsection is liable to the State for a civil penalty not exceeding $1,000 for each violation. Each violation under this subsection is a separate violation with respect to each manufactured home or with respect to each failure or refusal to allow or perform an act required by 42 U.S.C. § 5409 or a regulation adopted or order issued under it. A civil penalty under this subsection may not exceed $1,000,000 for any related series of violations occurring within 1 year after the date of the first violation. An individual or a director, officer, or agent of a corporation may not in the State knowingly and willfully violate 42 U.S.C. § 5409 in a manner that threatens the health or safety of a purchaser of a manufactured home. A person who violates this subsection is guilty of a misdemeanor and on conviction is subject to imprisonment not exceeding 1 year or a fine not exceeding $1,000 or both.