May 23, 2000

The Honorable Chester Culver
Secretary of State
State Capitol Building
L O C A L

Dear Mr. Secretary:

I hereby transmit Senate File 2427, an act relating to the definition of factory-built structures, the relocation of factory-built structures, the certification of installers of manufactured homes and providing for a fee, an appropriation, and a civil penalty.

I am unable to approve Senate File 2427 and hereby transmit it to you in accordance with Article III, Section 16, of the Constitution of the State of Iowa.

Senate File 2427 amends Iowa Code chapter 103A dealing with the State Building Code. It expands the definition of factory-built structures to include mobile homes, manufactured homes and modular homes and requires installers of these structures to be certified by the Commissioner of Public Safety. It also provided for the assessment of a civil penalty for violations of the act.

The act also contains a provision which reads:

A person who is injured in person or property by reason of another person's violation of any of the standards adopted pursuant to this chapter for the installation of a manufactured home may bring a civil action for actual damages against the violator.

While I am supportive of the provisions requiring certification of installers and enforcement of this process, I am unable to approve the bill as a whole. The above language is ambiguous. Based upon prior court decisions, it is reasonable to believe that a court would interpret this language to preclude an award of punitive damages. This bill was intended to increase consumer protection and I do not want to put consumers at risk of losing the ability to pursue remedies that currently exist under law by signing it into law.

For this reason, I hereby respectfully disapprove Senate File 2427.

Sincerely,

Thomas J. Vilsack
Governor

TJV:jmc

cc: Secretary of the Senate
   Chief Clerk of the House

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