An estimated 80 percent of the 180,000 Minnesotans who live in manufactured home parks are low-income. Gov. Mark Dayton vetoed a bill he feared could have increased their housing costs.
The bill, sponsored Rep. Tim Sanders (R-Blaine) and Sen. Warren Limmer (R-Maple Grove), would have allowed submetering in manufactured home parks, at the park owner’s expense, so residents would pay a separate water charge for what they actually use, rather than an amount rolled into their rent check. However, there was no guarantee the overall monthly rent that now covers utilities would decrease to reflect a separate bill for the cost of water.
“I cannot support legislation that could drive up rent for some of the poorest Minnesotans, especially while high unemployment persists,” Dayton wrote in his veto message.
Another provision would have repealed the 2007 ban on air admittance valves in plumbing systems. The valves are allowed in 39 states and are used internationally, but are prohibited in Minnesota because of concerns they are unreliable and may allow sewer gas to leak into a home if they fail.
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