Current through Register Vol. 54, No. 49, December 7, 2024
Section 145.78 - Contractual arrangements(a) No evaluation agency or inspection agency may discharge a responsibility under this chapter unless under valid contracts with the Department and with manufacturers contemplated by this section.(b) As soon as practical but not later than 30 days after the Department approves an evaluation agency or an inspection agency under § 145.75 (relating to procedures for obtaining approvals of evaluation and inspection agencies), the Department and the third-party agency shall enter into a contract which will set forth the rights and obligations of the Department and the third-party agency. The contracts must contain representations by the third-party agencies with respect to their fees to be paid by manufacturers for the discharge of their responsibilities under this chapter; the establishment of the fees may not be subject to negotiation with the Department. In all other respects, except for the limitations scope and the special conditions contained therein, contracts with evaluation agencies must be uniform for evaluation agencies and contracts with inspection agencies must be uniform for inspection agencies. Each contract must also contain a provision under which the Department may require an evaluation agency or an inspection agency to enter into and implement an implementing contract under subsection (c), whether on a temporary or permanent basis, with a manufacturer that is unable to comply with this chapter because third-party agencies are unwilling voluntarily to enter into an implementing contract with the manufacturer or because the manufacturer is otherwise without a currently valid implementing contract with an evaluation agency or an inspection agency because the approval of the third-party agency was suspended or revoked under the provisions of this chapter. Each contract must also contain provisions which are required by law for contracts of which the Department is a party, including, without limitation, provisions for equal employment opportunity.(c) A manufacturer seeking certification of industrialized housing, housing components, industrialized buildings or building components that it manufactures shall enter into implementing contracts with an evaluation agency and an inspection agency with contracts with the Department under subsection (b). Each third-party agency shall send a copy of each implementing contract to the Department.(d) A manufacturer of industrialized housing, housing components, industrialized buildings or building components approved under this title shall have a current implementing contract with an approved evaluation agency and an approved inspection agency or have alternate arrangement for evaluation or inspection, or both, of its products with the Department under § 145.70 (relating to Departmental evaluation and inspection).(e) A manufacturer of industrialized housing, housing components, industrialized buildings or building components operating under an implementing contract with an approved evaluation agency and an approved inspection agency, who wishes to enter into an implementing contract with a different evaluation or inspection agency, shall provide justification and receive approval from the Department prior to entering into the new contract, except as provided for in § 145.79(e) (relating to suspension and revocation of third-party agencies).The provisions of this § 145.78 adopted July 12, 1974, effective 7/13/1974, 4 Pa.B. 1403; amended September 8, 1978, effective 3/9/1979, 8 Pa.B. 2524; corrected September 22, 1978, effective 3/9/1979, 8 Pa.B. 2631; amended May 7, 2010, effective 7/7/2010, 40 Pa.B. 2421; amended November 4, 2016, effective 11/6/2017, 46 Pa.B. 6976.See 53 Pa.B. 830 (February 11, 2023) for a notice regarding implementation of this section.
The provisions of this § 145.78 amended under section 5 of the Industrialized Housing Act (35 P.S. § 1651.5).
This section cited in 12 Pa. Code § 145.51 (relating to general requirements for certification); 12 Pa. Code § 145.56 (relating to amendments to building system documentation following changes in standards); 12 Pa. Code § 145.74a (relating to prohibition on consulting services); and 12 Pa. Code § 145.77 (relating to publication of approved evaluation and inspection agencies).