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Joanne Benfatti went from victim to victor Wednesday, chalking up a win for mobile home owners throughout the state with the Senate's 25-3 passage of HB48.
"I'm so excited I'm on the verge of tears," Benfatti said. "This has been an incredible journey. I've put my heart and soul into helping to fight for these rights so that others won't have to go through what I did."
The bill, sponsored by Rep. Phil Riesen, D-Holladay, and Sen. Karen Mayne, D-West Valley City, already passed the House and now goes to the governor. His office said Wednesday he had not yet reviewed the bill.
The legislation would extend the time from 90 days to nine months for mobile home owners to relocate when their parks get sold.
HB48 would prohibit the raising of rents during that time, a practice that some park owners utilized to clear their land quicker. It also would forbid town, city or county councils from passing ordinances to regulate park closures.
Benfatti had firsthand knowledge of the ill effects of such a transaction. In December 2005, she moved her spacious double-wide home into the 156-lot Meadows Mobile Home Estates in Cottonwood Heights, only to learn three months later that the land had been sold and she would have to move again.
Moving a manufactured home costs between $10,000 and $20,000 and cannot be done in the dead of winter. Few mobile home residents - usually the more vulnerable segment of society - have the resources to fund such a move.
In Benfatti's case - she battles multiple sclerosis - the unanticipated move made her physically ill and put her several thousand dollars in debt.
"This is a compromise bill" - aimed at balancing the competing property rights of land owners and home owners, Mayne told fellow senators Wednesday. "In my district, we have wrestled with this problem for many years."
Sen. Carlene Walker, R-Cottonwood Heights, praised the work Riesen and Mayne did to strike that balance, adding that the state has a huge need for affordable housing and mobile homes help fill that niche.
"I think we're pre-empting problems down the road," agreed Sen. Michael Waddoups, R-Taylorsville.
The bill's opponents had concerns about restricting property rights. Sens. Margaret Dayton, R-Orem, Mark Madsen, R-Lehi, and Dennis Stowell, R-Parowan, voted against it.
HB48
* Gives mobile home owners nine months to relocate.
* Bars park owners from hiking rents during the notice period.
* Prohibits government from regulating park closures.