In late December, the Washington Department of Labor and Industries filed an emergency rule aimed at addressing a severe labor shortage in the Factory Assembled Structure RV and Park Model RV plan approval program. That emergency rule has been extended through Aug. 17.
As reported in February, at the beginning of 2022 the plan approval program had a backlog of over 2,000 floorplans and designs for RVs, park model RVs and other structures. Floorplan approval is legally required for an RV to be sold in Washington state.
The extended emergency rule will continue to give the option to RV manufacturers to use state-approved outside “licensed professionals” to approve and submit their plans, RVIA said.
Manufacturers can submit the plans directly to the state without outside assistance.
The new plan review and submittal guidelines for RVs and Park Model RVs is now hosted by the Washington Department of Labor and Industries online here. In addition to review and submittal guidelines, the webpage contains information on approved license professionals RV manufacturers can use.
Since the beginning of 2022, Department of Labor and Industries has begun hiring and training staff for the Factory Assembled Structure program. RVIA’s Government Affairs staff learned the state is well on the way to filling and training many of the long-open positions. The state’s goal is to fully staff the plan approval program as soon as possible, and that may be completed soon, RVIA said.
For more information, contact RVIA’s Nick Rudowich at [email protected].
