BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 273
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Date of Hearing: July 1, 2015
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON ACCOUNTABILITY AND ADMINISTRATIVE REVIEW
Rudy Salas, Chair
SB
273 (Hueso) - As Amended April 27, 2015
SENATE VOTE: 39-0
SUBJECT: State real property: surplus.
SUMMARY: Authorizes the Department of General Services (DGS) to
dispose of two surplus state properties, a Department of
Conservation field office in Fresno County and a Department of
Forestry conservation camp in Shasta County.
EXISTING LAW requires all state agencies to annually review and
determine if any lands under their jurisdiction are in excess of
need. This information is reported to DGS, which first
determines if any properties can be used by another state
agency, and if not, seeks legislative authorization to dispose
of the properties. Upon such authorization, DGS must first
offer each surplus property to the relevant local agencies and,
next, to nonprofit affordable housing entities prior to offering
the property to private parties through a bidding process.
FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Senate Appropriations
Committee, pursuant to Senate Rule 28.8, negligible state costs.
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COMMENTS: This measure is the annual surplus property bill
sponsored by DGS. State agencies are required by Government
Code Section 11011 to identify real properties that are excess
to their needs. Legislative authorization is needed to declare
real properties as surplus and permit their disposal by DGS.
The two parcels in this bill have been identified by state
agencies as no longer serving a programmatic need. DGS provides
the following rationale for deeming the properties in this bill
surplus:
"The Department of Conservation property in Coalinga (Fresno
County) was originally purchased in 1918 as a single story
1,670 square foot home on an approximately 0.17 acre lot.
Today it is used as office space. Yet, despite upgrades over
the years, it no longer meets program needs.
The Department of Forestry conservation camp in Whiskeytown
(Shasta County) consists of approximately 30 acres which were
acquired in the 1950s. Numerous fire support structures were
added to the property shortly after acquisition but the land
and structures are currently undersized and no longer meet
program needs. The Department of Forestry discontinued use of
the site several years ago which eventually resulted in
structural damage to the facilities due to a lack of security
at the site. Until disposed of, this particular property will
continue to pose a liability to the state.
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While these properties remain under state ownership, they may
have additional issues, such as non-compliance with the
Americans with Disabilities Act, pose security concerns, or
cost the state money to maintain and secure while vacant. In
addition there could be significant costs associated with
making these properties compliant with current building
standards."
All proceeds generated from the sale of surplus properties are
used to pay the holders of the state's deficit reduction bonds.
PRIOR LEGISLATION: The following measures are the most recent
surplus property bills sponsored by DGS and enacted into law:
1)AB 2174 (Assembly Accountability and Administrative Review
Committee), Chapter 337, Statutes of 2014
2)AB 826 (Jones-Sawyer), Chapter 505, Statutes of 2013
3)SB 1580 (Senate Governmental Organization Committee), Chapter
798, Statutes of 2012
4)AB 1272 (Butler), Chapter 178, Statutes of 2011
5)SB 136 (Huff), Chapter 166, Statutes of 2009
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
Support
SB 273
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Department of General Services (sponsor)
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by:Cassie Royce / A. & A.R. / (916)
319-3600