BILL ANALYSIS
AB 600
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Date of Hearing: April 14, 2009
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONS
Mary Hayashi, Chair
AB 600 (Hall) - As Amended: April 2, 2009
SUBJECT : State property: Compton Armory.
SUMMARY : Authorizes the Department of General Services (DGS)
to lease state owned property, the Compton Armory, to the City
of Compton (Compton) at fair market value for a period not to
exceed five years, with an option to extend the lease to 25
years. Specifically, this bill :
1)Permits DGS, until January 1, 2012, with the approval of the
Adjutant General (AG), to lease the Compton Armory,
approximately 4.5 acres of land located at 2320 Parmelee
Avenue, Compton, Los Angeles County, to Compton at fair market
value and for a period of five years.
2)Permits DGS, with the approval of the AG, to either renew the
initial lease, or make lease agreements with other parties at
fair market value, of the Compton Armory. The term of the
leases, separately or cumulatively, shall not exceed 25 years.
3)Requires Compton to submit any proposals for improvements to
DGS and the AG for approval.
4)Permits the AG to reduce the amount of the annual lease
payment in accordance with the cost of improvements.
5)Requires the proceeds of the lease to be deposited into the
Armory Fund.
6)Requires Compton to reimburse DGS for its actual costs in
drafting, negotiating, and executing the lease documents.
AB 600
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7)Contains an urgency clause, allowing this bill to take effect
immediately upon enactment.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Authorizes DGS to develop and review an inventory of property
surplus to the needs of the state in portions or their
entirety, and allows DGS, subject to legislative approval, to
sell, lease, exchange, or transfer various specified
properties for current market value, or upon terms and
conditions as DGS determines are in the best interests of the
state.
2)Establishes criteria for state agencies to use in determining
and reporting excess lands. The law requires a state agency
to include:
a) Land not currently being utilized, or currently being
underutilized, for any existing or ongoing program;
b) Land for which the agency has not identified any
specific utilization relative to future needs; and,
c) Land not identified by the agency within its master plan
for facility development.
3)Authorizes the Director of DGS, with the consent of the state
agency concerned, to let for a period not to exceed five
years, any real or personal property belonging to the state,
if the Director deems the letting is not expressly prohibited
by law and is in the state's best interest. Legislative
authority is required for leases of state land for periods
exceeding five years. Existing law provides exemptions to the
five year limit for specified parcels.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS :
Purpose of this bill . According to the author's office, "In
November 2006, the California National Guard vacated the sixty
year old Armory located in Compton, California. The four and a
half acre site within the City of Compton has sat underutilized
and in a state of disrepair for nearly three years. The City of
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Compton is interested in utilizing the property to further serve
the residents of Compton and would like the option of entering
into a lease with the state in order to achieve this goal.
"Without explicit legislative authority, a lease of the Armory
property cannot be entered into for a period of more than five
years. Such a short period of time would make it unlikely that
the city would realize a return on the investment needed to make
renovations to the property."
Background . Various individual statutes have been enacted over
the years to allow the state to lease specific parcels of state
property in excess of five years. These include varying
durations ranging from 10 years to 66 years. For the most part,
these leases require the state to review the terms and
conditions every five years to ensure the state's interests are
protected.
As noted above, existing law limits the length for which the
state may lease its own real property to private or other
entities to not more than five years. Any lease for longer than
five years requires specific statutory authority. This bill is
consistent with provisions of existing law.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
City of Compton
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : Ross Warren / B. & P. / (916) 319-3301