BILL ANALYSIS �
Bill No: AB
1272
SENATE COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATION
Senator Roderick D. Wright, Chair
2011-2012 Regular Session
Bill Analysis
AB 1272 Author: Butler
As Amended: April 28, 2011
Hearing Date: June 14, 2011
Consultant: Paul Donahue
SUBJECT : Surplus state property
SUMMARY : Authorizes the Department of General Services
(DGS) to dispose of six surplus state properties, and
rescinds the surplus authorization of two specified
parcels.
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. A state agency
must report land as surplus that is:
a) Not currently utilized, or is underutilized, for
any existing or ongoing programs;
b) Land for which the agency cannot identify any
specific utilization relative to future needs; and,
c) Land not identified by the state agency within its
master plan for facility development.
3)Exempts the sale of surplus property sold "as is" from
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designated provisions of the California Environmental
Quality Act (CEQA). However, the buyer or transferee of
a parcel is subject to CEQA as well as any local
governmental entitlement or land use approval
requirements.
4)Requires that the proceeds from the sale of surplus state
property, with specified exceptions, be used to pay the
principal and interest on the Economic Recovery Bond Act
of 2004. (Proposition 60A)
This bill :
1)Declares the following properties to be surplus to the
state's needs, and authorizes DGS to dispose of the
properties through sale, exchange, or lease, as
determined to be in the state's best interest:
a) Approximately 2.6 acres, known as the Hollywood
Employment Development Department (EDD) Office
Building, in L.A. County;
b) Approximately 1.7 acres, known as the L.A. EDD
Office Building, located at 1405 South Broadway and
1400 South Hill Street, in L.A. County;
c) Approximately 1.2 acres, known as the Oroville EDD
Office Building, located in Oroville, Butte County;
d) Approximately 1.5 acres, known as the Hidden Lakes
Estates Parcel, located near the Millerton Lake State
Recreation Area, in Madera County;
e) Approximately 40 acres, known as the Digger Butte
Lookout, located in an unincorporated area of Tehama
County; and,
f) Approximately 5 acres, known as the Campbellville
Lookout, located in an unincorporated area of Tehama
County.
2)Rescinds the surplus authorization of the following two
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parcels because the state has a need for their continued
use:
a) Approximately 0.5 acres of a portion of the Sutter
Hill Forest Fire Station, located one mile south of
Sutter Creek on Highway 49 in Amador County, declared
surplus in 1998; and
b) Approximately 5.5 acres, known as the National
Guard Armory, located in the City of San Jose, Santa
Clara County, declared surplus in 1984.
COMMENTS :
1) Purpose of the bill : According to the author's office,
"This is the annual DGS proposal for the disposal of excess
state real property. State agencies are required by
Government Code Section 11011 to identify real properties
that are excess to its needs. The proposal is necessary
because legislative authorization is needed to declare real
properties as surplus and to authorize their disposal by
DGS."
2) Background : This measure is the annual surplus property
bill sponsored by DGS. 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 provided to DGS to annually report to the
Legislature the excess lands and request authorization to
sell excess land. When selling state surplus property,
DGS must determine if other state agencies can utilize the
land. If the state has no need, DGS must then offer
surplus state real property to local agencies, and next, to
nonprofit affordable housing sponsors prior to offering the
property to private entities.
Under the provisions of Proposition 60A, the proceeds of
the sale of surplus property are used to pay the holders of
the state's deficit reduction bonds. These payments are
intended to accelerate the redemption of the state's debt,
and reduce future General Fund payments to the bondholders.
3) Declaration of surplus property : Below are DGS's
reasons for declaring the following properties surplus:
a) Hollywood EDD Building : The 29,000 square feet
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property was acquired on January 13, 1949 for $59,247,
including through condemnation. A 2001 appraisal gave
a value of $4.68 million. Because EDD utilizes federal
funds, there is federal equity in this property that
would have to be repaid. This facility needs major
improvements and is no longer meeting the needs of the
program.
b) Los Angeles EDD Building : The property was
acquired in several acquisitions including
condemnation in 1962. The total cost of the land was
$568,480 and the total building cost was $574,546.
Because EDD utilizes federal funds, there is federal
equity in this property that would have to be repaid
(potentially up to 94% federal equity). This facility
needs major improvements and is no longer meeting the
needs of the program.
c) Oroville EDD Office Building : EDD acquired the
property in 1968 at a cost of $43,658.86 and
constructed the 5,121 square foot stand-alone building
at a cost of $287,076 for use as an EDD field office.
EDD can no longer justify a building of this size due
to the permanent reduction in staffing. EDD intends
to administer the current program and services from a
different EDD location.
d) Hidden Lakes Estates : The Department of Parks and
Recreation (DPR) acquired the property in 1965 to
construct a boat access and ramp to provide the Hidden
Lakes Estates development community access to
Millerton Lake. The access and ramp were never
constructed. The parcel is not contiguous with the
State Recreation Area and DPR cannot patrol, secure,
or maintain the property on a regular basis. The
homeowners who agreed to maintain the property have
abandoned the effort and the DPR is unable to maintain
or secure the parcel at this remote location. The
ownership of the parcel is an unnecessary liability.
e) Digger Butte Lookout : The Department of Forestry
and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) acquired the property
in 1971 to construct a fire lookout tower, but is not
using the property for fire protection purposes and
has no planned future use.
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f) Campbellville Lookout : CAL FIRE acquired the
property in 1971 to construct a fire lookout tower.
CAL FIRE is not using the property for fire protection
purposes and has no future use planned.
4) Rescission of surplus property designation : This
proposal rescinds previous surplus property designations on
two state properties. Legislative action is required to
remove a surplus property designation from a parcel of
land. DGS received requests from the client agencies to
rescind two properties:
a) Sutter Hill Forest Fire Station , under control of
CAL FIRE, consisting of approximately 0.54 acres. The
state had originally planned to sell this to the
county, but the county chose not to purchase the
property for its fire station parking lot.
b) San Jose Armory , under the control of the Military
Department consisting of approximately 5.54 acres.
The department uses this property on a full-time
basis, and has requested this designation in the past.
5) Related legislation :
The most recent surplus property bills were SB 1167
(Cogdill, Stats. 2010, ch. 324) and SB 136 (Huff, Stats.
2009, ch. 166).
SUPPORT:
Department of General Services (source)
OPPOSE:
None on file
FISCAL COMMITTEE: Senate Appropriations Committee
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