Amended in Assembly March 28, 2014

California Legislature—2013–14 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 1656

Introduced by Assembly Member Dickinson

February 11, 2014

An act begin insert to add Section 14669.16 to the Government Code, end insert relating to the Department of General Services.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 1656, as amended, Dickinson. Department of General begin delete Services. end delete begin insert Services: State Board of Equalization headquarters. end insert

Existing law creates the Department of General Services to provide centralized services, including, but not limited to, planning, acquisition, construction, and maintenance of state buildings and property, purchasing, printing, architectural services, administrative hearings, and accounting services. Existing law provides that the Department of General Services is under the control of an executive officer known as the Director of General Services.

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This bill would state that it is the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation to authorize the Director of General Services, with the consent of the State Board of Equalization, to enter into one or more agreements for the planning, design, construction, and acquisition of facilities, including any improvements, betterments, and related facilities, for the relocation and consolidation of the State Board of Equalization.

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This bill would authorize the Director of General Services, with the consent of the State Board of Equalization, to enter into one or more agreements for the planning, design, construction, and acquisition of facilities, including any improvements, betterments, and related facilities, and to enter into a lease, lease-purchase, or a lease with an option to purchase, for the relocation and consolidation of the State Board of Equalization, according to specific conditions. This bill also would authorize the State Board of Equalization to relocate and consolidate its offices without obligation to pay rent on the existing state-owned or state-leased facilities after they are vacated.

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Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee:  begin delete no end delete begin insert yes end insert . State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

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begin insert SECTION 1. end insert   

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begin insert The Legislature hereby finds and declares all of
the following: end insert

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(a) Located in the City of Sacramento, the state owns
approximately 2.50 acres of real property on one city block
bounded by N Street on the north, 5th Street on the east, O Street
on the south, and 4th Street on the west, that is the State Board of
Equalization’s current state-owned headquarters. The state-owned
facility is a 24-story building that contains approximately 616,000
gross square feet, with 463,000 useable square feet of office space.
The ground floor contains a full-service cafeteria and a childcare
center. The state-owned facility also includes a three-story parking
structure with 711 spaces.

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(b) The State Board of Equalization collects taxes and fees that
provide approximately 35 percent of the annual revenue for state
government and essential funding for cities, counties, and special
districts. In the 2012-13 fiscal year, the State Board of
Equalization-administered tax and fee programs produced $56
billion for education, public safety, transportation, housing, health
services, social services, and natural resource management.

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(c) The current State Board of Equalization headquarters
building lacks sufficient space to meet the State Board of
Equalization’s existing and future consolidated space needs.

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(d) The state has expended approximately $65 million in
taxpayer dollars over the last decade to make repairs to the State
Board of Equalization building. The State plans to spend another
$30 million or more to address new issues with the building.

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(e) Consolidating the various State Board of Equalization
headquarters and annexes into one location will greatly facilitate
and improve the efficiency of the administrative operations of the
agency.

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(f) Allowing the State Board of Equalization to move out of the
real property described in subdivision (a) permanently and to
consolidate its operations into one location will accommodate
future growth as part of its revenue-administrative mission.

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begin insert SEC. 2. end insert   

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begin insert Section 14669.16 is added to the end insert begin insert Government Code end insert begin insert ,
to read: end insert

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begin insert 14669.16. end insert   

(a) For purposes of this section, the “Sacramento
property” means the 2.50 acres of real property, owned by the
state and located in the City of Sacramento, on one city block
bounded by N Street on the north, 5th Street on the east, O Street
on the south, and 4th Street on the west, that is the State Board of
Equalization’s current state-owned headquarters.

(b) (1) Notwithstanding any other law, the Director of General
Services, with the consent of the State Board of Equalization, may
enter into one or more agreements for the planning, design,
construction, and acquisition of facilities, including any
improvements, betterments, and related facilities, for the relocation
of the State Board of Equalization in the Sacramento region. The
Director of General Services may enter into a lease,
lease-purchase, or a lease with an option to purchase to provide
usable office and related space in the Sacramento region in order
to consolidate various departments of the State Board of
Equalization into a single location.

(2) The Department of General Services shall undertake and
complete a site selection for the purposes of relocating and
consolidating the State Board of Equalization’s headquarters and
annexes in the Sacramento region no later than June 30, 2015.

(3) The department shall solicit and accept proposals for
acquiring or constructing consolidated facilities for the State Board
of Equalization on the basis of the best value. For purposes of this
paragraph, “best value” means a value determined by objective
criteria, including, but not limited to, price, features, functions,
life-cycle costs, experience, and other criteria deemed appropriate
by the department.

(4) The department shall develop the terms and conditions of
the agreements or leases authorized by paragraph (1) no later
than December 31, 2015.

(5) In connection with the selection and acquisition of a lease,
lease-purchase, or a lease with an option to purchase, the
department may solicit and accept proposals for the sale, exchange,
lease, rehabilitation, or any combination thereof, of all or a portion
of the Sacramento property.

(c) The department shall provide notice of the terms and
conditions of the proposed agreements or leases to the chairs of
the fiscal committees of the Legislature and the Joint Legislative
Budget Committee, or their designees, at least 45 days prior to
executing the agreement for a lease, lease-purchase, or lease with
an option to purchase real property authorized by this section.
The department may proceed with the agreement or lease 45 days
following the date the department gave notice to the
above-mentioned chairs.

(d) The department shall determine whether it is in the best
interest of the state to sell, to lease to other tenants, or to exchange
the Sacramento property. The department shall report to the chairs
of the fiscal committees of the Legislature and the Joint Legislative
Budget Committee, or their designees, on the most cost-effective
option for the state.

(e) (1) Upon the Director of General Services making the
determination specified in subdivision (d) that the Sacramento
property should be either sold, exchanged, or leased to another
tenant, the Director of General Services may sell, exchange, lease,
or any combination thereof, all or a portion of the Sacramento
property. Upon sale, exchange, or lease of the Sacramento
property, and subject to the requirements of Section 9 of Article
III of the California Constitution, the Director of General Services
shall make an early payoff of the total outstanding lease revenue
bonds on the Sacramento property, including accrued interest and
any other obligations associated with the Sacramento property,
using the revenues resulting from any sale, exchange, or lease.

(2) In the event that the Director of General Services sells the
Sacramento property and the sale constitutes a sale of surplus
state property for purposes of Section 9 of Article III of the
California Constitution, the “proceeds from the sale” for purposes
of that section shall be the revenues from the sale in excess of the
amount necessary to satisfy the total outstanding bonds on the
Sacramento property, as required by paragraph (1).

(f) Notwithstanding subdivision (c) of Section 14682, the State
Board of Equalization is authorized to relocate its offices from
existing state-owned or state-leased facilities for the purpose of
consolidating the State Board of Equalization headquarters and
annexes into a single location without any obligation to pay rent
on those facilities after vacating such premises.

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SECTION 1.  

It is the intent of the Legislature to enact
legislation to authorize the Director of General Services, with the
consent of the State Board of Equalization, to enter into one or
more agreements for the planning, design, construction, and
acquisition of facilities, including any improvements, betterments,
and related facilities, for the relocation and consolidation of the
State Board of Equalization.

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