HBA-KDB H.B. 2943 77(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 2943 By: Capelo State Affairs 3/21/2001 Introduced BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE The 65th Legislature authorized the General Services Commission (GSC) to establish the Facilities Leasing Program (FLP) to oversee, plan, manage, organizing, and direct the state's leasing program for approximately 100 state agencies occupying 11.7 million square feet of space in approximately 1,300 lease contracts costing approximately $898 million. There is concern that the state's leasing process is cumbersome for property owners and often fails to attract enough bidders, which may lead to unnecessarily high rents. Moreover, the 15 members of the FLP staff may be overworked and undertrained for their duties, which may lead to improper inspection of state facilities. To alleviate these problems, GSC may have to partner with firms in the private sector in order to secure properties at the best possible rate. House Bill 2943 requires GSC to contract with one or more private brokerage or real estate firms to obtain leased spaces for state agencies at the best possible rates. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that rulemaking authority is expressly delegated to the General Services Commission in SECTION 4 (Section 2167.051, Government Code) of this bill. ANALYSIS House Bill 2943 amends the Government Code to require the General Services Commission (GSC), using a competitive bidding process, to contract with one or more private brokerage or real estate firms (firm) to obtain lease space for state agencies on behalf of GSC. The bill authorizes GSC to adopt rules it considers necessary to administer provisions relating to the use of firms to obtain lease space. The bill authorizes a firm with which GSC contracts to lease space for state agencies to negotiate on behalf of GSC in leasing facilities for state agencies. The bill provides that GSC must approve any leasing arrangement negotiated by a firm on behalf of GSC. The leasing agreement is considered to be a lease contract entered into by GSC, and GSC retains lease oversight and management functions under the lease contract (Section 2167.051). The bill requires a firm obtaining leased space on behalf of GSC to give first consideration, in leasing space for the use of a state agency, to a building that is designated as a historic structure or to a building that has been designated a landmark by a local governing authority under certain conditions. The bill requires the firm on behalf of GSC, when it considers leasing space for a state agency, to notify each individual and organization that is on a list furnished to GSC or the firm by the Texas Historical Commission and in the county in which GSC is considering leasing space (Sec. 2167.003). The bill requires GSC to charge an hourly rate for the time which a GSC employee is providing leasing services to state agencies (Section 2167.007). The bill deletes provisions that specify the process for leasing space through competitive bidding and leasing space through competitive sealed proposals. EFFECTIVE DATE September 1, 2001.