H.R. 5626 — Introduced in House

I 113th CONGRESS 2d Session H. R. 5626 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES September 18, 2014 Ms. Michelle Lujan Grisham of New Mexico introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and in addition to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned A BILL To provide uniform authority for executive departments to use funds from the disposal of Federal real property and to establish a pilot program in certain agencies for the use of public-private agreements to enhance the efficiency of Federal real property. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Federal Property Low Hanging Fruit Act. 2. Uniform authority for executive departments to use funds from disposal of Federal real property (a) Authority To convey The head of each executive department may— (1) convey, by sale, lease, exchange, or otherwise, including through leaseback arrangements, real and related property, or interests therein, under their ownership and control; and (2) retain the net proceeds of such dispositions in an account within the general fund of the United States Treasury established for purposes of this section, to be used in accordance with subsection (b). (b) Use of funds For purposes of subsection (a), the net proceeds of such dispositions retained in the account of an executive department pursuant to that subsection shall be available to the head of the executive department, until expended and without further appropriation and in compliance with other applicable provisions of law, to pay any necessary and incidental costs incurred by such head in connection with Federal property management activities of the executive department, including acquisition, improvements, maintenance, reconstruction, or construction needs. In conducting these activities, an executive department may enter into agreements with the General Services Administration for assistance. (c) Regulations The Director of the Office of Management and Budget, in consultation with the Administrator of General Services and the Secretary of Defense, shall promulgate regulations to carry out this section. (d) Definitions In this section: (1) Net proceeds The term net proceeds, with respect to a disposition of property or interests under this section, means the rental, sales, and other sums received less the costs of the disposition. (2) Executive department The term executive department means an Executive department listed in section 101 of title 5, United States Code. 3. Public-Private Agreement Pilot Program (a) Plan for entering into public-Private agreements (1) In general The head of a covered agency shall develop and carry out a plan to enter into one or more agreements with a nongovernmental person, for the purposes described in paragraph (2). (2) Purposes The purposes of any agreement entered into under paragraph (1) shall be— (A) to lease Federal real properties that are underutilized or excess, under the terms of subsection (c); and (B) to develop, rehabilitate, or renovate facilities on such leased properties for the benefit of the covered agency. (3) Number of properties A total of at least 5, and not more than 10, Federal real properties shall be leased under agreements entered into under paragraph (1). (b) Agreement terms (1) In general Each agreement entered into pursuant to this section— (A) shall have as its primary purpose the enhancement of the functional and economic efficiency of Federal real property; (B) shall be negotiated pursuant to such procedures as the head of the covered agency concerned considers necessary to promote competition and protect the public interest; (C) shall provide a lease option to the United States to occupy space in the facilities acquired, constructed, or rehabilitated under the agreement, but shall not guarantee occupancy by the United States; (D) shall describe the consideration, duties, and responsibilities for which the United States and the nongovernmental person are responsible and may provide for the alteration, repair, or improvement of the real property as part or all of the consideration of the nongovernmental person, notwithstanding any provision of law, including section 1302 of title 40, United States Code; (E) shall provide— (i) that the United States shall not be liable for any actions, debts, or liability of the nongovernmental person; and (ii) that no person is authorized by the agreement to execute any instrument or document creating or evidencing any indebtedness unless such instrument or document specifically disclaims any liability of the United States under the instrument or document; and (F) shall provide that the leasehold interests of the United States are senior to that of any lender to the nongovernmental person. (2) Ability to pledge as collateral Subparagraph (F) shall not impair the ability of the nongovernmental person to pledge as collateral its leasehold interest under a lease with the United States entered into pursuant to the terms of subsection (c). (c) Lease of real property (1) Authority Notwithstanding any other provision of law, including sections 582 and 583 of title 40, United States Code, the head of a covered agency may lease real property under an agreement under subsection (a) to the nongovernmental person that is party to the agreement. (2) Period of lease A lease under this subsection may be for such period as the head of the covered agency determines appropriate. (3) Relationship to Homeless Assistance Act Real property leased under this subsection shall not be considered unutilized or underutilized for purposes of section 501 of the Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11411) and may be leased under this subsection without regard to any other provision of law. (d) Services Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the head of a covered agency, or his or her designee, may provide services under an agreement under subsection (a) to the nongovernmental person that is party to the agreement on such terms as the head considers appropriate. (e) Use and deposit of revenues (1) Use of revenues Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the head of a covered agency may retain and use any revenues derived from agreements entered into under this section for Federal property management activities of the covered agency, including acquisition, improvements, maintenance, reconstruction, or construction needs. (2) Deposit of revenues Revenues received by the head of a covered agency from an agreement under subsection (a) shall be deposited— (A) in the case of the General Services Administration, into the fund created by section 592 of title 40, United States Code; and (B) in the case of any other covered agency, into the account of the agency established under section 2(a). (f) Plan (1) Matters covered The plan of a covered agency required under subsection (a) shall— (A) identify the Federal real properties that the head of the covered agency proposes to make available under the agreement or agreements to be entered into with one or more nongovernmental persons; and (B) include performance measures by which the proposed project or projects will be measured. (2) Consultation with Council In developing the plan required under subsection (a), the head of a covered agency shall consult with the Federal Real Property Council. (g) Submissions to Congress of plan and agreements (1) Submission of plan within 12 months The head of a covered agency shall submit to Congress the plan required by subsection (a) not later than 12 months after the date of the enactment of this Act. (2) Submission of each agreement to Congress before implementation The head of a covered agency shall submit to Congress each agreement entered into under subsection (a) and may not implement any such agreement until at least 30 days has expired after the date of submission to Congress. The submission to Congress under this paragraph shall also include— (A) an explanation of the agreement; (B) the name, resources, and qualifications of the nongovernmental person or persons that are party to the agreement; (C) the name of any other nongovernmental person that submitted a proposal for the property that is the subject of the agreement; (D) the factors in support of the proposed project or projects covered by the agreement; and (E) the projected economic performance, including expenditures and receipts, arising from the agreement. (3) Submission of all agreements within 3 years The head of a covered agency shall submit to Congress all agreements to be entered into under the plan not later than 3 years after the date of the enactment of this Act. (h) Projected economic performance The head of a covered agency shall describe, in the budget submitted by the President pursuant to section 1105 of title 31, United States Code, for a fiscal year, the projected economic performance, including expenditures and receipts, arising from each agreement entered into pursuant this section and in effect during such fiscal year. (i) Definitions In this section: (1) Covered agency The term covered agency means each of the following: (A) The Department of Defense. (B) The Department of Agriculture. (C) The Department of Energy. (D) The General Services Administration. (2) Head of a covered agency The term head of a covered agency means each of the following: (A) The Secretary of Defense. (B) The Secretary of Agriculture. (C) The Secretary of Energy. (D) The Administrator of General Services. (3) Federal real property The term Federal real property means property, as that term is defined in section 102(9) of title 40, United States Code. (4) Excess The term excess, with respect to Federal real property, means excess property as defined in section 102(3) of title 40, United States Code. (5) Nongovernmental person The term nongovernmental person means a limited liability company, limited partnership, corporation, business trust, nonprofit entity, or such other form of entity as the head of a covered agency may designate. (6) Executive agency The term executive agency has the meaning provided in section 102(4) of title 40, United States Code. (j) Reports by Government Accountability Office The Comptroller General of the United States shall submit to Congress two reports on the effectiveness of the public-private agreement pilot program under this section. The first report shall be submitted not later than 5 years after the date of the enactment of this section, and the second report shall be submitted not later than 10 years after such date of enactment. Each report shall include specific recommendations on how best to use public-private agreements in all Federal agencies to improve Federal real property management.