SLC C.S.H.B. 3515 75(R)BILL ANALYSIS LAND & RESOURCE MANAGEMENT C.S.H.B. 3515 By: Goolsby 4-17-97 Committee Report (Substituted) BACKGROUND Currently, GSC must have specific legislative authority before it disposes of any state property interest in its inventory, including sales or exchanges of real property under Section 2166.052, Government Code. The City of Austin, under Section 272.001, Local Government Code, is required by current law to value all municipally-owned property it grants, sells or conveys at full fair market value, based on appraisal. Specific authority to deviate from that valuation standard is , therefore, necessary. A ledger agreement has been proposed as a mechanism to address a current impasse between the parties over the Robert E. Johnson Project. This office and parking structure project straddles Brazos Street between 15th and 16th Streets in the Capitol Complex and was designed to not interfere with the Capitol view corridor. The state requires Brazos Street to be vacated in order to accommodate the building structure which encroaches on the right of way. In addition, the parking structure and the building are connected by an elevated pedestrian bridge which encroaches the aerial rights over the right of way. The project budget does not contain sufficient funds to pay an estimated fair market value of $500,000 and $600,000 for the Brazos right of way. The City and the University of Texas System have such a ledger agreement. The agreement requires that the requesting party submit an application to the owner-party specifying the property interest it seeks to exchange on the ledger. The owner-party conducts a feasibility review to determine whether the exchange should be approved. Each party retains the absolute right to refuse to exchange property when it is not in their best interest to do so. PURPOSE HB 3515 grants authority to the General Services Commission (GSC) to enter into a cooperative agreement with the City of Austin by which real property interests could be sold, exchanged and transferred between the parties, with the value of each transaction entered on a "ledger" and future transactions credited or debited to the parties' account, as appropriate. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency or institution. SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS SECTION 1. Amends Sec. 2166.052, Government Code, by adding (c) as follows: (c) Grants authority to the General Services Commission to enter into a cooperative agreement with the City of Austin to govern the transfer, sale and exchange of property interests, including the vaction of street rights-of-way, easements, and other interests, as necessary or advantageous to both parties. The agreement would provide for the transfer, sale, or exchange by one party in favor of the other for a reasonable value established by the parties and may provide for future property exchanges between the parties. States that Section 272.001, Local Gov. Code, does not apply to a transaction by this section. SECTION 2. Emergency clause. COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL TO SUBSTITUTE CSHB 3515 condenses the language contained in the original legislation by striking several provisions. CSHB 3515 strikes the language containing the street references in Sec. 2166.052(c) of the original legislation. CSHB 3515 states that Sec. 272.001, Local Gov. Code, does not apply to a transaction governed by this section. The original legislation tried to amend Sec. 272.001, Local Gov. Code, CSHB 3515 does not contain these provisions.