H.B. 655 78(R) BILL ANALYSIS H.B. 655 By: Menendez Defense Affairs and State-Federal Relations Committee Report (Unamended) BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Under current law, when a political subdivision wishes to sell or exchange land that they own, it must first notify citizens by publishing, on at least two occasions, a notice in a newspaper of general circulation that it intends to sell the land. The notice must provide a description of the land and the procedure detailing the sealed bid process. The law also requires that the land be appraised and prohibits the political subdivision from selling, conveying or exchanging the property for less than the fair market value (appraised value). It would be advantageous for property owned by a defense base development authority to be exempted from the notice and bidding requirements in order to attract a particular use or industry that integrates into its master redevelopment plan. Much of the base redevelopment opportunities must be acted upon quickly in order to compete with alternative private markets. HB 655 exempts base development authorities from the notice and bidding requirements to allow the communities to respond immediately to their development needs and to execute business deals in a timely manner. 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. ANALYSIS SECTION 1. Exempts a defense base development authority from the notice and bidding requirements of Section 272.001 (a), Local Government Code. SECTION 2. This Act takes effect on September 1, 2003, unless it receives the votes necessary for immediate effect.