SRC-VRA S.B. 890 78(R)   BILL ANALYSIS


Senate Research Center   S.B. 890
By: Shapleigh
Government Organization
4/14/2003
As Filed


DIGEST AND PURPOSE 

Currently, Texas law prevents the state from taking advantage of
opportunities to generate nontax revenue by leasing underused facilities
such as parking garages.  For example, the Austin area has a concentration
of over 12,000 state parking spaces, and a third of these are used by the
public during off-peak hours with no benefit to the state.  In some cases,
private entities charge fees at state lots with no benefit to or written
permission from the state.  As proposed, S.B. 890 directs the Texas
Building and Procurement Commission to establish a pilot program to
develop private, commercial uses during non-business hours for certain
state-owned parking lots and garages located in the city of Austin in the
area bordered by West Fourth Street, Lavaca Street, West Third Street, and
Nueces Street. 

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

This bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to
a state officer, institution, or agency. 

SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS

SECTION 1.  Amends Subchapter E, Chapter 2165, Government Code, by adding
Section 2165.2035, as follows: 

Sec.  2165.2035.  PILOT PROGRAM.  (a)  Provides that in this section
"lease" includes a management agreement. 

(b)  Requires the Texas Building and Procurement Commission (TBPC) to
establish a pilot program to develop private, commercial uses for
state-owned parking lots and garages located in Austin in the area
bordered by West Fourth Street, Lavaca Street, West Third Street, and
Nueces Street. 

(c)  Requires TBPC to contract with a private vendor to manage the
commercial use of state-owned parking lots and garages.   

(d)  Requires money received from a lease under this program to be
deposited to the credit of the general revenue fund. 

(e)  Requires TBPC, on or before December 1 of each even-numbered year, to
submit a report to the legislature and the Legislative Budget Board
describing the effectiveness of the pilot program. 

(f)  Provides that the limitation on the amount of space allocated to
private tenants prescribed by Section 2165.205(b) does not apply to the
lease of a state-owned parking lot or garage under this section. 

(g)  Requires any lease of a state-owned parking lot or garage under this
section to contain a provision that allows state employees who work hours
other than regular working hours under Section 658.005 to retain their
parking privileges in a stateowned parking lot or garage. 

 (h)  Requires the vendor, as a condition of participation in the pilot,
to assess parking fees at a rate competitive with the market rates in the
area established in Section 2165.2035(b).   

SECTION 2.  Effective date:  upon passage or September 1, 2003.