Senate Bill No. 500
(By Senator Chafin)
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[Introduced February 19, 1996; referred to the Committee
on Government Organization.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact section forty, article three, chapter
five-a of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine
hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to approval of the
acquisition or lease of property by the state by the joint
committee on government and finance.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section forty, article three, chapter five-a of the
code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as
amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 3. PURCHASING DIVISION.
§5A-3-40. Selection of grounds, etc.; acquisition by contract
or lease; long-term leases; requiring approval of
secretary for permanent changes.
The secretary shall have sole authority to select and to
acquire by contract or lease, in the name of the state, all
grounds, buildings, office space or other space, the rental of
which is necessarily required by any spending unit, upon a
certificate from the chief executive officer or his designee of
said spending unit that the grounds, buildings, office space or
other space requested is necessarily required for the proper
function of said spending unit, that the spending unit will be
responsible for all rent and other necessary payments in
connection with the contract or lease and that satisfactory
grounds, buildings, office space or other space is not available
on grounds and in buildings now owned or leased by the state and
which decision of the secretary is subject to the approval of the
joint committee on government and finance. The secretary shall,
before executing any rental contract or lease, determine the fair
rental value for the rental of the requested grounds, buildings,
office space or other space, in the condition in which they
exist, and shall contract for or lease said premises at a price
not to exceed the fair rental value thereof.
The secretary is hereby authorized to enter into long-term
agreements for buildings, land and space for periods longer than one fiscal year: Provided, That such decision of the secretary
shall be subject to the approval of the joint committee on
government and finance: Provided, however, That such long-term
lease agreements shall not be for periods in excess of forty
years, except that the secretary may, in the case of the adjutant
general's department, enter into lease agreements for a term of
fifty years or a specific term of more than fifty years so as to
comply with federal regulatory requirements, and shall contain,
in substance, all the following provisions: (1) That the
department of administration, as lessee, shall have the right to
cancel the lease without further obligation on the part of the
lessee upon giving thirty days' written notice to the lessor,
such notice being given at least thirty days prior to the last
day of the succeeding month; (2) that the lease shall be
considered canceled without further obligation on the part of the
lessee if the state Legislature or the federal government should
fail to appropriate sufficient funds therefor or should otherwise
act to impair the lease or cause it to be canceled; and (3) that
the lease shall be considered renewed for each ensuing fiscal
year during the term of the lease unless it is canceled by the
department of administration before the end of the then current fiscal year.
A spending unit which is granted any grounds, buildings,
office space or other space leased in accordance with this
section may not order or make permanent changes of any type
thereto, unless the secretary has first determined that the
change is necessary for the proper, efficient and economically
sound operation of the spending unit. For purposes of this
section, a "permanent change" means any addition, alteration,
improvement, remodeling, repair or other change involving the
expenditure of state funds for the installation of any tangible
thing which cannot be economically removed from the grounds,
buildings, office space or other space when vacated by the
spending unit.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to make state contracts
and leases to acquire or lease property subject to approval of
the joint committee on government and finance.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken
from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language
that would be added.