SENATE
HOUSE
JOINT
BILL STATUS
STATE LAW
REPORTS
EDUCATIONAL
CONTACT
home
home
Introduced Version - Originating in Committee Senate Bill 786 History

   |  Email
Key: Green = existing Code. Red = new code to be enacted
Senate Bill No. 786

(By Senators Helmick, Sharpe, Plymale, Chafin, Prezioso,

Edgell, Love, Bailey, Bowman, McCabe, Unger, Fanning,

Sypolt, Facemyer, Boley, Sprouse and Guills)

____________

[Originating in the Committee on Finance;

reported February 25, 2008.]

____________


A BILL to amend and reenact §5A-10-2, §5A-10-3, §5A-10-5 and §5A- 10-6 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended; and to amend said code by adding thereto a new section, designated §5A-10-12, all relating to the Real Estate Division of the Department of Administration and the powers and duties of acquiring real property, contracting for third-party real estate services and billing spending units for the actual costs of third-party services; making certain exceptions; excepting the deposit of revenues derived from wireless communication tower leases on property subject to a pledge of its revenues in connection with a bond issue into the General Revenue Fund; and creating a special revenue fund for the acquisition of real property and payment of associated costs.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §5A-10-2, §5A-10-3, §5A-10-5 and §5A-10-6 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended and reenacted; and that said code be amended by adding thereto a new section, designated §5A-10-12, all to read as follows:
ARTICLE 10. REAL ESTATE DIVISION.
§5A-10-2. Leasing of space and acquisition of real property to be made in accordance with article; exceptions.

(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of this code, no department, agency or institution of state government may acquire real property, lease or offer to lease, as lessee, any grounds, buildings, office or other space except in accordance with the provisions of this article and article three of this chapter.
(b) The provisions of the article, except as to office space, do not apply to the Division of Highways of the Department of Transportation.
(c) The provisions of this article do not apply to:
(1) Public lands, rivers and streams acquired, managed or which title is vested in or transferred to the Division of Natural Resources of the Department of Commerce pursuant to section seven, article one, chapter twenty of this code and section two, article five of said chapter;
(2) The Higher Education Policy Commission;
(3) The West Virginia Council for Community and Technical College Education;
(4) The institutional boards of governors in accordance with the provisions of subsection (v), section four, article five, chapter eighteen-b of this code;
(5) The real property held by the Department of Agriculture, including all institutional farms, easements, mineral rights, appurtenances, farm equipment, agricultural products, inventories, farm facilities and operating revenue funds for those operations; or
(6) The real property held by the West Virginia State Conservation Committee, including all easements, mineral rights, appurtenances and operating revenue funds for those operations; or
(7) The Adjutant General's office and the West Virginia Armory Board.
§5A-10-3. Powers and duties of Real Estate Division.
The Real Estate Division has the following powers and duties:
(1) To provide leasing, acquisition, appraisal and other real estate services to state spending units. The Real Estate Division may contract for appraisals, surveys, title searches and opinions, space planning and other necessary third-party real estate services and may bill spending units for the actual costs and expenses associated with necessary third-party real estate services;
(2) To ensure that the purchase of real estate and all contracts for lease are based on established real estate standards and fair market price;
(3) To develop and implement minimum lease space standards for the lease of any grounds, buildings, office or other space required by any spending unit of state government;
(4) To develop and implement minimum standards for the selection and acquisition, by contract or lease, of all grounds, buildings, office space or other space by a spending unit of state government except as otherwise provided in this article;
(5) To establish and maintain a comprehensive database of all state real estate contracts and leases;
(6) To develop policies and procedures for statewide real property management;
(7) To maintain a statewide real property management system that has consolidated real property, building and lease information for all departments, agencies and institutions of state government;
(8) To develop and maintain a centralized repository of comprehensive space needs for all state departments, agencies and institutions of state government, including up-to-date space and resource utilization, anticipated needs and recommended options;
(9) To provide statewide policy leadership and coordinate master planning to guide and organize capital asset management; and
(10) To provide assistance to all state departments, agencies or institutions in acquiring, leasing and disposing of real property.
§5A-10-5. Selection of grounds, etc.; acquisition by contract or lease; long-term leases.

(a) The executive director has 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.
(b) The executive director 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.
(c) The executive director may enter into long-term agreements for buildings, land and space for periods longer than one fiscal year: Provided, That such long-term lease agreements are not 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, has 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.
§5A-10-6. Long-term leases of public lands for wireless communication towers.

(a) Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, the executive director has sole authority to negotiate and enter into long-term lease agreements for lease of public lands to be used for placement of wireless communication towers: Provided, That such long-term lease agreements may not be for periods in excess of thirty years: Provided, however, That for the governmental units named in subsection (d) of this section, any lease proposed by the executive director may only be entered into upon approval in writing of the ranking administrator of the respective governmental unit described in said subsection.
(b) All revenues derived from leases established upon the enactment of this section shall be deposited into the General Revenue Fund unless the property is subject to a pledge of its revenues in connection with a preexisting revenue bond issue and except as provided in subsections (c) and (d) of this section.
(c) Revenues from leases initiated prior to the enactment of this section or subsequently renewed shall continue to be treated as they were prior to the enactment of this section.
(d) Revenues derived from the lease of property under the control of the Department of Transportation shall be deposited into the State Road Fund. Revenues derived from the lease of property under the control of the Division of Natural Resources shall be retained by the Division of Natural Resources and deposited into the appropriate fund. Revenues derived from the lease of property under the control of the Department of Agriculture shall be deposited into the Agriculture Fees Fund. Revenues derived from the lease of property under the control of the Division of Forestry shall be deposited into the Division of Forestry Fund. Revenues derived from the lease of property under the control of institutions of higher education shall be deposited into the institution's education and general capital fees fund. Revenues derived from the lease of property under the control of the Higher Education Policy Commission shall be deposited into the commission's State Gifts, Grants and Contracts Fund. Revenues derived from the lease of property under the control of the West Virginia Council for Community and Technical College Education shall be deposited into the council's Tuition and Required Educational and General Fees Fund.
(e) Any long-term lease agreement entered into pursuant to this section shall contain provisions allowing for the nonexclusive use of the public lands and allowance for use of the same public space for additional towers by competing persons or corporations.
(f) The executive director is further authorized to enter into long-term lease agreements for additional wireless communication towers by other persons or corporations upon the same public lands in which there already exists a lease and tower provided for under this section.
(g) Any long-term lease agreement entered into pursuant to this section shall be recorded in the office of the county clerk where public land which is the subject of the lease agreement is located.
§5A-10-12. Creation of Real Property Fund.
There is hereby created in the State Treasury a special revenue fund to be known as the Real Property Fund. The fund shall consist of appropriations as determined by the Governor and the Legislature, but shall operate as a special revenue fund whereby all deposits and payments thereto do not expire to the General Revenue Fund, but shall remain in the fund and be available for expenditure in succeeding fiscal years. This fund shall consist of moneys deposited in the fund pursuant to the provisions of this article, as well as interest earned on investments made from moneys deposited in the fund. Moneys from this fund shall be expended by the Executive Director of the Real Estate Division of the Department of Administration for the acquisition of real property and to pay for costs associated with acquisition and leasing of real property, subject to the direction of the Secretary of the Department of Administration and the discretion of the Governor.

________


(NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to clarify that the Department of Administration, Real Estate Division, has the authority to acquire real property and grants the authority to contract for third-party real estate services and bill spending units for the actual costs of such third-party services. This bill also clarifies that revenues derived from wireless communication tower leases on property subject to a pledge of its revenues in connection with a bond issue will not be deposited into the General Revenue Fund. This bill also creates a fund dedicated to the acquisition of real property and costs associated with acquisition and leasing of real property.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.
)
This Web site is maintained by the West Virginia Legislature's Office of Reference & Information.  |  Terms of Use  |   Email WebmasterWebmaster   |   © 2024 West Virginia Legislature **


X

Print On Demand

Name:
Email:
Phone:

Print