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General Assembly Raised Bill No. 6577
January Session, 2021
LCO No. 4421
Referred to Committee on GOVERNMENT ADMINISTRATION
AND ELECTIONS
Introduced by:
(GAE)
AN ACT CONCERNING TH E STATE PROPERTIES REVIEW BOARD.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. Subsections (d) to (f), inclusive, of section 4b-3 of the 1
general statutes are repealed and the following is substituted in lieu 2
thereof (Effective October 1, 2021): 3
(d) Notwithstanding any [other statute] provision of the general 4
statutes or special act, [to the contrary,] the Commissioner of 5
Administrative Services shall be the sole person authorized to represent 6
the state in its dealings with third parties for the construction, 7
development, acquisition or leasing of real estate for housing the offices 8
or equipment of all agencies of the state or for the state-owned public 9
buildings or realty, as provided for in sections 2-90, 4b-1 to 4b-5, 10
inclusive, 4b-21, 4b-23, as amended by this act, 4b-24, 4b-26, 4b-27, 4b-11
30 and 4b-32, subsection (c) of section 4b-66 and sections 4b-67 to 4b-69, 12
inclusive, 4b-71, 4b-72, 10-95, 10a-72, 10a-89, 10a-90, 10a-114, 10a-130, 13
10a-144, 17b-655, 22-64, 22a-324, 26-3, 27-45, 32-1c, 32-39, 48-9, 51-27d 14
and 51-27f, except that (1) the Joint Committee on Legislative 15 Raised Bill No. 6577
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Management may represent the state in the planning and construction 16
of the Legislative Office Building and related facilities, in Hartford; (2) 17
the Chief Court Administrator may represent the state in providing for 18
(A) space for the Court Support Services Division as part of a new or 19
existing contract for an alternative incarceration program pursuant to 20
section 54-103b or a program developed pursuant to section 46b-121k, 21
or (B) other real estate needs of the Judicial Branch when delegated 22
authority to do so by the Commissioner of Administrative Services; (3) 23
the board of trustees of a constituent unit of the state system of higher 24
education may represent the state in the leasing of real estate for housing 25
the offices or equipment of such constituent unit, provided no lease 26
payments for such realty are made with funds generated from the 27
general revenues of the state; (4) the Labor Commissioner may represent 28
the state in the leasing of premises required for employment security 29
operations as provided in subsection (c) of section 31-250; (5) the 30
Commissioner of Developmental Services may represent the state in the 31
leasing of residential property as part of the program developed 32
pursuant to subsection (b) of section 17a-218, provided such residential 33
property does not exceed two thousand five hundred square feet, for the 34
community placement of persons eligible to receive residential services 35
from the department; (6) the Commissioner of Mental Health and 36
Addiction Services may represent the state in the leasing of residential 37
units as part of a program developed pursuant to section 17a-455a, 38
provided each such residential unit does not exceed two thousand five 39
hundred square feet; and (7) the Connecticut Marketing Authority may 40
represent the state in the leasing of land or markets under the control of 41
the Connecticut Marketing Authority. [, and, except for the housing of 42
offices or equipment in connection with the initial acquisition of an 43
existing state mass transit system or the leasing of land by the 44
Connecticut Marketing Authority for a term of one year or more in 45
which cases the actions of the Department of Transportation and the 46
Connecticut Marketing Authority] All of the actions listed in 47
subdivisions (1) to (7), inclusive, of this subsection shall be subject to the 48
review and approval of the State Properties Review Board. The 49
Commissioner of Administrative Services may establish and implement 50 Raised Bill No. 6577
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any procedures necessary for the commissioner to assume the 51
commissioner's responsibilities as said sole bargaining agent for state 52
realty acquisitions and shall perform the duties necessary to carry out 53
such procedures. The Commissioner of Administrative Services may 54
appoint, within the department's budget and subject to the provisions 55
of chapter 67, such personnel deemed necessary by the commissioner to 56
carry out the provisions of this section, including experts in real estate, 57
construction operations, financing, banking, contracting, architecture 58
and engineering. The Attorney General's office, at the request of the 59
Commissioner of Administrative Services, shall assist the commissioner 60
in contract negotiations regarding the purchase, lease or construction of 61
real estate. 62
(e) The State Properties Review Board shall be within the 63
[Department of Administrative Services] Legislative Department and 64
shall have independent decision-making authority. 65
(f) The State Properties Review Board shall review for approval or 66
disapproval (1) real estate acquisitions, sales, leases and subleases 67
proposed by the Commissioner of Administrative Services or proposed 68
by the Chief Court Administrator pursuant to the authority delegated 69
to the Chief Court Administrator by the Commissioner of 70
Administrative Services, (2) the acquisition, other than by 71
condemnation, or the sale, [or] lease or licensing of any real property or 72
any other contractual agreement concerning any real property by the 73
Commissioner of Transportation under subdivision (11) of section 13b-74
4 or subsection (b) of section 13b-36, subject to section 4b-23, as amended 75
by this act, and subsection (h) of section 13a-73, [and review, for 76
approval or disapproval,] (3) any contract for a project described in 77
subsection (h) of section 4b-91, (4) any acquisition of development rights 78
of agricultural land by the Commissioner of Agriculture under section 79
22-26cc or 22-26nn, as amended by this act, (5) any real estate acquisition 80
by any other state agency under any provision of the general statutes 81
that is paid for with bonds, as defined in section 3-20, and (6) any lease 82
or sublease, licensing or other contractual agreement concerning real 83
property proposed by a quasi-public agency under section 3 of this act. 84 Raised Bill No. 6577
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Such review shall consider all aspects of the proposed actions, including 85
feasibility and method of acquisition and the prudence of the business 86
method proposed. The board shall also cooperate with and advise and 87
assist the Commissioner of Administrative Services and the 88
Commissioner of Transportation in carrying out their duties. The board 89
shall have access to all information, files and records, including financial 90
records, of the Commissioner of Administrative Services, [and] the 91
Commissioner of Transportation, [and shall, when necessary, be entitled 92
to the use of personnel employed by said commissioners. The board 93
shall approve or disapprove any acquisition of development rights of 94
agricultural land by the Commissioner of Agriculture under section 22-95
26cc] any other state agency acquiring real estate described in 96
subdivision (5) of this subsection and any quasi-public agency 97
submitting a proposed agreement described in subdivision (6) of this 98
subsection. The board shall hear any appeal under section 8-273a and 99
shall render a final decision on the appeal within thirty days thereafter. 100
The written decision of the board shall be a final decision for the 101
purposes of sections 4-180 and 4-183. The provisions of this section shall 102
not apply to any airport, airport site or any part thereof operated by the 103
Connecticut Airport Authority established pursuant to section 15-104
120bb. 105
Sec. 2. Subsection (i) of section 4b-23 of the general statutes is repealed 106
and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2021): 107
(i) As used in this subsection, (1) "project" means any state program, 108
except the downtown Hartford higher education center project, as 109
defined in section 4b-55, requiring consultant services if the cost of such 110
services is estimated to exceed [one hundred] twenty-five thousand 111
dollars or, in the case of a constituent unit of the state system of higher 112
education, the cost of such services is estimated to exceed three hundred 113
thousand dollars, or in the case of a building or premises under the 114
supervision of the Office of the Chief Court Administrator or property 115
where the Judicial Department is the primary occupant, the cost of such 116
services is estimated to exceed three hundred thousand dollars; (2) 117
"consultant" means "consultant" as defined in section 4b-55; and (3) 118 Raised Bill No. 6577
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"consultant services" means "consultant services" as defined in section 119
4b-55. Any contracts entered into by the Commissioner of 120
Administrative Services with any consultants for employment (A) for 121
any project under the provisions of this section, (B) in connection with a 122
list established under subsection (d) of section 4b-51, or (C) by task letter 123
issued by the Commissioner of Administrative Services to any 124
consultant on such list pursuant to which the consultant will provide 125
services valued in excess of [one hundred] twenty-five thousand dollars, 126
shall be subject to the approval of the Properties Review Board prior to 127
the employment of such consultant or consultants by the commissioner. 128
The Properties Review Board shall, not later than thirty days after 129
receipt of such selection of or contract with any consultant, approve or 130
disapprove the selection of or contract with any consultant made by the 131
Commissioner of Administrative Services pursuant to sections 4b-1 and 132
4b-55 to 4b-59, inclusive. If upon the expiration of the thirty-day period 133
a decision has not been made, the Properties Review Board shall be 134
deemed to have approved such selection or contract. 135
Sec. 3. (NEW) (Effective October 1, 2021) Any quasi-public agency, as 136
defined in section 1-120 of the general statutes, shall submit any 137
proposed lease or sublease, licensing or other contractual arrangement 138
concerning real property to the State Properties Review Board for 139
approval or disapproval. The provisions of this section shall not be 140
construed to apply to any mortgage loan granted by a quasi-public 141
agency. 142
Sec. 4. Subsection (a) of section 22-26nn of the general statutes is 143
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 144
1, 2021): 145
(a) The Commissioner of Agriculture may establish a community 146
farms program for the preservation of farmland that does not meet the 147
criteria of the farmland preservation program established pursuant to 148
section 22-26cc for reasons of size, soil quality or location but that may 149
contribute to local economic activity through agricultural production. 150
The commissioner may purchase up to one hundred per cent of the 151 Raised Bill No. 6577
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value of development rights directly from an eligible owner, or may 152
acquire development rights on qualifying farmland jointly with a 153
municipality, subject to the review and approval of the State Properties 154
Review Board and the appraisal and review required by the regulations 155
adopted pursuant to this section. For the purposes of this section, 156
"development rights" and "owner" have the same meanings as provided 157
in section 22-26bb. 158
Sec. 5. Section 4-9a of the general statutes is repealed and the 159
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2021): 160
(a) The Governor shall appoint the chairperson and executive 161
director, if any, of all boards and commissions within the Executive 162
Department, except [the State Properties Review Board,] the State 163
Elections Enforcement Commission, the Commission on Human Rights 164
and Opportunities, the Commission on Fire Prevention and Control, the 165
Citizen's Ethics Advisory Board and the Transportation Policy Advisory 166
Council. 167
(b) Public members shall constitute not less than one-third of the 168
members of each board and commission w ithin the Executive 169
Department, except the Commission on Human Rights and 170
Opportunities. Public member means an elector of the state who has no 171
substantial financial interest in, is not employed in or by, and is not 172
professionally affiliated with, any industry, profession, occupation, 173
trade or institution regulated or licensed by the relevant board or 174
commission, and who has had no professional affiliation with any such 175
industry, profession, occupation, trade or institution for three years 176
preceding his appointment to the board or commission. Except as 177
otherwise specifically provided by the general statutes, this section shall 178
not apply to the Commission on Fire Prevention and Control, boards 179
and commissions the membership of which is entirely composed of state 180
department heads, elected officials or deputies appointed by such 181
department heads or where the membership of such board or 182
commission is determined in accordance with the provisions of any 183
federal law. 184 Raised Bill No. 6577
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(c) Notwithstanding any provision of law, the term of each member 185
of each board and commission within the executive branch, except the 186
State Board of Education, the Board of Regents for Higher Education, 187
the Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities, the State 188
Elections Enforcement Commission, [the State Properties Review 189
Board,] the Citizen's Ethics Advisory Board, the Commission on 190
Medicolegal Investigations, the Psychiatric Security Review Board, the 191
Commission on Fire Prevention and Control, the E 9-1-1 Commission, 192
the Culture and Tourism Advisory Committee, and the board of trustees 193
of each constituent unit of the state system of higher education, 194
commencing on or after July 1, 1979, shall be coterminous with the term 195
of the Governor or until a successor is chosen, whichever is later. 196
(d) Each member of each board and commission within the executive 197
branch shall serve at the pleasure of the appointing authority except 198
where otherwise specifically provided by any provision of the general 199
statutes. 200
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 October 1, 2021 4b-3(d) to (f)
Sec. 2 October 1, 2021 4b-23(i)
Sec. 3 October 1, 2021 New section
Sec. 4 October 1, 2021 22-26nn(a)
Sec. 5 October 1, 2021 4-9a
Statement of Purpose:
To expand the purview of the State Properties Review Board to include
licensing agreements, the purchasing of agricultural development rights
and contracts entered into by other state agencies and quasi-public
agencies and to move the board to within the Legislative Department.
[Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline, except
that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is not
underlined.]