§ 165 — Space allocation, inventory, and use; leasing property; Commissioner’s preapproval required

(a) For purposes of this section, “agency” shall mean every Executive agency and the Judicial Department, every department not within an agency, every board, commission, or other entity not attached to an agency or department for administrative purposes, every not-for-profit corporation or entity occupying or using State-owned space, and shall include the Offices of the Chief Justice of the Vermont Supreme Court, the Court Administrator’s Office, the Auditor of Accounts, the Attorney General, the Secretary of State, and the State Treasurer. “Agency” shall not mean, nor shall this section apply to, an entity not affiliated with the Executive or Judicial Branch of State government and not located in State-owned property, even though the entity may receive State capital funds. This section shall not apply to the Vermont State Colleges.
(b) The Commissioner of Buildings and General Services shall implement all reasonable and necessary measures to utilize all available space in all State buildings or structures before any improved property not owned by the State is leased to accommodate space needs of an agency.
(c) Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, the Commissioner of Buildings and General Services shall have sole jurisdiction, sole authority, and sole responsibility for making space allocations and designating uses in any portions of any building or structure for which the Department of Buildings and General Services leases or pays for operation and maintenance expenses, or for which construction or fit-up was financed through an appropriation to the Department of Buildings and General Services.
(d) The Commissioner of Buildings and General Services shall by rule establish procedures which all agencies shall follow in the leasing of real property. No agency shall enter into any lease, no lease shall be valid, and no State funds shall be paid by the Department of Finance and Management pursuant to the terms of any lease, unless the proposed lease has been preapproved by the Commissioner of Buildings and General Services. If a lease is entered into pursuant to this section, the Commissioner of Buildings and General Services shall preapprove any additional fees, reimbursements, charges, or fit-up costs in excess of the proposed lease rental rate.
(e) The Commissioner of Buildings and General Services shall maintain an inventory of all State-owned buildings and shall biannually compile and update the information received under subsection (g) of this section, which shall be considered once available in making spacing allocations and designating uses under subsection (c) of this section.
(f) The Commissioner of Buildings and General Services shall maintain an inventory and provide any known information on all existing rights-of-way, including all conduits, ducts, passages, or attachments available, granted to, or presently used by telecommunications carriers. The inventory shall describe the ownership of such rights-of-way and the used and existing capacity thereof.
(g) The head of each agency shall prepare and forward to the Commissioner of Buildings and General Services when requested by the Commissioner in a format prescribed by the Commissioner an inventory of: square footage available for use; square footage in actual use; square footage not in use; square footage used for storage; square footage that is unfinished; cost per square foot for rent; cost per square foot for operation and maintenance; and the source of funds for rent, operation, and maintenance, including the act and section numbers of a legislative directive if applicable.
(h) No State-owned space in any State-owned building, structure, or other real property under the jurisdiction of the Commissioner of Buildings and General Services may be leased, occupied, or licensed for any purpose for less than its fair market value as determined by the prevailing area market prices for comparable space or property, except as follows:
(1) The Commissioner of Buildings and General Services may lease or license State-owned property under his or her jurisdiction for less than prevailing area market prices to municipalities, nonprofit organizations, school districts, or to persons whose proposed activities are determined by the Commissioner to serve a public purpose and when the term of the lease or license is less than three years.
(2) The Commissioner of Buildings and General Services may lease or license State-owned property under his or her jurisdiction for less than prevailing area market prices with the approval of the Joint Fiscal Committee when the term of the lease or license is three years or longer, or when the lease or license requested is a renewal of a lease or license issued pursuant to subdivision (1) of this subsection.
(i) In the event of a conflict between the provisions of this section and any other provision of law pertaining to State facilities, this section shall control. (Added 1995, No. 185 (Adj. Sess.), § 43, eff. May 22, 1996; amended 1995, No. 148 (Adj. Sess.), § 4(b); 1997, No. 150 (Adj. Sess.), § 19; 1999, No. 29, § 40, eff. May 19, 1999; 2001, No. 149 (Adj. Sess.), § 35, eff. June 27, 2002; 2013, No. 51, § 26, eff. May 29, 2013.)