The Florida Senate

255.25001  Suspension or delay of specified functions, programs, and requirements relating to governmental operations.--Notwithstanding the provisions of:

(1)  Section 946.504(3), as amended by chapter 92-279, Laws of Florida, the Department of Management Services shall not be required to participate with the Department of Corrections in the correctional work program (PRIDE) leasing process.

(2)  Sections 253.025 and 255.25, the Department of Management Services has the authority to promulgate rules pursuant to chapter 120 to be used in determining whether a lease-purchase of a state-owned office building is in the best interests of the state, which rules provide:

(a)  Procedures state agencies will follow to certify the need for a lease-purchase acquisition for a state-owned office building to the Department of Management Services and a notification procedure of the department's decision regarding state agencies' requests for a lease-purchase agreement. The certification process shall include but not be limited to the following:

1.  Current programmatic space requirements of the state agency.

2.  Future programmatic space requirements of the state agency.

3.  Time considerations in providing state-owned office building space.

4.  An analysis of existing leases affected by the lease-purchase agreement.

(b)  Procedures and document formats for the advertisement, competitive bid process, including format of submissions, and evaluation of lease-purchase acquisition proposals for state-owned office buildings. The evaluation process shall include but not be limited to the following:

1.  A consideration of the cost of comparable operating leases.

2.  The appraised value of the facility as required by s. 253.025.

3.  A present value analysis of the proposed payment stream.

4.  The cost of financing the facility to be acquired.

5.  The cost to repair identified physical defects.

6.  The cost to remove identified hazardous substances.

7.  An energy analysis.

8.  A determination of who is responsible for management and maintenance activities.

In order to minimize the cost of the evaluation process, the Department of Management Services may develop a multistage evaluation process to identify the most cost-efficient proposals for extensive evaluation. The studies developed as a result of this evaluation process shall be considered confidential and exempt from the provisions of s. 119.07(1) to the same extent that appraisal reports are considered confidential and exempt from the provisions of s. 119.07(1) as provided in s. 253.025(6)(d).

(c)  Acceptable terms and conditions for inclusion in lease-purchase agreements, which shall include but not be limited to:

1.  The assignment of the lease-purchase agreement to other governmental entities, including accumulated equity.

2.  The ability of the acquiring state agency to sublease a portion of the facility, not to exceed 25 percent, to other governmental entities. These subleases shall provide for the recovery of the agencies' cost of operations and maintenance.

The execution of a lease-purchase is conditioned upon a finding by the Department of Management Services that it would be in the best interests of the state. The language in this subsection shall be considered specific authorization for a lease-purchase pursuant to s. 255.25(1)(b) upon the Department of Management Services' certification that the lease-purchase is in the best interests of the state. Thereafter, the agency is authorized to enter into a lease-purchase agreement and to expend operating funds for lease-purchase payments. Any facility which is acquired pursuant to the processes authorized by this subsection shall be considered to be a "state-owned office building" and a "state-owned building" as those terms are applied in ss. 255.248-255.25.

(d)  That any costs resulting from the processes authorized by this subsection, including but not limited to appraisals, environmental analyses, and any other studies which may be required under these provisions, shall be borne by the owner of the property which is the subject of the proposed lease-purchase.

(3)  Chapters 253 and 287, the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services shall be authorized to sell any tangible personal property, real property, or structures on leased or department-owned real property without complying with other provisions of law or Florida Statutes, with the proceeds being deposited into the Property Trust Account in the General Inspection Trust Fund. Prior to finalizing any such sale, the department's proposed action shall be subject to the notice and review procedures set forth in s. 216.177, as amended by chapter 92-142, Laws of Florida.

History.--s. 8, ch. 92-316; s. 15, ch. 94-240; s. 111, ch. 96-406; s. 13, ch. 98-279.