2026 Regular Session - Day 43 - HB 467 | Rep. DJ Johnson

Mr. Speaker, there is a committee substitute. If we can deal with that, I move for adoption of House Committee Substitute 1. Clerk, please report. House Committee Substitute 1 to House Bill 467. Motion is for the adoption of House Committee Substitute 1. Is there any discussion of the committee substitute? Seeing none, those in favor signify by voting aye. Aye. Opposed, nay. House Committee Substitute 1 is adopted. Gentleman from Davis. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, House Bill 467 addresses important issues related to the responsible management and disposal of surplus state-owned property, which by definition is both land and buildings. State-owned properties are assigned to cabinets and agencies for oversight, use, and maintenance. Currently, the way that a state-owned property is declared surplus is by that controlling agency declaring it to be so. Local governments and private citizens cannot initiate a review of the use of that property until that happens. As a result, the property can sit dormant for years. This results in a waste of valuable resources. House Bill 467 addresses this issue. It does so by creating a transparent process allowing local governments to notify the state of their interest in abandoned or underutilized state-owned property. Once a local government or a private citizen working with that local government identifies a potential surplus property to the Finance and Administration Cabinet, the Cabinet has specific procedures and timelines to inform the local government of the status of the property. Should the property be identified as surplus, it will be offered for purchase by following already established procedures. Additionally, House Bill 467 establishes clear responsibility for maintenance and security of state-owned real property throughout the disposal process, protecting both the value of the property and public safety. When codified, House Bill 467 will allow private citizens and local governments to be more involved in the efficient use of state-owned properties that would otherwise be wasted. It will empower them to proactively identify valuable properties that they can use for economic development or community services applications. This will ensure that state-owned properties are used in the most efficient way possible. For these reasons, Mr. Speaker, subject to any questions, I respectfully move for passage of House Bill 467 as amended by House Committee Substitute 1.