(a) The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:

(1) Located in the City of San Diego, the state owns approximately 2.7 acres of real property on two city blocks bounded by Ash Street on the north, Front Street on the east, “A” Street on the south, and State Street on the west, with improvements, currently used for state offices.

(2) For purposes of this section, the real property described in paragraph (1) shall be referred to as the “San Diego Property.”

(3) Continuing the consolidated operations of the various state agencies in one location will greatly facilitate and improve the efficiency of the administrative operations of the state.

(4) The San Diego Property may be sold, exchanged, leased, or any combination thereof, and the proceeds used to carry out the intent of the Legislature to consolidate various departments and state agencies to protect the health and safety of the people.

(5) The disposition of the San Diego Property authorized in this section does not constitute a sale or other disposition of surplus state property within the meaning of Section 9 of Article III of the California Constitution or subdivision (g) of Section 11011.

(b) The Director of General Services may sell, exchange, lease, or any combination thereof, all or a portion of the San Diego Property. The director shall use the proceeds of any sale, exchange, or lease made pursuant to this subdivision to acquire the land and facilities described in subdivision (g) to consolidate various state departments within the downtown area of the City of San Diego.

(c) Any exchange, lease, or sale of properties carried out pursuant to this section shall be for no less than fair market value, as determined by an independent appraisal or pursuant to a competitive selection process. Compensation for the San Diego Property may include land, or a combination of land, improvements, and money.

(d) (1) Any funds received from the sale, exchange, or lease of the San Diego Property authorized by this section shall be held in trust and used only for the acquisition, lease, lease-purchase, lease with an option to purchase, or lease-purchase finance of the land and facilities identified in subdivision (g) and are hereby appropriated to the Department of General Services for expenditure for the purposes of this subdivision.

(2) For the purposes of this section, the terms “lease” or “leases” mean the selection and acquisition of a lease-purchase, lease-purchase finance, or lease with an option to purchase pursuant to this subdivision.

(e) The Department of General Services shall be reimbursed for any reasonable cost or expense incurred for the transactions described in this section from the proceeds of the sale, lease, or exchange of the San Diego Property.

(f) For the purposes of this section, the San Diego Property shall not be subject to the provisions of Section 11011.1 or Article 8 (commencing with Section 54220) of Chapter 5 of Part 1 of Division 2 of Title 5.

(g) (1) The director may enter into one or more agreements or leases for the purposes of providing usable office and related space not to exceed 120,000 net square feet in the City of San Diego in order to consolidate various departments and state agencies. It is the intent of the Legislature that the state obtain an equity interest in any land or facility authorized by this subdivision.

(2) Notwithstanding Section 14669, the department shall advertise and award the lease or leases to the proposer offering to provide a building or buildings that meet the state’s requirements and that the director determines are in the best interest of the state. The director may also lease all or part of the San Diego Property for a period not to exceed 66 years.

(h) (1) The Department of General Services shall develop the terms and conditions of any agreements or lease, and provide them to the Department of Finance for review prior to soliciting bids. The Department of General Services shall obtain approval from the Department of Finance prior to execution of any agreement or lease.

(2) The Department of General Services shall notify the chairperson of the committee in each house that considers appropriations and the Chairperson of the Joint Legislative Budget Committee, or his or her designee, in writing of the director’s intention to enter into a lease or an agreement, not sooner than a lesser time that the Chairperson of the Joint Legislative Budget Committee, or his or her designee, may in each instance determine. If any of the three committees fail to take an action with respect to the submittal within 45 days after the submittal, this inaction shall be deemed to be approval for purposes of this section.

(Added by Stats. 2008, Ch. 513, Sec. 2. Effective January 1, 2009.)