13.488 Building commission; powers and duties.

(1) For the purpose of providing housing for state departments and agencies, including housing for state offices anywhere in the state and the completion of the state office building, and all buildings, improvements, facilities or equipment or other capital items required in connection therewith, for the acquisition of lands for future office building development, and to refinance indebtedness previously or hereafter created by a nonprofit-sharing corporation for the purpose of providing a state office building or buildings or additions or improvements thereto which are located on land owned by the state or by the nonprofit-sharing corporation, or for any one or more of said purposes, the building commission shall have the following powers and duties:

(a) Without limitation by reason of any other statutes except s. 13.48 (14) (am), the power to sell and to convey title in fee simple to a nonprofit-sharing corporation any land and any existing buildings thereon owned by the state for such consideration and upon such terms and conditions as in the judgment of the building commission are in the public interest.

(b) Except as provided in s. 13.48 (14) (am), the power to lease to a nonprofit-sharing corporation for terms not exceeding 50 years each any land and existing buildings thereon owned by the state upon such terms, conditions and rentals as in the judgment of the building commission are in the public interest.

(c) The power to lease or sublease from such nonprofit-sharing corporation, and to make available for public use, any lands or any such land and existing buildings conveyed or leased to such corporation under pars. (a) and (b), and any new buildings erected upon such land or upon any other land owned by such corporation, upon such terms, conditions and rentals, subject to available appropriations, as in the judgment of the building commission are in the public interest. With respect to any property conveyed to such corporation under par. (a), such lease from such corporation may be subject or subordinated to one or more mortgages of such property granted by such corporation.

(d) The duty to submit the plans and specifications for all such new buildings and all conveyances, leases and subleases made pursuant to this section to the department of administration and the governor for written approval before they are finally adopted, executed and delivered.

(e) The duty to apply all of the net revenues derived from the operation of any lands or such new buildings to the payment of rentals due and to become due under any lease or sublease of such new buildings made under par. (c).

(f) The power to pledge and assign all or any part of the revenues derived from the operation of any lands or such new buildings as security for the payment of rentals due and to become due under any lease or sublease of such new buildings made under par. (c).

(g) The power to covenant and agree in any lease or sublease of any lands or of such new buildings made under par. (c) to impose fees, rentals or other charges for the use and occupancy or other operation of such new buildings in an amount which together with other moneys of the building commission available for such purpose will produce net revenue sufficient to pay the rentals due and to become due under such lease or sublease.

(h) The power to apply all or any part of the revenues derived from the operation of any lands or existing buildings to the payment of rentals due and to become due under any lease or sublease made under par. (c).

(i) The power to pledge and assign all or any part of the revenues derived from the operation of any lands or existing buildings to the payment of rentals due and to become due under any lease or sublease made under par. (c).

(j) The power to covenant and agree in any lease or sublease made under par. (c) to impose fees, rentals or other charges for the use and occupancy or other operation of any lands or existing buildings in an amount calculated to produce net revenues sufficient to pay the rentals due and to become due under such lease or sublease.

(k) The power and duty, upon receipt of notice of any assignment by any such corporation of any lease or sublease made under par. (c), or of any of its rights under any such lease or sublease, to recognize and give effect to such assignment, and to pay to the assignee thereof rentals or other payments then due or which may become due under any such lease or sublease which has been so assigned by such corporation.

(L) The duty to prohibit the use of general fund supported borrowing for the construction of parking facilities for new or existing buildings, unless fees will be charged for parking privileges sufficient to recover the costs of maintenance necessary for the parking facilities. Nothing in this paragraph shall be deemed to require that all users of the parking facilities be charged a parking fee.

(m) The duty to determine and make payments to the United States required so as to avoid an adverse effect on any exclusion of interest from gross income for federal income tax purposes on public debt, revenue obligations, and operating notes issued pursuant to ch. 18, master lease obligations issued pursuant to s. 16.76, and appropriation obligations issued pursuant to s. 16.527 and to make any payments to advisors that assist in making the determination. If the proceeds of an obligation are utilized for an activity that is financed from program revenue, the building commission shall make the payments required under this paragraph from that revenue, to the extent it is available.

(2) The state shall be liable for accrued rentals and for any other default under any lease or sublease made under sub. (1) (c) and may be sued therefor on contract as in other contract actions pursuant to ch. 775, except that it shall not be necessary for the lessor under any such lease or sublease or any assignee of such lessor or any person or other legal entity proceeding on behalf of such lessor to file any claim with the legislature prior to the commencement of any such action.

(3) Nothing in this section empowers the building commission to incur any state debt.

(4) All laws, conflicting with this section are, insofar as they conflict with this section and no further, superseded by this section.

(5) Unless the context requires otherwise, in this section, “building," “new buildings," and “existing buildings" include all buildings, structures, improvements, facilities, equipment, or other capital items as the building commission determines to be necessary or desirable for the purpose of providing housing for state departments and agencies.

(6) If the building commission finds and declares that the housing available in any building leased or subleased from a nonprofit-sharing corporation under sub. (1) (c) is in excess of the current housing needs or requirements of the state departments and agencies occupying or availing themselves of the space in or capacity of such building, the building commission need not operate such building in a manner to provide revenue therefrom sufficient to pay the costs of operation and maintenance of such building and to provide for the rental payments due a nonprofit-sharing corporation.

(7) In proceeding with development of new facilities at state fair park in West Allis, the building commission shall employ the following procedures:

(a) The building commission, with advice from the state fair park board, shall examine and review detailed design requirements for all state-owned facilities involving a cost of more than $300,000 to be included in the development of state fair park.

(b) Final approval by the building commission for the construction of any facility specified in par. (a) at state fair park shall be contingent upon a finding by the building commission that the proposed project is consistent with the overall objectives of the state fair park and that actual lease commitments and the probability of future lease commitments are such that the building commission may reasonably determine that the facility will be completely self-amortizing, including principal and interest payments covering the life of any bond issue.

History: 1971 c. 125; 1977 c. 29 s. 1650m (4); 1979 c. 32 s. 92 (5); 1979 c. 221; 1981 c. 20; 1983 a. 36 s. 96 (3), (4); 1987 a. 399; 1989 a. 219; 1999 a. 197; 2011 a. 10; 2013 a. 20; 2015 a. 196; 2017 a. 237.