§127.2. Utilization of office space in state owned buildings

A. The Legislature of Louisiana hereby finds and declares that the maximum utilization of state owned or leased buildings is a necessary cost efficiency and, accordingly, further declares that it is incumbent upon and the responsibility of all state agencies to actively conserve, identify, and seek available office space in state owned or leased buildings.

B.(1) Each agency shall submit to the division of administration by July first of each year and update by January first of each year, the identity of any and all office space in state owned or leased buildings by location and square footage and the identity of any unoccupied or underutilized office space in state owned or leased buildings by location and square footage.

(2) The division of administration shall compile the names of any agencies that fail to submit the information required by Paragraph (1) of this Subsection and submit the names of the agencies to the Joint Legislative Committee on the Budget for consideration at its next meeting.

(3) The division of administration shall prepare an annual report, to be submitted to the Joint Legislative Committee on the Budget on or before March first of each year, regarding the amount of office space in state owned or leased buildings, the amount of unoccupied or underutilized office space in state owned or leased buildings, and the amount of leased office space in buildings that are not considered state owned or leased. The annual report shall also include a compilation of the notices to the agencies and the agencies' responses required by Paragraph (D)(2) of this Section.

C. The division of administration, as part of its duty to allocate space in accordance with R.S. 39:127, shall:

(1) Maintain a list, updated semi-annually, of all office space in state owned or leased buildings by location and square footage.

(2) Identify all available office space that the division of administration determines is suitable for the needs of an agency with leased space, and within thirty days after the semi-annual update of the list required in this Section, send a notice to the head of the agency of the available space.

D.(1) Within ninety days of the notification provided for in this Section, the agency head shall respond to the notice with a transitional plan for moving into the available space or a detailed indication of why the space is not suitable for use by the agency.

(2) If the agency does not submit a transitional plan for moving into the space identified or does not move in the time indicated in the plan, the notice to the agency and the agency's response required by this Section shall be submitted to the Joint Legislative Committee on the Budget for consideration at its next meeting. The notices to the agencies and the agencies' responses shall be compiled and included in the report by the division of administration to the Joint Legislative Committee on the Budget required by Paragraph (B)(3) of this Section.

E. Neither the fact that an agency is headed by an elected or an appointed officer nor the fact that an agency derives its operating funds from direct legislative appropriations, dedication or other allocation or sources of revenues, fees or charges or assessments, or from any other specified source of funds available to the state or for use by the state shall be a factor in determining the agencies or buildings to which this Section shall apply.

F. The division of administration shall comply with federal laws and regulations and with state-federal agreements with respect to the housing of any agency, or its personnel, operations, equipment, or activities, which receives or administers any federal funds.

G. For purposes of this Section:

(1) "Agency" means a department, office, division, or agency of a state governmental entity, except those provided in R.S. 39:127(C) and (D).

(2) "Agency head" or "head of agency" means the chief executive or administrative officer of an agency who exercises supervision over the agency.

(3) "Lease" means any agreement, including but not limited to cooperative endeavor agreements, professional services contracts, and consulting services contracts which gives rise to relationships of landlord and tenant or lessor and lessee.

(4) "Office space" means space suitable to house an agency, its personnel, operations, equipment, or activities but does not include the space governed by the provisions of R.S. 49:150.1.

(5) "State owned or leased building" means a public building, or a portion of a building, belonging to or under the control of the state of Louisiana and designed to house personnel, equipment, storage, or services of the various agencies of the state.

Acts 2016, No. 66, §1.