§1644. Amendment of leases

A.(1) An existing lease for office or warehouse space may be renegotiated with the present lessor, but only after the division of administration has entered into a competitive negotiation process involving discussions with at least three, unless there are less than three, proposers who submit written proposals. Such proposals shall be solicited by advertising as in R.S. 39:1594(C).

(2) If it is determined by the commissioner of administration or his designee, after the evaluation of these proposals and discussions with the current lessor, that to renew the present lease would be in the best interest of the state, the renewal of an existing lease may be renegotiated or the commissioner may enter into a lease with one of these proposers if determined to be in the state's best interest. In making such a determination the commissioner, or his designee, shall take into consideration, over the duration of the lease, rental rates, the amount of funds necessary to relocate, any geographical considerations particular to that state program, the amount of disruption to state business that may be incurred in moving to a new location, and any other relevant factors presented.

B. Any lease for office or warehouse space for under five thousand square feet may be amended up to but not to exceed a maximum of four thousand nine hundred ninety-nine square feet.

C. Existing leases for office or warehouse space between a single state agency, a single lessor and affecting a single building or buildings immediately adjacent to each other which leases have different termination dates, may be renegotiated by the division of administration to perfect a single lease for the whole of the office or warehouse space utilized under the existing leases. The renegotiated lease shall not extend beyond the termination date of the latest existing lease, nor shall the price per square foot paid under the new lease result in a total payment in excess of the total of the combined payments under the preexisting leases.

D. In the event alterations or modifications of space currently under lease are required to meet changed operating requirements, a lease may be amended. Such lease amendment may, with approval of the division of administration, provide an adjustment in monthly lease payments not to exceed twenty-five percent of the original annual lease price per square foot, sufficient to reimburse the lessor for paying for the leasehold improvements; provided, however, that any adjustment in monthly lease payments shall also require the approval of the Joint Legislative Committee on the Budget and the continuance of an adjustment in excess of the current lease shall be further contingent on the appropriation of funds therefor in the following fiscal year.

E. A lease may be amended, with approval of the division of administration, to provide an adjustment in monthly lease payments not to exceed ten percent of the original annual lease price per square foot and not to exceed ten thousand dollars per year.

Acts 1988, No. 919, §1; Acts 2006, No. 4, §1, eff. April 26, 2006; Acts 2014, No. 864, §2, eff. Jan. 1, 2015.