USE IT Act of 2023

To direct the Administrator of General Services and the Director of the Office of Management and Budget to identify the utilization rate of certain public buildings and federally-leased space, and for other purposes. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Utilizing Space Efficiently and Improving Technologies Act of 2023 USE IT Act of 2023 2. Definitions (a) In general In this Act: (1) Actual utilization rate The term actual utilization rate (2) Administrator The term Administrator (3) Building utilization The term building utilization (4) Capacity The term capacity (5) Director The term Director (6) Federal agency The term Federal agency Public Law 101–576 (7) Occupancy The term occupancy 3. Identification and deployment of building usage technology (a) In general Not later than 60 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator, in coordination with the Director, shall establish standard methodologies and identify technologies available for measuring occupancy in public buildings and federally-leased space. (b) Measurement of utilization Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the heads of Federal agencies shall work with the Administrator to identify, deploy, and use sensors and other technologies in public buildings and federally-leased space, where the Federal agency occupies space to measure the occupancy of public buildings and leased space. 4. Reporting on usage of real property Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the heads of Federal agencies shall submit to the Director, the Administrator, the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives, the Committee on Environment and Public Works of the Senate, and the Committees on Appropriations of the House of Representatives and the Senate a report on— (1) the occupancy and the actual utilization rates of space in public buildings and federally-leased space occupied by the respective agency of the Federal agency head broken down by building and lease; (2) the methodology used for determining occupancy, including the period of time and other parameters used to determine occupancy on a regular basis; (3) the utilization percentage of each public building and federally-leased space by the respective agency of the Federal agency head, comparing the capacity to the actual utilization rate based on a utilization benchmark of 150 usable square feet per person; and (4) any costs associated with capacity that exceeds occupancy with respect to the respective agency of the Federal agency head. 5. Reducing unneeded space (a) Target utilization metrics Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the Director, in consultation with the Administrator, shall ensure building utilization in each public building and federally-leased space is not less than 60 percent on average over each 1-year period. (b) Actions In the event that building utilization is below 60 percent on average over a 1-year period described in subsection (a) for any particular public building or federally-leased space, the Administrator shall— (1) provide notice to the tenant agency informing such agency of the excess in capacity along with associated costs of such excess; and (2) notify the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives, the Committee on Environment and Public Works of the Senate, and the Committees on Appropriations of the House of Representatives and the Senate of such excess capacity and associated costs. (c) Subsequent failure If the tenant agency fails to meet the 60 percent target under subsection (a) in the reporting period subsequent to the reporting period under subsection (b), the Administrator shall, in consultation with the Director, take steps to reduce the space of the tenant agency, including consolidating the tenant agency with another agency, selling or disposing of excess capacity space, and adjusting space requirements, as appropriate, for any replacement space. (d) Prioritization The Administrator, in coordination with the Director, shall prioritize to the maximum extent practicable capital investments in public buildings where Federal agencies meet or exceed building utilization metrics, except that prioritization may be given to projects that will result in building utilization of 60 percent or more. (e) Exceptions (1) In general The Director may provide exceptions to building utilization metrics based on the amount of non-standard office space a Federal agency demonstrates is required to meet the mission of the agency, including warehouse space, laboratories critical to the mission of the agency, and public customer-facing spaces driven by agency missions. (2) Reporting The Administrator shall submit to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives, the Committee on Environment and Public Works of the Senate, and the Committees on Appropriations of the House of Representatives and the Senate a report on any exceptions granted, including the justification for such exception. 6. Headquarters buildings (a) Headquarters consolidations Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Director, in consultation with the Administrator, shall submit to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives, the Committee on Environment and Public Works of the Senate, and the Comptroller General of the United States a plan to consolidate department and agency headquarters buildings in the National Capital Region that will result in building utilizations of 60 percent or greater. (b) Contents The plan submitted under subsection (a) shall include details on the following: (1) Which departments and agencies will collocate and consolidate and into which buildings and associated details before and after plan implementation related to building utilization, building capacities, and actual utilization. (2) Details on the strategies for the sale or disposal of buildings that will no longer be needed for Federal use. (3) A detailed breakdown of any costs associated with the proposed consolidations and collocations. (4) An estimate of future savings as a result of space reductions and consolidations, including costs associated with energy savings and building operations. (c) Implementation Not later than 1 year after the submission of the plan under subsection (a), the Administrator and Director shall begin implementing such plan. Amend the title so as to read: A bill to authorize the Administrator of General Services and the Director of the Office of Management and Budget to identify the utilization rate of certain public buildings and federally- leased space, and for other purposes. February 13, 2024 Reported with amendments, committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed

Summary: Utilizing Space Efficiently and Improving Technologies Act of 2023 or USE IT Act of 2023 This bill requires the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the General Services Administration (GSA) to establish standard methodologies and identify technologies to measure federal building utilization and to use both to evaluate and consolidate public buildings and federally leased space. Federal agencies must (1) work with GSA to use sensors and other technologies in public buildings to measure occupancy, and (2) report on actual space utilization. OMB and GSA must annually ensure building utilization averages at least 60% in each public building and federally leased space over each 1-year period. The bill also requires OMB and GSA to submit a plan to Congress and the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to consolidate federal agency headquarters buildings in the National Capital region so that building utilization exceeds 60%. Occupancy agreements between federal tenants and the GSA shall stipulate annual reporting to GSA on space utilization and occupancy. Federal tenants must return office space to GSA if the occupancy of the tenant falls below a 60% space utilization rate for six months within any 1-year period. Agencies with independent leasing authorities must report space utilization and occupancy annually to Congress. The GAO shall report on agency costs and occupancy rates for public or federally leased buildings. Agencies must report certain buildings with utilization rates below 20% to the agency's inspector general for investigation.