FASTA Reform Act of 2023

To amend the Federal Assets Sale and Transfer Act of 2016 to improve such Act, and for other purposes. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the FASTA Reform Act of 2023 2. Amendments to the Federal Assets Sale and Transfer Act of 2016 (a) In general The Federal Assets Sale and Transfer Act of 2016 ( 40 U.S.C. 1303 (1) in section 2— (A) in paragraph (9) by striking and (B) in paragraph (10) by striking the period at the end and inserting ; and (C) by adding at the end the following: (11) implementing innovative methods for the sale, redevelopment, consolidation, or lease of Federal buildings and facilities, including the use of no cost, nonappropriated contracts for expert real estate services to obtain the highest and best value for the taxpayer. ; (2) in section 3(5)(B)(viii) by inserting , other than office buildings and warehouses, Properties (3) in section 5(b) by striking Five Board members Four Board members (4) in section 7 by adding at the end the following: (c) Return to civil service An Executive Director selected from the civil service (as such term is defined in section 2101 of title 5, United States Code) shall be entitled to return to the civil service after service to the Board ends if the Executive Director’s service to the Board ends for reasons other than misconduct, neglect of duty, or malfeasance. ; (5) in section 8— (A) in subsection (b)— (i) by striking and the Director of OMB (ii) by inserting for a period of not less than 1 year to assist the Board (B) by redesignating subsection (c) as subsection (d); and (C) by inserting after subsection (b) the following: (c) Hiring of term employees The Executive Director, with approval of the Board, may utilize the Office of Personnel Management to hire employees for terms not to exceed 2 years pursuant to the Office of Personnel Management guidance for nonstatus appointments in the competitive service. ; (6) in section 10 by striking 6 years after the date on which the Board members are appointed pursuant to section 4 on December 31, 2026 (7) in section 11(a)— (A) in the matter preceding paragraph (1) by striking the Administrator and the Director of OMB the Administrator, the Director of OMB, and the Board (B) in paragraph (1)— (i) by striking and square footage (ii) by inserting , amount of acreage associated with the property, and whether the property is on a campus or larger facility (C) by adding at the end the following: (3) Consolidation plans Any agency plans to consolidate, reconfigure, or otherwise reduce the use of owned and leased property. ; (8) in section 12— (A) in subsection (b)(2) by striking the second sentence and inserting In the case of a failure by an agency to comply with a request of the Board, the Board shall notify the committees listed in section 5(c), the relevant congressional committees of jurisdiction for the agency, and the inspector general of the agency of such failure. (B) by redesignating subsections (d) through (i) as subsections (e) through (j), respectively; (C) by inserting after subsection (c) the following: (d) Preparation of properties for disposal At the request of, and in coordination with, the Board, a Federal agency may undertake any analyses and due diligence as necessary to prepare a property for disposition so that the property may be included in the recommendations of the Board under subsection (h), including completion of the requirements of section 306108 of title 54, United States Code, for historic preservation and identification of the likely highest and best use of the property subsequent to disposition. ; (D) in subsection (h) (as so redesignated)— (i) in paragraph (1)— (I) in subparagraph (A) by striking and (II) by redesignating subparagraph (B) as subparagraph (C); and (III) by inserting after subparagraph (A) the following: (B) the process to be followed by Federal agencies to carry out the actions described under subparagraph (A), including the use of no cost, nonappropriated contracts for expert real estate services and other innovative methods, to obtain the highest and best value for the taxpayer; and ; and (ii) in paragraph (2) by adding at the end the following: (C) Third round During the period beginning on the day after the transmittal of the second report and ending on the day before the termination of the Board under section 10, the Board may transmit to the Director of OMB a third report required under paragraph (1). ; and (E) by adding at the end the following: (k) Report to Congress The Board shall periodically submit to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Environment and Public Works of the Senate a report containing any recommendations on consolidations, exchanges, sales, lease reductions, and redevelopments that are not included in the transmissions submitted under subsection (h), or approved by the Director of OMB under section 13, but which the majority of the Board concludes meets the goals of this Act. ; (9) in section 13— (A) in subsection (a) by striking subsections (b) and (g) subsections (b) and (h) (B) in subsection (c)(4)— (i) by inserting , in whole or in part, received under paragraph (3) (ii) by striking revised (10) in section 20 by striking subsection (b) and inserting the following: (b) Effective date The provisions of this section, including the amendments made by this section, shall take effect on the date on which the Board transmits the second report under section 12(h)(2)(B) and shall apply to proceeds from— (1) transactions contained in such report; and (2) any transactions conducted after the termination of the Board pursuant to section 10. ; (11) in section 21(b) by adding at the end the following: (9) Whether the Federal real property is on a campus or similar facility and, if so, identification of such campus or facility and related details, including total acreage. ; and (12) by inserting after section 25 the following: 26. Access to Federal Real Property Council meetings and reports The Federal Real Property Council established under section 623 of title 40, United States Code, shall ensure that the Board has access to any meetings of the Council and any reports required under such section. . (b) Clerical amendment The table of contents in section 1(b) of such Act is amended by adding at the end the following: Sec. 26. Access to Federal Real Property Council meetings and reports. . March 7, 2024 Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union and ordered to be printed

Summary: FASTA Reform Act of 2023 This bill makes changes to the operation of the Public Buildings Reform Board, its role in making recommendations for the disposal of certain federal buildings and real estate, and other related procedures. Specifically, the bill (1) changes procedures and personnel policies used by the board, including by reducing its quorum from five to four; (2) extends the operation of the board through 2026; (3) allows federal agencies to undertake analyses and due diligence to prepare a property for disposition to be included in the real property recommendations of the board; and (4) requires property sale proceeds to be credited to agency accounts at an earlier point in the board's operation.