Title: Performance-Based Public Buildings Act of 2021
Policy area: Government Operations and Politics

Summary:
Performance-Based Public Buildings Act of 2021
This bill directs the General Services Administration to carry out a pilot program to enter into public-private partnerships to carry out projects to acquire space for public building purposes.
The Government Accountability Office shall conduct a review of all such projects and submit a report to Congress that includes (1) a review and evaluation of the public-private partnerships executed and a comparison of such agreements to similar projects completed as government construction, and (2) recommendations on the use of public-private partnerships as options for meeting the space needs of the federal government.

[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1940 Introduced in House (IH)]

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117th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1940

   To establish a public buildings public-private partnership pilot 
                    program, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 16, 2021

    Mr. Pence (for himself, Mr. Webster of Florida, and Mr. Guest) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
                   Transportation and Infrastructure

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To establish a public buildings public-private partnership pilot 
                    program, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Performance-Based Public Buildings 
Act of 2021''.

SEC. 2. PUBLIC BUILDINGS PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP PILOT PROGRAM.

    (a) In General.--Chapter 33 of title 40, United States Code, is 
amended by adding at the end the following:
``Sec. 3319. Public buildings public-private partnership pilot program
    ``(a) Establishment.--The Administrator shall carry out a pilot 
program to enter into public-private partnerships to acquire public 
buildings pursuant to the requirements of this section.
    ``(b) Identification of Projects.--Not later than 1 year after the 
date of enactment of this section, the Administrator shall identify not 
less than 5 and not more than 10 projects for acquiring space for the 
purposes of public buildings using public-private partnerships.
    ``(c) Submission of Plan and Prospectuses.--Not later than 2 years 
after the date of enactment of this section, the Administrator shall 
submit to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the 
House of Representatives and the Committee on Environment and Public 
Works of the Senate--
            ``(1) prospectuses, in accordance with section 3307 of 
        title 40, United States Code, for each project identified under 
        subsection (b); and
            ``(2) an execution and management plan detailing how each 
        project will be managed, project team timelines for each 
        project, and, notwithstanding subsection (d), recommendations 
        on commencement dates based on ensuring proper staffing, 
        resources, and management.
    ``(d) Commencement.--Subject to the availability of appropriations, 
a project submitted under subsection (c) that is authorized pursuant to 
section 3307 shall commence not later than 1 year after the date on 
which such authorization occurs, unless otherwise indicated in the 
respective committee resolution authorizing the project.
    ``(e) Experts and Consultants.--
            ``(1) GSA personnel.--In carrying out the pilot program the 
        Administrator shall identify and use General Services 
        Administration personnel with knowledge and experience in 
        complex real estate transactions.
            ``(2) Contracted services.--The Administrator shall, to the 
        extent practicable and subject to appropriations Acts, use 
        contracts, including nonappropriated contracts, for services 
        necessary to carry out this section.
    ``(f) Compliance With Budgetary Rules.--For budgetary scorekeeping 
purposes, a project carried out under this section shall be treated in 
a manner consistent with the requirements for scoring a leaseback from 
a public-private partnership under Appendix B of Circular A-11 of the 
Office of Management and Budget, as of the date of enactment of this 
section.
    ``(g) GAO Study.--Not later than 1 year after the occupancy of 
projects authorized under this section, the Comptroller General of the 
United States shall conduct a review of such projects and 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 that includes--
            ``(1) a review and evaluation of the public-private 
        partnerships executed under this section and a comparison of 
        such agreements to similar projects completed as Government 
        construction, including a comparison of timetables and costs; 
        and
            ``(2) any recommendations on the use of public-private 
        partnerships as options for meeting Federal Government space 
        needs.
    ``(h) Definitions.--In this section, the following definitions 
apply:
            ``(1) Administrator.--The term `Administrator' means the 
        Administrator of General Services.
            ``(2) Public building.--The term `public building' has the 
        meaning given the term in section 3301.
            ``(3) Performance-based management and operations 
        agreement.--The term `performance-based management and 
        operations agreement' means an agreement that--
                    ``(A) reflects an obligation by the non-Federal 
                entity to design, build, finance, deliver, operate and 
                maintain an asset;
                    ``(B) requires the non-Federal entity to provide 
                the General Services Administration a single point of 
                responsibility and obligation;
                    ``(C) stipulates all requirements of the General 
                Services Administration and contains the terms and 
                conditions for annual performance-based availability 
                payments in accordance with the non-Federal entity 
                meeting or exceeding those requirements;
                    ``(D) stipulates the terms and conditions for 
                reductions of any or all availability payments to the 
                non-Federal entity for any given period the asset is 
                unavailable to the Government or otherwise not 
                delivered, operated, or maintained in accordance with 
                the requirements included in the agreement; and
                    ``(E) stipulates the terms and conditions for 
                termination and includes no obligation on the part of 
                the Government to renew any successive leases that may 
                be included in such project.
            ``(4) Public-private partnership.--The term `public-private 
        partnership' means a real property agreement for the purposes 
        of providing office space for the Federal Government that meets 
        the following criteria:
                    ``(A) The agreement includes a ground-lease to a 
                non-Federal party with a subsequent lease back of the 
                improvements.
                    ``(B) The entity that is the lessor of the 
                leaseback of improvements is entirely non-Federal.
                    ``(C) The leaseback meets the criteria for an 
                operating lease under Appendix B of Circular A-11 of 
                the Office of Management and Budget, as of the date of 
                enactment of this section.
                    ``(D) The project shall, to the extent practicable, 
                be operated and maintained by the non-Federal entity 
                subject to a performance-based management and 
                operations agreement entered into between the entity 
                and the Administrator.''.
    (b) Technical and Conforming Amendment.--The table of sections at 
the beginning of chapter 33 of title 40, United States Code, is amended 
by adding at the end the following:

``3319. Public buildings public-private partnership pilot program.''.
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