Public Buildings Reform Act of 2012

Bill: 112-hr-6430
Sponsor: Rep. Mica, John L. [R-FL-7]
Introduced: 2012-09-19 in the House
Policy area: Government Operations and Politics
Subjects: Accounting and auditing
Budget process
Building construction
Congressional oversight
Executive agency funding and structure
General Services Administration
Government buildings, facilities, and property
Government employee pay, benefits, personnel management
Government ethics and transparency, public corruption
Government information and archives
Public contracts and procurement
Real estate business
Transportation costs
Travel and tourism

Summary:
action_date: 2012-09-19
text: 
Public Buildings Reform Act of 2012 - Sets forth new requirements for the purchase or lease of federal office space, for limiting rental costs for such space, and for suspending the construction of new courthouses after November 1, 2012. Requires that the acquisition of new federal office space through lease or purchase be offset by the elimination of at least a corresponding amount of space, and that such space be reduced by a minimum of 1 million square feet in each calendar year through 2016.
 
Requires the Administrator of the General Services Administration (GSA) to: (1) use commercial real estate management services to reduce the cost of federal office space, and (2) reduce the total number of full time employees of the Public Buildings Service (PBS) to 6,000 by FY2015.
 
Suspends until October 1, 2014, the authority to use funds in the Federal Buildings Fund for bonuses, performance awards, or similar expenditures for members of the Senior Executive Service (SES). 
 
Requires the Administrator to notify specified congressional committees before entering into any contract related to a conference and to report on expenditures for such conference.
 
Prohibits PBS, through FY2015, from hiring more than 50 individuals for an intern program, recent graduate program, Presidential Management Fellow program, or similar program. Requires the Inspector General of GSA to review PBS internship programs and report on the costs and benefits of such programs.
 
Requires GSA to submit a detailed budget for PBS, including a breakdown of salaries, bonuses, travel and transportation, training, and conferences.
 
Prohibits the Administrator from constructing, repairing, altering, or acquiring by lease, purchase, or otherwise a public building or space unless specifically authorized to do so by Congress. 
 
Requires the Administrator to report to Congress on: (1) utilization rates of owned and leased public buildings, (2) vacant public buildings, and (3) any increase or decrease of 5% or more in the cost of public projects. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2012-09-20
text: Forwarded by Subcommittee to Full Committee (Amended) by Voice Vote .
action_date: 2012-09-20
text: Subcommittee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held.
action_date: 2012-09-20
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings and Emergency Management.
action_date: 2012-09-19
text: Referred to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.
action_date: 2012-09-19
text: Introduced in House
action_date: 2012-09-19
text: Introduced in House