Topic: Public Lands — General
Subject: Government operations and politics
Date: 2011-05-04 00:00:00

Civilian Property Realignment Act or CPRA - (Sec. 2) States as the purposes of this Act to: (1) consolidate the footprint of federal buildings and facilities; (2) maximize the utilization rate for such buildings and facilities; (3) reduce the reliance on leased space; (4) sell or redevelop high value assets that are underutilized to obtain the highest and best value and to maximize the return to the taxpayer; (5) reduce the operating and maintenance costs of federal civilian real properties; (6) reduce redundancy, overlap, and costs associated with field offices; (7) create incentives for federal agencies to achieve greater efficiency in their inventories of civilian real property; (8) facilitate and expedite the sale or disposal of unneeded civilian properties; and (9) assist federal agencies in achieving sustainability goals. (Sec. 3) Defines "federal civilian real property and civilian real property" as federal real property assets, including public buildings, occupied and improved grounds, leased space, or other physical structures under the custody and control of any federal agency, except for: (1) a base, camp, post, or other facility under the jurisdiction of the Department of Defense (DOD); (2) properties excluded for national security reasons; (3) properties in the public domain, certain naval vessels, and government records; (4) Indian and Native Alaskan properties; (5) properties operated and maintained by the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA); (6) postal properties; (7) properties used for federal agricultural, recreational, and conservation purposes; (8) properties used in connection with river, harbor, flood control, reclamation, or power projects; and (9) properties located outside the United States operated or maintained by the Department of State or the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). (Sec. 4) Establishes the Civilian Property Realignment Commission as an independent commission for the purpose of identifying opportunities for the federal government to reduce significantly its inventory of civilian real property and reduce costs to the government. Terminates the Commission six years after the enactment of this Act. (Sec. 11) Requires federal agency heads, not later than 120 days after the enactment of this Act and 120 days after the beginning of each fiscal year, to submit to the Administrator of the General Services Administration (GSA) and the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB): (1) current data on all federal civilian real properties owned, leased or controlled by federal agencies, including the age and condition of such properties, operating costs, history of capital expenditures, sustainability metrics, and square footage; and (2) recommendations for the sale for proceeds or disposal of federal civilian properties and for achieving operational efficiencies for such properties. Requires the Director, in consultation with the Administrator, to: (1) review agency recommendations and develop consistent standards and criteria for such review, and (2) develop recommendations to the Commission based upon such standards and criteria. (Sec. 12) Sets forth the duties of the Commission, including: (1) identifying opportunities to reduce significantly the inventory of civilian real property and reduce costs to the government, (2) identifying not less than 5 federal properties not on the list of surplus or excess buildings with a total fair market value of not less than $500 million, (3) performing an independent analysis of the inventory of federal civilian real property and of recommendations for the sale of such properties, and (4) identifying or developing and implementing an accounting system for evaluating recommendations for sales of civilian real property. Requires the Comptroller General (GAO) to report on Commission recommendations and its selection process. (Sec. 13) Requires the President to review the Commission's recommendations and report on his or her approval or disapproval of them. Requires the Commission to revise its recommendations if disapproved by the President. (Sec. 14) Sets forth procedures for congressional consideration of Commission recommendations approved by the President. (Sec. 15) Requires federal agencies to: (1) immediately begin preparation to carry out the Commission's recommendations after the congressional review process, (2) initiate all activities for implementation not later than two years after the President transmits the approved recommendations to Congress, and (3) complete implementation within six years unless extenuating circumstances prevent timely completion. (Sec. 16) Authorizes appropriations and establishes accounts for the salaries and expenses of the Commission and for implementing the Commission's recommendations. (Sec. 18) Exempts provisions of this Act relating to the development of recommendations by the Commission from the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969. Limits the period for bringing a civil action under such Act for judicial review of implementation activities under this Act. (Sec. 19) Requires congressional review of proposed projects for the construction, alteration, or acquisition of federal buildings for: (1) compliance with criteria established by this Act relating to the economic feasibility of maintaining underutilized federal buildings, and (2) the use of life-cycle cost analysis to achieve long-term savings. (Sec. 20) Limits the authority of executive agencies to lease space for the purposes of a public building. Requires the Administrator of GSA to comply with requirements of the Small Business Act when using commercial leasing services. (Sec. 21) Requires GAO to annually monitor, review, and report on implementation activities under this Act. (Sec. 22) Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) the Commission should assist small, minority, and women-owned businesses in obtaining contracts to redevelop federal property; (2) the Commission and other federal officials should conduct a public information campaign to advise small, minority, and women-owned businesses regarding such contracts; and (3) firms that are awarded such contracts should, to the maximum extent practicable, seek to award subcontracts to small, minority, and women-owned businesses. (Sec. 23) Requires the Administrator to ensure that the life-cycle cost of a public building is considered in the construction or lease of a public building that: (1) is constructed or leased after the enactment of this Act; (2) has estimated construction costs exceeding $1 million; (3) if leased, has square footage of more than 25,000 square feet; and (4) has more than 50% of its estimated construction or lease costs federally-funded. Defines "life-cycle cost" as the sum of investment, capital, installation, energy, operating, maintenance, and replacement costs.