SECTIONS 15850-15866 - California Statutes

GOVERNMENT CODE

SECTION 15850-15866

15850. This part may be cited as the Property Acquisition Law.

15851. As used in this part, "board" means the State Public Works
Board.

15852. The State Public Works Board has all the duties, powers,
purposes, responsibilities, and jurisdiction of the Property
Acquisition Board and whenever by law a duty or jurisdiction is
imposed or authority conferred upon the Property Acquisition Board or
upon any of its officers or employees such duty, jurisdiction, and
authority are vested in the State Public Works Board with the same
force and effect as if the title of the State Public Works Board had
been specifically set forth therein.

15853. (a) The board may select and acquire, in the name of and on
behalf of the state, with the consent of the state agency concerned,
the fee or any lesser right or interest in any real property
necessary for any state purpose or function.
(b) If moneys are appropriated by the Budget Act for any fiscal
year or by any other act for the acquisition of land or other real
property, either (1) subject to this part or (2) for any state agency
for whom property is acquired by the board, the moneys and
acquisitions are subject to this part and the moneys shall be
expended in accordance with this part, notwithstanding any other
provisions of law.
(c) Notwithstanding any other provisions of law, all land and
other real property to be acquired by or for any state agency, other
than the Department of Transportation, the Department of Water
Resources, the State Reclamation Board, the Department of Fish and
Game, the Wildlife Conservation Board, the Public Employees'
Retirement System, the State Teachers' Retirement System, the
Department of Housing and Community Development, the State Lands
Commission, except for property to be acquired for the State Lands
Commission pursuant to an appropriation from the General Fund, and
the State Coastal Conservancy with respect to acceptance of offers to
dedicate public accessways made pursuant to Division 20 (commencing
with Section 30000) of the Public Resources Code, shall be acquired
by the State Public Works Board in accordance with this part.
(d) (1) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), the board shall acquire,
on behalf of and for the Department of Parks and Recreation, in
accordance with this part, any interests in real property, including
options to purchase, which have been appraised, selected, and settled
through purchase negotiations by the Department of Parks and
Recreation pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 5006 of the Public
Resources Code. Out of moneys appropriated for the acquisition of
options to purchase, no more than ten thousand dollars ($10,000) may
be expended for the acquisition of any single option unless otherwise
provided by the Legislature.
(2) Notwithstanding Section 15854, purchase negotiations for
interests in real property for the state park system pursuant to
subdivision (d) of Section 5006 of the Public Resources Code shall be
initiated within six months of the effective date of the act that
appropriates funds for the acquisition. Purchase negotiations on all
projects not proposed pursuant to subdivision (d) of Section 5006 of
the Public Resources Code shall be initiated within 12 months of the
effective date of the act appropriating funds for the acquisition.
Either title shall be conveyed or a written agreement to transfer
title shall be executed within the appropriate authorization period
unless the Department of Parks and Recreation formally abandons the
acquisition prior to the conclusion of the appropriate authorization
period. For the purposes of this section, in order for the Department
of Parks and Recreation to "formally abandon" an acquisition, it
shall transmit written notification to the board of its intent not to
proceed with the acquisition.
(3) The board, at any time during the periods specified in
paragraph (2), may commence condemnation proceedings if it finds it
to be appropriate. However, if, during the appropriate authorization
period, title is not conveyed or a written agreement to transfer
title is not signed, the acquisition has not been formally abandoned,
or condemnation proceedings have not been commenced, the Department
of Parks and Recreation shall notify, by letter, the chair of the
committee in each house of the Legislature that considers
appropriations, the Chair of the Joint Legislative Budget Committee,
and the Members of the Legislature within whose district any part of
the land or other real property is located of the status of the
acquisition. For the purpose of this paragraph, condemnation
proceedings shall be deemed to be commenced as of the date the board
authorizes acquisition by condemnation.
(4) The board may schedule special meetings as are necessary to
expedite the acquisition of options to purchase real property for the
state park system.
(e) The board may acquire furnishings that the owner thereof
agrees to sell and that are contained within improvements acquired by
the board. Cost of acquisition of furnishings shall be charged to
the appropriation available for acquisition of the real property.

15854. Property may be acquired pursuant to this part by
condemnation in the manner provided for in Title 7 (commencing with
Section 1230.010) of Part 3 of the Code of Civil Procedure.

15854.1. At the request of the owner of property acquired pursuant
to this part, the board may enter into an agreement with the owner
specifying the manner of payment of compensation to which the owner
is entitled as the result of the acquisition. The agreement may
provide that the compensation shall be paid by the board to the owner
over a period not to exceed 10 years from the date the owner's right
to compensation accrues. The agreement may also provide for the
payment of interest by the board; however, the rate of interest
agreed upon may not exceed the maximum rate authorized by Section
16731 or 53531 of the Government Code, as applicable, in connection
with the issuance of bonds.

15854.5. To promote the safety of students, comprehensive community
planning, and greater educational usefulness of state university
sites, the Trustees of the California State University, before the
board acquires title to property for any site, shall undertake the
following action:
Immediately after receiving notice of the proposed acquisition of
property which is within two miles, measured by air line, of that
point on an airport boundary which is nearest the site, the Trustees
of the California State University shall notify the Department of
Aeronautics, in writing, of the proposed acquisition. The Department
of Aeronautics shall make an investigation and report to the trustees
within 25 days after receipt of the notice. If the Department of
Aeronautics is no longer in operation, the trustees shall, in lieu of
notifying the commission, notify the Federal Aviation Agency or any
other appropriate agency, in writing, of the proposed acquisition for
the purpose of obtaining from the authority or other agency any
information or assistance it may desire to give.
The Trustees of the California State University shall investigate
the proposed site and within 30 days after receipt of the notice
shall submit to the board a written report and its recommendations
concerning acquisition of the site. The board shall not acquire title
to the property until the report of the trustees has been received.
If the report does not favor the acquisition of the property for a
state university site or an addition to a state university site, the
board shall not acquire title to the property until 30 days after the
trustees' report is received and until the trustees' report has been
read at a public hearing duly called after 10 days' notice published
once in a newspaper of general circulation within the county in
which the property is located.

15855. (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, except as
provided in subdivision (b), the State Public Works Board is the only
state agency that may exercise the power of eminent domain to
acquire property needed by any state agency for any state purpose or
function.
(b) Subdivision (a) does not affect or limit the right of the
Department of Transportation, Department of Water Resources, State
Lands Commission, State Reclamation Board, Hastings College of the
Law, or the Regents of the University of California to exercise the
power of eminent domain. Subdivision (a) does not affect or limit the
exercise of the power of eminent domain by the Department of Fish
and Game pursuant to Section 1348 of the Fish and Game Code.

15857. The board may agree with the owner of part or all of the
property to be condemned as to the compensation to be paid, and may
incorporate such agreement in a stipulation to be filed in the
condemnation proceeding.

15860. (a) Any appropriation for the acquisition of real property
pursuant to this part may be expended for the payment of all costs
and expenses, including the cost of investigation and surveys, the
fees and expenses of appraisers and expert witnesses, and the cost of
title searches necessarily incurred in the examination, and the
determination of the suitability of any real property to be acquired
or under consideration for acquisition, or necessarily incurred in
the course of acquisition of any such real property. Claims for costs
and expenses shall be presented by the Director of General Services
and shall be paid by the Controller.
(b) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), claims for those costs and
expenses related to real property acquisitions by the Department of
Parks and Recreation, shall be presented by the Director of Parks and
Recreation, and shall be paid by the Controller.

15861. Whenever it appears to the satisfaction of the board that
any part of the campus of a state university acquired as a site for
student housing will, if used for such purpose, interfere with the
proper and orderly development of the campus, the board may authorize
the use of such site for any other purpose of the state university
upon the Trustees of the California State University designating some
other part of the campus as a site for the student housing affected.

15862. (a) Except as specified in subdivision (b), all real
property or interest in real property acquired by the state or the
Judicial Council pursuant to the Trial Court Facilities Act of 2002
(Chapter 5.7 (commencing with Section 70301) of Title 8), or pursuant
to Sections 69202 to 69206, inclusive, shall be under the
jurisdiction of the Judicial Council immediately upon transfer of the
title to the state.
(b) When real property is acquired by the state pursuant to this
part, jurisdiction over the property shall remain in the Department
of General Services until the property is needed for the purpose for
which it was acquired. The Director of General Services may transfer
jurisdiction of the property to the agency for whose use it was
acquired before it is needed for the purpose for which acquired if in
his opinion the transfer is in the best interests of the state. The
department may lease all or any portion of the property which is not
presently needed on terms and conditions as the director may fix and
may maintain, improve, and care for the property in order to secure
rent therefrom. The department may remove or demolish buildings or
other structures on the property when it is desirable to do so. It
may sell or dispose of the improvements or any materials available
upon the demolishing of any building or structure on the property.

15862.5. Notwithstanding Section 15862, all real property or
interest in real property acquired by the Department of Parks and
Recreation pursuant to subdivision (d) of Section 15853 of the
Government Code and Section 5006 of the Public Resources Code shall
be under the jurisdiction of the Department of Parks and Recreation,
immediately upon transfer of the title to the state. The Department
of Parks and Recreation shall attempt to make the real property
accessible and usable by the general public at the earliest possible
time.

15863. (a) The net proceeds of any sale made pursuant to Section
15862 shall be deposited in the Deficit Recovery Bond Retirement
Sinking Fund Subaccount established pursuant to subdivision (f) of
Section 20 of Article XVI of the California Constitution, until the
time that the bonds issued pursuant to the Economic Recovery Bond Act
(Title 18 (commencing with Section 99050)), approved by the voters
at the March 2, 2004, statewide primary election, are retired. At
that time, the net proceeds, as defined in subdivision (g) of Section
11011, received pursuant to this section shall be deposited in the
Special Fund for Economic Uncertainties.
(b) All rents received by the Department of General Services
pursuant to Section 15862 shall be deposited in the Property
Acquisition Law Money Account and shall be available for expenditure
by the Department of General Services upon appropriation.

15864. (a) On behalf of the board, the Director of General Services
shall file against any appropriation made for expenditure under this
part all claims covering expenditures incurred in acquiring real
property pursuant to the act by which the appropriation is made, and
the Controller shall draw a warrant therefor.
(b) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), the Director of Parks and
Recreation, on behalf of the board, shall file against any
appropriation for expenditure under this part all claims covering
expenditures incurred by the Department of Parks and Recreation in
the acquisition of real property for the state park system pursuant
to the act by which the appropriation is made, and the Controller
shall draw a warrant therefor.

15865. Whenever the board finds that any portion of the funds in
any appropriation for the acquisition of real property under this
part is unneeded for the acquisition of the site for which the
appropriation was made, the Director of Finance may, upon the
recommendation of the board, authorize the transfer of the unneeded
funds to any other appropriation for the acquisition of real property
made for expenditure under this part and in augmentation of the
other appropriation. However, no part of any appropriation made for
expenditure pursuant to this part for the acquisition of a site for
the use of an institution, college, school, or other agency within a
state department shall be transferred to an appropriation for the
acquisition of a site for the use of an institution, college, school,
or other agency within another state department. For the purposes of
this section appropriations for sites for state office buildings,
state garages, state warehouses, and official residences are for the
use of the Department of General Services.

15866. Without at the time furnishing vouchers and itemized
statements, the board may withdraw from any appropriation made for
expenditure under this part a sum that may be approved by the
Director of Finance for use as a revolving fund where payment of
compensation or cash advances are necessary.