Committee advances bill to raise state thresholds for disposing surplus property

The Senate Rules Committee advanced Senate Bill 274, which raises statutory dollar thresholds that trigger state oversight when public bodies dispose of tangible personal property or transfer real property.

The sponsor told the committee the current thresholds have not been updated in decades. "The threshold for disposing tangible personal property has not changed since 1987 and it's $5,000," the sponsor said, noting the bill would raise that threshold to $30,000. The bill also raises the real-property threshold from $25,000 to $150,000 and increases the threshold for state-agency sales or leases that require legislative review from $100,000 (dating from the 1960s) to $550,000.

Ashley Leach, director of the Board of Finance, explained the increases were calculated using inflation adjustments (CPI) plus an additional factor to reflect market valuations. Janelle Mason, who drafted the bill, was present to answer technical questions about statutory language and the committee's drafting cleanup.

Members asked about exemptions and parity between counties and municipalities. Senator Brantley noted water conservation districts and municipalities can face transactional burdens; the sponsor and staff said they would investigate why some entities (for example, the State Land Office and the State Transportation Commission) are treated differently under existing statute and report back.

There were no public proponents or opponents who requested to speak. The committee voted without objection to pass the bill out of committee; the chair recorded "with 7 in favor" and the bill was forwarded for further consideration.

If enacted, the bill would allow many local public bodies and agencies more flexibility to dispose of obsolete equipment or real property without requiring Board of Finance or legislative approvals at the old dollar thresholds.