Senate institutions committee reviews bill to identify underused state property for housing, names conference members

On Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2026, the Senate Institutions committee reviewed a bill introduced in committee as H 55 that would direct state agencies to identify underutilized state-owned buildings and land as part of the BGS inventory and to send screened parcels to the Department of Housing and Community Development for potential housing conversion. Committee members also discussed forming a committee of conference to negotiate outstanding differences between the House and Senate versions.

The bill as discussed attaches to the existing BGS inventory process (section 165 of Title 29). John Ray of the Legislative Council said the Senate proposal and the House proposal differ in several concrete ways: the Senate would include state-leased buildings in the inventory and retain a biannual reporting cadence, while the House limits the inventory to state-owned buildings and land and prefers annual reporting. "A committee of conference is generally limited to differences between proposals from the House and the Senate," Ray said, explaining the procedural framework for resolving those disputes.

A notable policy difference concerns the standard agencies must use when reporting. The Senate language would ask agency heads whether a building or parcel is unnecessary for the agency's statutory purpose; the House language is broader, asking whether a property is unnecessary for 'state purposes.' Ray noted that the narrower "statutory purpose" test is easier for agency heads to apply because not every agency has a clearly worded statutory mission that maps to practical operations.

The House's version also adds a time-limited session-law provision through calendar year 2030 that would require agencies, as part of their regular BGS inventory, to identify parcels that meet DHCD's screening criteria and to forward those lists to DHCD. DHCD would then "provide to the committees of jurisdiction the inventory of properties identified pursuant" to that screening and supply a separate list of those properties the commissioner determines "may be suitable for housing development," together with an explanation of the commissioner's reasoning. The committee discussed the schedule: the inventories would be submitted during the legislative biennium, with the final report due Jan. 15, 2031.

Committee members and staff reviewed the screening benchmark developed in response to a prior executive order: parcels half an acre or larger, not subject to conservation easement, served or potentially serviceable by municipal water or wastewater (or capable of supporting on-site septic), and located within roughly a quarter mile of an existing access point. Ray emphasized this is a narrowing exercise: the screening produces a candidate pool but does not itself determine development feasibility.

A member with civil engineering experience pushed back on whether screening data alone would show whether a site is developable. "That doesn't tell me that that piece of land is suitable for development," the member said, noting soils, site grading, access, and other engineering factors still need evaluation. Ray and others responded that DHCD — and specifically the commissioner — would exercise discretion in selecting from screened parcels and provide written explanations for selections, but they acknowledged that additional technical study would be required before any site could be developed.

On procedure, committee members confirmed a committee of conference has been requested; the committee reported that three members from this body have been appointed and would determine who goes first on outreach and scheduling. Members asked staff to invite the Department of Administrative and General Services (BGS) and the Department of Transportation to a future meeting to clarify disposal authorities and operational details. The meeting adjourned after those planning steps were set.

Next steps: the committee will schedule the committee-of-conference meeting, ask BGS and Transportation to present on authorities and constraints, and expect DHCD to provide its screening and the commissioner's assessments to the committees in the coming reports through 2030.