Public Buildings Act of 1981 - Title I: General Authorities - Gives the Administrator of General Services (GSA), acting through the Public Buildings Service, sole authority to acquire, design, construct, lease, manage, maintain, repair, renovate, and assign space in public buildings. Establishes in GSA a Public Buildings Service to be headed by a Commissioner of Public Buildings. Creates the position of Supervising Architect to supervise all design activities of the Public Buildings Service.
Permits the Administrator to delegate to an agency head any of the aforementioned authorities in regard to the public buildings needs of such agency. Requires the Administrator annually to report to Congress concerning activities undertaken to meet the public buildings needs of Federal agencies. Specifies lists to be included in such report. Requires the Administrator to maintain specified information in order to keep Congress fully informed.
Directs the Administrator to require, prior to executing any lease or other contract which would obligate funds in excess of $10,000 authorized pursuant to this Act, a certification from the owner of the space to be leased or the contractor. Requires such certification to include statements and declarations that such owner or contractor, or any of his officers or principal employees: (1) has no business or employment relationship or interest or holding which constitutes a conflict of interest; (2) has not offered or promised anything of value to a public official with the intent to influence any official act or to induce the official to perform any act in violation of his lawful duties; (3) has not been debarred or suspended from the award of public contracts; (4) has not had a public contract terminated for default; and (5) has not been convicted, within ten years prior to the date of the solicitation, of, or is not currently under indictment for or otherwise charged with, specified offenses.
Makes the Administrator responsible for the interpretation of all contracts entered into to carry out this Act. Authorizes the Administrator to conduct research and post-occupancy evaluation to determine and improve the effectiveness of existing and planned public buildings in providing accommodations for Federal agency offices.
Repeals the Public Buildings Act of 1959.
Title II: Locations for Federal Agency Offices - Requires the headquarters offices of each Federal agency to be located in the National Capital region. Requires regional, district, area, or local Federal agency offices to be centrally located or within easy transportation access of the populations they serve or other offices with which they must maintain frequent communication. Requires other Federal agency offices to be distributed throughout the country generally in proportion to the geographic distribution of the population.
Sets forth criteria to be used in locating, planning for, and consolidating the public buildings needs of Federal agencies.
Permits agency heads and the Director of the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts to appeal locations assigned by the Administrator. Specifies that nothing in this Act shall require the relocation of any office from its present location.
Title III: Design and Management of Public Buildings - States that public buildings shall be, except under specified circumstances, designed and constructed so as to approximate the costs, durability, and ratio of net usable space to gross space of commercial buildings that serve similar purposes. Sets forth requirements for the design and maintenance of public buildings, including quality of architecture, energy efficiency, conformity with existing buildings, furnishings, and parking facilities for motor vehicles and bicycles.
Declares that nothing in this Act shall affect the applicability of the Architectural Barriers Act of 1968 to any building or facility.
Amends such Act to expand the definition of "building" presently used in such Act to include acquired buildings.
Revises specified standards by which required accessibility to certain public buildings may be waived or modified by the agencies required to issue such standards.
Authorizes the Administrator, upon the request of local and State officials, to name a public building after, and establish a memorial therein in honor of, any person who has made notable contributions to government, science, industry, education, the arts, or other fields of human endeavor.
Title IV: Mixed Use and Adaptive Use in Public Buildings - Public Buildings Cooperative Use Act Amendments of 1981 - Amends the Public Buildings Cooperative Use Act of 1976 to direct the Administrator to design, construct, and lease out space for commercial, cultural, educational, and recreational activities. Sets forth conditions for space so leased.
Repeals provisions requiring the Administrator to: (1) identify existing buildings of historic, architectural, or cultural significance suitable for meeting Federal public buildings needs; and (2) notify Congress of the use or nonuse of such buildings.
Title V: Exhibitions and Works of Art - Federal Building Enhancement Act of 1981 - Directs the Administrator to: (1) acquire works of art by living American artists to be exhibited in Federal buildings; (2) develop exhibitions for Federal buildings that reflect the heritage or development of the United States; and (3) commission works of art by American artists for Federal buildings. Sets forth standards such works of art and exhibitions shall meet. Requires the Administrator to avoid the development of an official style in architecture or art. Authorizes the Administrator to use one-half of one percent of the sums available for the construction, repair, and acquisition of public buildings for such purposes.
Title VI: Architectural Services - Directs the Administrator to employ architects, designers, and urban planners to prepare, under the supervision of the Supervising Architect, plans for such public building projects as the Commissioner of Public Buildings may designate. Requires those architectural designs not prepared in accordance with the above to be procured in accordance with the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949 and requires a design competition between at least three qualified architectural firms, with regard to a substantial portion of public building construction and renovation projects each year. Directs the Administrator to make public the reasons for the selection made. Requires that firms participating in such competition receive no more than one-half of one percent of the expected project costs.
Title VII: Leasing - Directs the Administrator to compare, using specified considerations, the long-term costs and benefits of construction, acquisition, and leasing in order to accommodate the public building needs of the United States. Requires the Director of the Office of Management and Budget and the Administrator, within nine months of the date of enactment of this Act, to submit jointly to certain Congressional committees a report detailing methods to be used in formulating such long-term comparisons.
Declares that it is the sense of Congress that long-term economies would be effected by assuring that, within ten years of the date of enactment of this Act, no fewer than 60 percent of Government employees whose offices are provided under this Act shall have their principal offices in public buildings.
States that the percentages of Government employees provided offices in leased space and public building space shall be, to the extent possible, achieved uniformly throughout the United States. Prohibits the Administrator from contracting for the construction of any building other than one Government-owned except under specified circumstances. Prohibits leasing space for specified Federal functions, beginning in fiscal year 1983, unless necessary to meet immediate and urgent requirements.
Exempts buildings leased pursuant to this Act from provisions requiring money consideration and limiting the amount of rent. Prohibits rental rates from exceeding current commercial rates for space of nearest comparable quality.
Requires the Administrator to publicly solicit competitive bids to procure space by lease for the Government. Directs the Administrator to provide a copy of the lease agreement to the highest ranking official of each Federal agency in leased buildings.
Title VIII: Congressional Authorization - Directs the Administrator to submit annually to Congress a program of necessary projects and actions for the coming fiscal year.
Directs the Administrator: (1) to certify that public hearings have been held or the opportunity for same afforded for each major project in such report; and (2) to provide a final environmental impact statement for such projects.
Prohibits the obligation of any appropriation for a public building without Congressional authorization. Requires appropriations for the cost of completion of any public building before construction may commence. Prohibits, beginning in fiscal year 1983, a lease from being entered unless the authority to enter into contracts has first been granted for the maximum cost of such lease over its entire term.
Authorizes appropriations to the Public Buildings Service for fiscal year 1982 with specified amounts earmarked for: (1) the construction, acquisition, or renovation of public buildings in specified localities; (2) alteration of leased buildings and lease agreements; (3) planning and preliminary design of projects; (4) real property operations; (5) program direction; and (6) other obligations.
Reserves a portion of such funds for unanticipated changes and requires the submission of an explanatory statement on such changes to specified Congressional committees before such funds may be obligated. Authorizes the Administrator to increase expenditures or decrease the amount of space to be constructed, up to specified limits, if the project costs exceed the estimated maximum cost authorized. Directs the Administrator to report to specified Congressional committees. Requires Congressional approval of any other action.
Title IX: Miscellaneous - Makes this Act effective October 1, 1981.
Passed/agreed to in Senate: Passed Senate with amendments and an amendment to the Title by Yea-Nay Vote. 93-0. Record Vote No: 90.
Roll Call #90 (Senate)Passed Senate with amendments and an amendment to the Title by Yea-Nay Vote. 93-0. Record Vote No: 90.
Roll Call #90 (Senate)Referred to House Committee on Public Works and Transportation.
Favorable Executive Comment Received From OMB.
Referred to Subcommittee on Public Buildings and Grounds.
Executive Comment Requested from Archit and Transp Barriers Compliance Bd, Nat'l Endowment for the Arts.
Favorable Executive Comment Received From National Endowment for the Arts.
Executive Comment Received From DOD.
Executive Comment Received From DOD.
Subcommittee Hearings Held.
Subcommittee Hearings Held.
Llama 3.2 · runs locally in your browser
Ask anything about this bill. The AI reads the full text to answer.
Enter to send · Shift+Enter for new line
Subcommittee Hearings Held.
Subcommittee Hearings Held.
Subcommittee Hearings Held.
Subcommittee Hearings Held.
Subcommittee Hearings Held.
Subcommittee Hearings Held.
Executive Comment Received From NASA.
Subcommittee Hearings Held.
Subcommittee Hearings Held.