Brief Description: Allowing state and local governments to sell and lease personal property to foreign entities.

Sponsors: By House Committee on Local Government (originally sponsored by Representatives Delvin, Cooper, Jarrett, Berkey, Upthegrove and Conway).

Brief Summary of Substitute Bill

• Authorizes state and local governments to transfer personal property, except weapons, to a foreign entity.

Majority Report: The substitute bill be substituted therefor and the substitute bill do pass. Signed by 11 members: Representatives Romero, Chair; Upthegrove, Vice Chair; Schindler, Ranking Minority Member; Jarrett, Assistant Ranking Minority Member; Ahern, Berkey, Clibborn, Edwards, Ericksen, Mielke and Moeller.

The state, any municipality, or political subdivision of the state, may sell, transfer, exchange, lease, or dispose of real or personal property to the state, a political subdivision of the state, or the federal government.

Before disposing of surplus property with an estimated value greater than $50,000, the state or local government must hold a public hearing in the county where the property is located. Notice must be published at least 10 days but not more than 25 days before the hearing in a newspaper of general circulation in the area where the property is located. If the property is real property, the notice must also describe the proposed use of the lands involved. A news release must also be disseminated to the electronic media in the area where the property is located.

The state, any municipality, or political subdivision of the state, may sell, transfer, exchange, lease, or dispose of personal surplus property, except weapons, to a foreign entity in accordance with formal hearing and notice requirements.

Effective Date: The bill contains an emergency clause and takes effect immediately.

Testimony For: This is a bipartisan issue; we would like to start an exchange program with fire departments in foreign countries. There is a glaring lack of equipment in some foreign countries. In a town of one million people in Peru, the newest fire truck is from 1974. Here, however, we have a surplus of fire trucks that are not being used. We tried to ship these surplus fire trucks and ambulances to Peru, but found out that we could not provide them to a foreign country without a statutory amendment.

Testified: Representative Delvin, prime sponsor; and Representative Cooper, secondary sponsor.