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AB 1353

State real property: office space: consolidation.

2025-2026 Regular Session Introduced by Matt Haney

AB 1353 directs DGS to audit and consolidate underused state office space, reserving freed space for UC, CSU, and CCC, without reducing department staff.

In committee: Set, first hearing. Hearing canceled at the request of author.
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Bill Summary · AB 1353

AB 1353 — State real property: office space: consolidation (Haney)

Status: In committee (set for first hearing; hearing canceled at author's request)
Introduced: February 21, 2025

Purpose / Intent

AB 1353 directs the Department of General Services (DGS) to audit and consolidate underused state office space so that excess space can be repurposed for use by the State’s public higher education systems. The bill is framed against prior efforts to convert surplus state properties to affordable housing, but focuses on maximizing utilization of state-owned office buildings that are not candidates for disposal.

Key provisions

  • Adds Government Code §11011.9.5 (new).
  • Findings: Declares the state owns excess land/space, DGS has identified some conversion opportunities, and changing remote-work patterns require maximizing office utilization.
  • Audit requirement: No later than January 1, 2027, and annually thereafter, DGS must conduct an audit of utilization at the suite-, floor-, and building-level for state office buildings to identify consolidation opportunities.
  • Consolidation authority: DGS is authorized and required to consolidate space at the suite, floor, and building levels based on audit findings.
  • Reservation of space: Any space made available through consolidation must be reserved for the University of California, California State University, and the California Community Colleges.
  • Staffing caveat: The audit must identify consolidation opportunities “without reducing the total number of employees within the department” (language in the bill; note: text could be read as ambiguous regarding whether “department” refers to DGS or the individual state agency occupying the space).

The bill also makes nonsubstantive changes to Government Code §65582.1 (findings about housing reforms/incentives).

Who is affected

  • Department of General Services: responsible for conducting audits and implementing consolidation.
  • State agencies occupying state-owned office buildings: their space allocations may be consolidated (subject to the staffing caveat in the bill text).
  • Public higher education systems (UC, CSU, and CCC): granted priority access to space freed by consolidation.
  • Potential indirect effects on tenants, lease costs, and inter-agency space-sharing arrangements.

Procedural / timeline notes

  • Introduced February 21, 2025; read first time February 24, 2025; amended and re-referred to committees March–April 2025.
  • Hearing set for April 23, 2025, but canceled at the author’s request.
  • Next steps: committee hearings and potential floor votes if advanced.

Potential impacts / considerations

  • Could increase efficient use of state-owned office real estate and create space for higher education expansion without new construction.
  • May reduce state leasing costs by consolidating agency footprints; implementation details (timing, cost savings, relocation impacts) depend on DGS audits and consolidation plans.
  • The staff-count provision and reservation requirement may constrain how consolidation is carried out; statutory language may need clarification to avoid conflicts between agency operations and space reallocation.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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