ACQUISITION OF EXISTING BUILDING AS ALTERNATIVE TO NEW CONSTRUCTION.

(a) If the legislature authorizes the issuance of bonds by the Texas Public Finance Authority to construct one or more buildings and improvements in a county, the commission may solicit and receive proposals, using the same procedures that apply to the purchase of other real property, for the purchase of one or more existing buildings with bond proceeds. If the commission's evaluation of the proposals demonstrates that purchase of one or more existing buildings is an appropriate and financially advantageous means of meeting all or part of the state's office space needs in that county, the commission shall certify that fact to the authority and request the authority to issue all or part of its bonds previously authorized by the legislature for that purpose.

(b) The commission shall determine financial advantage under Subsection (a) after comparing construction and purchase as fairly as possible. In making its determination, the commission shall impute value and consider factors as it considers appropriate, including consideration of the:

(1) estimated cost of construction and of acquiring land for the construction;

(2) anticipated purchase price of one or more existing buildings;

(3) estimated cost of converting one or more existing buildings to state building specifications, including reconstruction costs only when reconstruction is necessary;

(4) efficiency and suitability of an existing building's space as configured for state use;

(5) estimated occupancy dates for proposed construction compared with estimated occupancy dates for an existing building;

(6) value of an existing building's location, parking, landscaping, and other enhancements;

(7) remaining useful life of mechanical components of an existing building; and

(8) estimated cost of maintenance and operations, including the cost of telecommunications services, for each option considered by the commission.

(c) On a determination under Subsection (a) that a purchase is more advantageous to the state, the commission may abandon construction plans. If additional costs, over available bond proceeds, must be incurred to accomplish the purchase and any necessary renovation of the purchased property, the commission may use available appropriated money and request additional bonds of the Texas Public Finance Authority in an amount of up to five percent of the acquisition cost for that purpose.

(d) A purchase under this section must be approved by the legislature if it is in session or by the Legislative Budget Board if the legislature is not in session.

(e) A person from whom real property or an existing building or other improvement is purchased under this section shall provide to the commission the name and the last known address of each person who:

(1) owns record legal title to the real property or building or other improvement; or

(2) owns a beneficial interest in the real property or building or other improvement through a trust, nominee, agent, or other legal entity.