§ 8163 — Hearing And Notice Requirements Regarding Proposed Leases

(a) If the Secretary proposes to enter into an enhanced-use lease with respect to certain property, the Secretary shall conduct a public hearing before entering into the lease. The hearing shall be conducted in the community in which the property is located. At the hearing, the Secretary shall receive the views of veterans service organizations and other interested parties regarding the proposed lease of the property and the possible effects of the uses to be made of the property under a lease of the general character then contemplated. The possible effects to be addressed at the hearing shall include effects on— (1) local commerce and other aspects of the local community; (2) programs administered by the Department; and (3) services to veterans in the community. (b) Before conducting such a hearing, the Secretary shall provide reasonable notice to the congressional veterans’ affairs committees and to the public of the proposed lease and of the hearing. The notice shall include the following: (1) The time and place of the hearing. (2) Identification of the property proposed to be leased. (3) A description of the proposed uses of the property under the lease. (4) A description of how the uses to be made of the property under a lease of the general character then contemplated— (A) would— (i) contribute in a cost-effective manner to the mission of the Department; (ii) not be inconsistent with the mission of the Department; (iii) not adversely affect the mission of the Department; and (iv) affect services to veterans; or (B) would result in a demonstrable improvement of services to eligible veterans in the geographic service-delivery area within which the property is located. (5) A description of how those uses would affect services to veterans. (1) If after a hearing under subsection (a) the Secretary intends to enter into an enhanced-use lease of the property involved, the Secretary shall notify the congressional veterans’ affairs committees, the Committees on Appropriations of the House of Representatives and the Senate, and the Committees on the Budget of the House of Representatives and the Senate of the Secretary’s intention to enter into such lease, shall publish a notice of such intention in the Federal Register, and shall submit to the congressional veterans’ affairs committees a copy of the proposed lease. With respect to a major enhanced-use lease, upon the request of the congressional veterans’ affairs committees, not later than 30 days after the date of such notice, the Secretary shall testify before the committees on the major enhanced-use lease, including with respect to the status of the lease, the cost, and the plans to carry out the activities under the lease. The Secretary may not delegate such testifying below the level of the head of the Office of Asset Enterprise Management of the Department or any successor to such office. (2) The Secretary may not enter into an enhanced use lease until the end of the 45-day period beginning on the date of the submission of notice under paragraph (1). (3) Each notice under paragraph (1) shall include the following: (A) An identification of the property involved. (B) An explanation of the background of, rationale for, and economic factors in support of, the proposed lease. (C) A summary of the views expressed by interested parties at the public hearing conducted in connection with the proposed designation, together with a summary of the Secretary’s evaluation of those views. (D) A description of the provisions of the proposed lease. (E) A description of how the proposed lease— (i) would— (I) contribute in a cost-effective manner to the mission of the Department; (II) not be inconsistent with the mission of the Department; (III) not adversely affect the mission of the Department; and (IV) affect services to veterans; or (ii) would result in a demonstrable improvement of services to eligible veterans in the geographic service-delivery area within which the property is located. (F) A description of how the proposed lease would affect services to veterans. (G) A summary of a cost-benefit analysis of the proposed lease.