Chapter 33 of the general laws is hereby amended by adding the following new section:--

Section 138

Section 1.         Composition of the Commission on the Disposition of Surplus Armories.

There is hereby established a commission on the disposition of surplus national guard armories.  The commission shall consist of the following 9 members: The adjutant general or his designee, the commissioner of the division of capital asset management, who shall jointly serve as chairs of the commission, the state quartermaster or his designee, the commander of the air national guard or his designee, the inspector general and 4 members chosen from among the members of the town advisory committee who shall be selected by a majority vote of the members of the advisory committee.  The commission shall work in consultation with the advisory committee.

Section 2.         The advisory committee shall be composed of the house and senate chairs of the joint committee on state administration, or their designees and a representative from each of the towns which have national guard armories scheduled to be closed or listed as surplus armories by the state quartermaster.  Each member of the advisory committee shall be chosen from a list provided by the chief executive officer in each such town and selected by the chairs of the commission.  The members of the advisory committee, not including the house and senate chairs of the committee on state administration, shall serve for 1 year from the date of their appointment or until the armory in the town they represent has been disposed of or conveyed or is no longer listed as surplus by the state quartermaster.

(a)        Quorum.-- Seven members shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of any business, and the act by the majority of the members present at any meeting in which there is a quorum shall be deemed to be the act of the commission.

(b)        Meetings.-- All meetings of the commission shall be advertised and conducted pursuant to Chapter 30A unless otherwise provided in this section.

1.       The commission shall meet at least twice every year, and may provide for special meetings as it deems necessary. Meeting dates shall be set by a majority vote of the members of the commission or by the call of the chairperson upon seven days’ notice to all commission members.

2.      All meetings of the commission shall be publicly advertised, as provided for in this subsection, and shall be open to the public, except that the commission, through its bylaws, may provide for executive sessions of the commission. No act of the commission shall be taken in an executive session.

3.       The commission shall file a schedule of its meetings with the Secretary of State and shall publish a schedule of its meetings in at least two newspapers, one newspaper in general circulation in the Commonwealth. Such notice shall be published and filed at least once in each calendar quarter and shall list the schedule of meetings of the council to be held in the subsequent calendar quarter. Such notice shall specify the date, time and place of the meeting and shall state that the commission’s meetings are open to the general public, except that no such notice shall be required for executive sessions of the commission.

4.      All action taken by the commission shall be taken in open public session, and action of the commission shall not be taken except upon the affirmative vote of a majority of the members of the commission present during meetings at which a quorum is present.

(c)        Compensation.-- The members of the commission shall not receive a salary or per diem allowance for serving as members of the commission but shall be reimbursed for actual and necessary expenses incurred in the performance of their duties.  Said expenses may include reimbursement of travel and living expenses while engaged in commission business.

(d)        Terms.-- The terms of the adjutant general, the commissioner of the division of capital asset management, the state quartermaster, the commander of the air national guard and the inspector general shall be concurrent with their holding of public office. The 4 members from the advisory committee serving on the commission shall each serve for a term of 2 years or until the town they are representing is no longer listed as a surplus armory by the national guard. 

(e)        Vacancies on the commission or the advisory committee shall be filled in the same manner in which they were originally designated under this section within 60 days of the vacancy.  If the chief executive officer of the town required in this section to make appointments to the advisory fails to act within 60 days of the vacancy, the commission chairpersons, after consultation with the chief executive officer in the town where the surplus armory is located, may appoint one of the persons recommended for the vacancy, until the appointing authority makes the appointment.

(f)         A member may be removed for just cause by the commission after recommendation by a vote of at least 8 members of the commission.

Section 2.         Duties of the Commission

Notwithstanding the provisions of section 40F of chapter 7, the commission, in cooperation and consultation with the advisory committee, shall develop a procedure for the disposition of national guard armories that have been determined by the national guard to be so-called “surplus” and are scheduled to be closed.  The commission shall determine the final disposition of each armory determined to be surplus and no property shall be conveyed by the Commonwealth without the approval of the commission. 

Approval, by the commission, of the conveyance of surplus armories, shall be based on the following:

(a)                Preference shall be given to public or private non-profit entities or municipalities which have submitted a written proposal to the commission detailing the planned use of the property provided that the commission determines, by majority vote, that the planned use proposed by the entity is consistent with the character of the town in which the property is located.

(b)               Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, if the commission determines to convey any surplus armory to a public or private non-profit entity, the commission may convey such surplus armory for less than fair market value. 

(c)                If the commission approves more than 1 non-profit public or private entity to purchase a particular property, the commission shall forward such applications to the local governing authority of the town in which the surplus armory is located.  The local governing authority shall appoint a committee to choose among the approved applicants and the recommendation of such committee shall be ratified at the next scheduled town meeting of the town where the armory is located. 

(d)               The commission shall consult with the division of capital asset management in determining whether any state agencies have current uses for the property.  If the commission determines that any state agency has a current use for the property, the commission may approve the transfer of the property under the provisions of section 40F of this chapter. 

(e)                If after approval by the commission and conveyance of the property to the entity, the property shall not be resold unless the commission approves such sale by a majority vote of the commission members.

Section 3.

The Secretary of Administration and Finance shall establish an Expendable Trust Fund for the Military Division for the purpose of accepting and expending funds from the sale of armories declared surplus by the Armory Commission. Fifty percent of the sale price of said armories will go to the Military Division Expendable Trust Fund and fifty percent to the General Fund. Any money accepted by the Military Division Trust Fund shall be used for the repair and maintenance of the Military Division's remaining armories.