in effect
This is Executive Order 14274, signed April 15, 2025, and published in the Federal Register on April 18, 2025. It is a presidential directive that repeals two older executive orders governing where federal agencies place their offices and buildings. It also instructs the government’s property agency to update the related regulations.
The order revokes Executive Order 12072 (signed by President Carter in 1978), which had told agencies to prioritize downtown central business districts when choosing sites for federal facilities in urban areas. It also revokes Executive Order 13006 (signed by President Clinton in 1996), which had encouraged agencies to locate in historic properties and historic districts, especially in central cities. With both revoked, agencies are no longer required to give those locations preference and may instead select facilities the order describes as more cost-effective. The order directs the Administrator of General Services to begin amending the regulations at Title 41, Parts 102-79 and 102-83 of the Code of Federal Regulations to match this new policy. Agencies that obtain or use space under authority other than the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949 must also follow the order to the extent the law allows.
The direct actors are federal executive departments and agencies that lease or own office space, and the General Services Administration, which manages federal property and must revise its rules. Downtown business districts and historic properties in central cities that previously received siting preference are affected because that preference is removed. The order states it creates no legal rights or benefits that any person or party can enforce against the government, and that it is carried out subject to existing law and available funding.