* Act of June 30, 1949 (P.L. 81-152, Ch. 288, 63 Stat. 377; 40 U.S.C. 471, 472, 483-484, 531-535)

Declaration of Policy

Sec. 2. It is the intent of the Congress in enacting this legislation to provide for the Government an economical and efficient system for (a) the procurement and supply of personal property and nonpersonal services, including related functions such as contracting, inspection, storage, issue, specifications, proper-ty identification and classification, transportation and traffic manage-ment, establishment of pools or systems for transportation of Gov-ernment personnel and property by motor vehicle within specific areas, management of public utility servic-es, repairing and converting, estab-lish-ment of inventory levels, estab-lishment of forms and procedures, and representation before Federal and State regulatory bodies; (b) the utilization of available property; (c) the disposal of surplus property; and (d) records management. (40 U.S.C. 471)

Definitions

Sec. 3. As used in this Act-

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(c) The term "Administrator" means the Administrator of General Services provided for in Title I hereof.

(d) The term "property" means any interest in property except (1) the public domain; lands reserved or dedicated for National Forest or National Park purposes; minerals in lands or portions of lands withdrawn or reserved from the public domain which the Secretary of the Interior determines are suitable for disposi-tion under the public land mining and mineral leasing laws; and lands withdrawn or reserved from the public domain except lands or por-tions of lands so withdrawn or re-served which the Secretary of the Interior, with the concurrence of the Administrator, determines are not suitable for return to the public domain for disposition under the general public-land laws because such lands are substantially changed in character by improvements or otherwise; (2) naval vessels of the following categories: Battleships, cruisers, aircraft carriers, destroyers, and submarines; and (3) records of the Federal Government.

(e) The term "excess property" means any property under the con-trol of any Federal agency which is not required for its needs and the discharge of its responsibilities, as determined by the head thereof.

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(g) The term "surplus property" means any excess property not required for the needs and the dis-charge of the responsibilities of all Federal agencies, as determined by the Administrator. (40 U.S.C. 472)

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Property Utilization

Sec. 202. (a)(1) Subject to the provisions of paragraph (2) of this subsection, in order to minimize expenditures for property, the Ad-ministrator shall prescribe policies and methods to promote the maxi-mum utilization of excess property by executive agencies, and he shall provide for the transfer of excess property among Federal agencies and to the organizations specified in section 756(f) of this title. The Administrator, with the approval of the Director of the Bureau of the Budget, shall prescribe the extent of reimbursement for such transfers of excess property: Provided, That reimbursement shall be required of the fair value, as determined by the Administrator, of any excess proper-ty transferred whenever net proceeds are requested pursuant to section 485(c) of this title or whenever either the transferor or the transferee agency (or the organizational unit affected) is subject to the Govern-ment Corporation Control Act or is an organization specified in section 756(f) of this title; and that excess property determined by the Admin-istrator to be suitable for distribution through the supply centers of the General Services Administration shall be retransferred as prices fixed by the Administrator with due re-gard to prices established in accor-dance with section 756(b) of this title.

(b) Each executive agency shall (1) maintain adequate inventory controls and accountability systems for the property under its control, (2) continuous-ly survey property under its control to determine which is excess property, and promptly report such property to the Adminis-trator, (3) perform the care and handling of such excess property, and (4) transfer or dispose of such excess property as promptly as possible in accordance with authori-ty delegated and regulations pre-scribed by the Administrator.

(c) Each executive agency shall, as far as practicable, (1) make reassignments of property among activities within the agency when such property is determined to be no longer required for the purposes of the appropriation from which it was purchased, (2) transfer excess property under its control to other Federal agencies and to organizations specified in section 756(f) of this title, and (3) obtain excess property from other Federal agencies.

(d) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, Federal agencies are prohibited from obtaining excess personal property for purposes of furnishing such property to grantees of such agencies, except as follows:

(1) Under such regulations as the Administrator may prescribe, any Federal agency may obtain excess personal property for purpos-es of furnishing it to any institution or organization which is a public agency or is nonprofit and exempt from taxation under section 501 of Title 26, and which is conducting a federally sponsored project pursuant to a grant made for a specific pur-pose with a specific termination made: Provided, That-

(A) such property is to be furnished for use in connection with the grant; and

(B) the sponsoring Federal agency pays an amount equal to 25 per centum of the original acquisi-tion cost (except for costs of care and handling) of the excess property furnished, such funds to be covered into the Treasury as miscellaneous receipts. Title to excess property obtained under this paragraph shall vest in the grantees and shall be accounted for and disposed of in accordance with procedures govern-ing the accountability of personal property acquired under grant agree-ments.

(2) Under such regulations and restrictions as the Administrator may prescribe, the provisions of this subsection shall not apply to the following: (A) property furnished under section 608 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, as amended, where and to the extent that the Administrator of the General Services determines that the property to be furnished under such Act is not needed for donation pursuant to section 484(j) of this title;

(B) scientific equipment furnished under section 1870(e) of Title 42);

(C) property furnished under section 580a of Title 16, in connection with the Cooperative Forest Fire Control Program, where title is retained in the United States;

(D) property furnished in con-nection with grants to Indian tribes as defined in section 1452(c) of Title 25; or

(E) property furnished by the Secretary of Agriculture to any State or county extension service engaged in cooperative agricultural extension work pursuant to the Act of May 8, 1914; any State experi-ment station engaged in cooperative agricultural research work pursuant to the Act of March 2, 1887; and any institution engaged in coopera-tive agricultur-al research or exten-sion work pursuant to sections 3195, 3196, 3221, 3222 of Title 7 or the Act of October 10, 1962, where title is retained in the United States. For the purpose of this provision, the term "State" means any one of the fifty States, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, American Sa-moa, the Com-mon-wealth of the Northern Marianas, the Trust Terri-tory of the Pacific Islands, the Vir-gin Islands of the United States, and the District of Columbia.

This paragraph shall not preclude any Federal agency obtaining property and furnishing it to a grantee of that agency under paragraph (1) of this subsection.

(e) Each executive agency shall submit during the calendar quarter following the close of each fiscal year a report to the Administrator showing, with respect to personal property

(1) obtained as excess property or as personal property determined to be no longer required for the purposes of the appropriation from which it was purchased, and

(2) furnished in any manner whatsoever within the United States to any recipient other than a Federal agency, the acquisition cost, catego-ries of equipment, recipient of all such property, and such other infor-mation as the Administrator may require. The Administrator shall submit a report to the Senate (or to the Secretary of the Senate if the Senate is not in session) and to the House of Representatives (or to the Clerk of the House if the House is not in session) summarizing and analyzing the reports of the execu-tive agencies.

(g) Whenever the Administrator determines that the temporary as-sign-ment or reassignment of any space in excess real property to any federal agency for office, storage, or related facilities would be more advantageous than the permanent transfer of such property, he may make such assignment or reassignment for such period of time as he shall determine and obtain, in the absence of appropriation available to him therefor, appropriate reimbursement from the using agency for the expense of maintaining such space.

(h) The Administrator may authorize the abandonment, destruction, or donation to public bodies of property which has no commercial value or of which the estimated cost of continued care and handling would exceed the estimated proceeds from its sale. (40 U.S.C. 483)

Disposal of Surplus Property

Sec. 203. (a) Except as otherwise provided in this section, the Administrator shall have supervision and direction over the disposition of surplus property. Such prop-erty

shall be disposed of to such extent, at such time, in such areas, by such agencies, at such terms and condi-tions, and in such manner, as may be prescribed in or pursuant to this Act. (40 U.S.C. 484)

(b) The care and handling of surplus property, pending its dispo-sition, and the disposal of surplus property, may be performed by the General Services Administration or, when so determined by the Admin-istrator, by the executive agency in possession thereof or by any other executive agency consenting thereto.

(c) Any executive agency desig-nated or authorized by the Adminis-trator to dispose of surplus property may do so by sale, exchange, lease, permit, or transfer, for cash, credit, or other property, with or without warranty, and upon such other terms and conditions as the Administrator deems proper, and it may execute such documents for the transfer of title or other interest in property and take such other action as it deems necessary or proper to dispose of such property under the provisions of this subchap-ter.

(d) A deed, bill of sale, lease, or other instrument executed by or on behalf of any executive agency purporting to transfer title or any other interest in surplus property under this subchapter shall be con-clusive evidence of compliance with the provisions of this subchapter insofar as concerns title or other interest of any bona fide grantee or transferee for value and without notice of lack of such compliance. (40 U.S.C. 484)

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