(a) General Prohibition.—A federal agency is prohibited from obtaining excess personal property for the purpose of furnishing the property to a grantee of the agency, except as provided in this section.

Ask a legal question, get an answer ASAP!
Click here to chat with a lawyer about your rights.

(b) Exception for Public Agencies and Tax-exempt Nonprofit Organizations.—

(1) In general.—Under regulations the Administrator of General Services may prescribe, a federal agency may obtain excess personal property for the purpose of furnishing it to a public agency or an organization that is nonprofit and exempt from taxation under section 501 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (26 U.S.C. 501), if—

(A) the agency or organization is conducting a federally sponsored project pursuant to a grant made for a specific purpose with a specific termination provision;

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

(C)(i) the sponsoring federal agency pays an amount equal to 25 percent of the original acquisition cost (except for costs of care and handling) of the excess property; and

(ii) the amount is deposited in the Treasury as miscellaneous receipts.

(2) Title.—Title to excess property obtained under this subsection vests in the grantee. The grantee shall account for and dispose of the property in accordance with procedures governing accountability for personal property acquired under grant agreements.

(c) Exception for Certain Property Furnished by Secretary of Agriculture.—

(1) Definition.—In this subsection, the term “State” means a State of the United States, Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the Northern Mariana Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, the Marshall Islands, Palau, the Virgin Islands, and the District of Columbia.

(2) In general.—Under regulations and restrictions the Administrator may prescribe, subsection (a) does not apply to property furnished by the Secretary of Agriculture to—

(A) a state ¹ or county extension service engaged in cooperative agricultural extension work under the Smith-Lever Act (7 U.S.C. 341 et seq.);

(B) a state ¹ experiment station engaged in cooperative agricultural research work under the Hatch Act of 1887 (7 U.S.C. 361a et seq.); or

(C) an institution engaged in cooperative agricultural research or extension work under section 1433, 1434, 1444, or 1445 of the National Agricultural Research, Extension, and Teaching Policy Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 3195, 3196, 3221, or 3222), or the Act of October 10, 1962 (16 U.S.C. 582a et seq.), if the Federal Government retains title.

(d) Other Exceptions.—Under regulations and restrictions the Administrator may prescribe, subsection (a) does not apply to—

(1) property furnished under section 608 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2358), to the extent that the Administrator determines that the property is not needed for donation under section 549 of this title;

(2) scientific equipment furnished under section 11(e) of the National Science Foundation Act of 1950 (42 U.S.C. 1870(e));

(3) property furnished under section 203 of the Department of Agriculture Organic Act of 1944 (16 U.S.C. 580a), in connection with the Cooperative Forest Fire Control Program, if the Government retains title; or

(4) property furnished in connection with a grant to a tribe, as defined in section 3(c) of the Indian Financing Act of 1974 (25 U.S.C. 1452(c)).