41 C.F.R. Subpart H—Donations to Public Bodies in Lieu of Abandonment/Destruction
Title 41 - Public Contracts and Property Management
A public body is any department, agency, special purpose district, or other instrumentality of a State or local government; any Indian tribe; or any agency of the Federal Government. Section 527 of title 40, United States Code authorizes the abandonment, destruction, or donation to public bodies of property which has no commercial value or for which the estimated cost of continued care and handling would exceed the estimated proceeds from its sale. [67 FR 2584, Jan. 18, 2002, as amended at 71 FR 23868, Apr. 25, 2006] Only that property a holding agency has made a written determination to abandon or destroy (see process in part 102–36 of this chapter) may be donated under this subpart. A holding agency may not donate property that requires destruction for health, safety, or security reasons. When disposing of hazardous materials and other dangerous property, a holding agency must comply with all applicable laws and regulations and any special disposal requirements in part 101–42 of this title. There is no special form for holding agencies to process donations. A holding agency may use any document that meets its agency's needs for maintaining an audit trail of the transaction. The recipient public body is responsible for paying the disposal costs incident to the donation, such as packing, preparation for shipment, demilitarization (as defined in §102–36.40 of this chapter), loading, and transportation to its site. The following is a listing of statutes which authorize donations which do not require GSA's approval: Statute: 10 U.S.C. 2572. Donor Agency: Any military department (Army, Navy, and Air Force) or the Coast Guard. Type of Property: Books, manuscripts, works of art, historical artifacts, drawings, plans, models, and condemned or obsolete combat material. Eligible Recipients: Municipal corporations; soldiers' monument associations; museums, historical societies, or historical institutions of a State or foreign nation; incorporated museums that are operated and maintained for educational purposes only and the charters of which denies them the right to operate for profit; posts of the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States or of the American Legion or a unit of any other recognized war veterans' association; local or national units of any war veterans' association of a foreign nation which is recognized by the national government of that nation or a principal subdivision of that nation; and posts of the Sons of Veterans Reserve. Statute: 10 U.S.C. 7306. Donor Agency: Department of the Navy. Type of Property: Any vessel stricken from the Naval Vessel Register or any captured vessel in the possession of the Navy. Eligible Recipients: States, Commonwealths, or possessions of the United States; the District of Columbia; and not-for-profit or nonprofit entities. Statute: 10 U.S.C. 7541. Donor Agency: Department of the Navy. Type of Property: Obsolete material not needed for naval purposes. Eligible Recipients: Sea scouts of the Boy Scouts of America; Naval Sea Cadet Corps; and the Young Marines of the Marine Corps League. Statute: 10 U.S.C. 7545. Donor Agency: Department of the Navy. Type of Property: Captured, condemned, or obsolete ordnance material, books, manuscripts, works of art, drawings, plans, and models; other condemned or obsolete material, trophies, and flags; and other material of historic interest not needed by the Navy. Eligible Recipients: States, territories, commonwealths, or possessions of the United States, or political subdivisions or municipal corporations thereof; the District of Columbia; libraries; historical societies; educational institutions whose graduates or students fought in World War I or World War II; soldiers' monument associations; State museums; museums operated and maintained for educational purposes only, whose charter denies it the right to operate for profit; posts of the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States; American Legion posts; recognized war veterans' associations; or posts of the Sons of Veterans Reserve. Statute: 14 U.S.C. 641(a). Donor Agency: Coast Guard. Type of Property: Obsolete or other material not needed for the Coast Guard. Eligible Recipients: Coast Guard Auxiliary; sea scout service of the Boy Scouts of America; and public bodies or private organizations not organized for profit. The following is the information and assurances that must be included in a SASP's plan of operation: The following is a glossary of terms for determining eligibility of public agencies and nonprofit organizations: Accreditation means the status of public recognition that an accrediting agency grants to an institution or program that meets the agency's standards and requirements. Accredited means approval by a recognized accrediting board or association on a regional, State, or national level, such as a State board of education or health; the American Hospital Association; a regional or national accrediting association for universities, colleges, or secondary schools; or another recognized accrediting association. Approved means recognition and approval by the State department of education, State department of health, or other appropriate authority where no recognized accrediting board, association, or other authority exists for the purpose of making an accreditation. For an educational institution or an educational program, approval must relate to academic or instructional standards established by the appropriate authority. For a public health institution or program, approval must relate to the medical requirements and standards for the professional and technical services of the institution established by the appropriate authority. Child care center means a public or nonprofit facility where educational, social, health, and nutritional services are provided to children through age 14 (or as prescribed by State law) and that is approved or licensed by the State or other appropriate authority as a child day care center or child care center. Clinic means an approved public or nonprofit facility organized and operated for the primary purpose of providing outpatient public health services and includes customary related services such as laboratories and treatment rooms. College means an approved or accredited public or nonprofit institution of higher learning offering organized study courses and credits leading to a baccalaureate or higher degree. Conservation means a program or programs carried out or promoted by a public agency for public purposes involving directly or indirectly the protection, maintenance, development, and restoration of the natural resources of a given political area. These resources include but are not limited to the air, land, forests, water, rivers, streams, lakes and ponds, minerals, and animals, fish and other wildlife. Drug abuse or alcohol treatment center means a clinic or medical institution that provides for the diagnosis, treatment, or rehabilitation of alcoholics or drug addicts. These centers must have on their staffs, or available on a regular visiting basis, qualified professionals in the fields of medicine, psychology, psychiatry, or rehabilitation. Economic development means a program(s) carried out or promoted by a public agency for public purposes to improve the opportunities of a given political area for the establishment or expansion of industrial, commercial, or agricultural plants or facilities and which otherwise assist in the creation of long-term employment opportunities in the area or primarily benefit the unemployed or those with low incomes. Education means a program(s) to develop and promote the training, general knowledge, or academic, technical, and vocational skills and cultural attainments of individuals in a community or given political area. Public educational programs may include public school systems and supporting facilities such as centralized administrative or service facilities. Educational institution means an approved, accredited, or licensed public or nonprofit institution, facility, entity, or organization conducting educational programs or research for educational purposes, such as a child care center, school, college, university, school for the mentally or physically disabled, or an educational radio or television station. Educational radio or television station means a public or nonprofit radio or television station licensed by the Federal Communications Commission and operated exclusively for noncommercial educational purposes. Health center means an approved public or nonprofit facility that provides public health services, including related facilities such as diagnostic and laboratory facilities and clinics. Homeless individual means: (1) An individual who lacks a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence, or who has a primary nighttime residence that is: (i) A supervised publicly or privately operated shelter designed to provide temporary living accommodations (including welfare hotels, congregate shelters, and transitional housing for the mentally ill); (ii) An institution that provides a temporary residence for individuals intended to be institutionalized; or (iii) A public or private place not designed for, or ordinarily used as, a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings. (2) For purposes of this part, the term homeless individual does not include any individual imprisoned or otherwise detained pursuant to an Act of the Congress or a State law. Hospital means an approved or accredited public or nonprofit institution providing public health services primarily for inpatient medical or surgical care of the sick and injured and includes related facilities such as laboratories, outpatient departments, training facilities, and staff offices. Library means a public or nonprofit facility providing library services free to all residents of a community, district, State, or region. Licensed means recognition and approval by the appropriate State or local authority approving institutions or programs in specialized areas. Licensing generally relates to established minimum public standards of safety, sanitation, staffing, and equipment as they relate to the construction, maintenance, and operation of a health or educational facility, rather than to the academic, instructional, or medical standards for these institutions. Medical institution means an approved, accredited, or licensed public or nonprofit institution, facility, or organization whose primary function is the furnishing of public health and medical services to the public or promoting public health through the conduct of research, experiments, training, or demonstrations related to cause, prevention, and methods of diagnosis and treatment of diseases and injuries. The term includes, but is not limited to, hospitals, clinics, alcohol and drug abuse treatment centers, public health or treatment centers, research and health centers, geriatric centers, laboratories, medical schools, dental schools, nursing schools, and similar institutions. The term does not include institutions primarily engaged in domiciliary care, although a separate medical facility within such a domiciliary institution may qualify as a medical institution. Museum means a public or nonprofit institution that is organized on a permanent basis for essentially educational or aesthetic purposes and which, using a professional staff, owns or uses tangible objects, either animate or inanimate; cares for these objects; and exhibits them to the public on a regular basis (at least 1000 hours a year). As used in this part, the term museum includes, but is not limited to, the following institutions if they satisfy all other provisions of this definition: Aquariums and zoological parks; botanical gardens and arboretums; nature centers; museums relating to art, history (including historic buildings), natural history, science, and technology; and planetariums. For the purposes of this definition, an institution uses a professional staff if it employs at least one fulltime staff member or the equivalent, whether paid or unpaid, primarily engaged in the acquisition, care, or public exhibition of objects owned or used by the institution. This definition of museum does not include any institution that exhibits objects to the public if the display or use of the objects is only incidental to the primary function of the institution. Nationally recognized accrediting agency means an accrediting agency that the Department of Education recognizes under 34 CFR part 600. (For a list of accrediting agencies, see the Department's web site at http://www.ed.gov/admins/finaid/accred) Nonprofit means not organized for profit and exempt from Federal income tax under section 501 of the Internal Revenue Code (26 U.S.C. 501). Parks and recreation means a program(s) carried out or promoted by a public agency for public purposes that involve directly or indirectly the acquisition, development, improvement, maintenance, and protection of park and recreational facilities for the residents of a given political area. Program for older individuals means a program conducted by a State or local government agency or nonprofit activity that receives funds appropriated for services or programs for older individuals under the Older Americans Act of 1965, as amended, under title IV or title XX of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 601 et seq.), or under titles VIII and X of the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2991 et seq.) and the Community Services Block Grant Act (42 U.S.C. 9901 et seq.). Provider of assistance to homeless individuals means a public agency or a nonprofit institution or organization that operates a program which provides assistance such as food, shelter, or other services to homeless individuals. Provider of assistance to impoverished families and individuals means a public or nonprofit organization whose primary function is to provide money, goods, or services to families or individuals whose annual incomes are below the poverty line (as defined in section 673 of the Community Services Block Grant Act) (42 U.S.C. 9902). Providers include food banks, self-help housing groups, and organizations providing services such as the following: Health care; medical transportation; scholarships and tuition assistance; tutoring and literacy instruction; job training and placement; employment counseling; child care assistance; meals or other nutritional support; clothing distribution; home construction or repairs; utility or rental assistance; and legal counsel. Public agency means any State; political subdivision thereof, including any unit of local government or economic development district; any department, agency, or instrumentality thereof, including instrumentalities created by compact or other agreement between States or political subdivisions; multijurisdictional substate districts established by or pursuant to State law; or any Indian tribe, band, group, pueblo, or community located on a State reservation. Public health means a program(s) to promote, maintain, and conserve the public's health by providing health services to individuals and/or by conducting research, investigations, examinations, training, and demonstrations. Public health services may include but are not limited to the control of communicable diseases, immunization, maternal and child health programs, sanitary engineering, sewage treatment and disposal, sanitation inspection and supervision, water purification and distribution, air pollution control, garbage and trash disposal, and the control and elimination of disease-carrying animals and insects. Public health institution means an approved, accredited, or licensed public or nonprofit institution, facility, or organization conducting a public health program(s) such as a hospital, clinic, health center, or medical institution, including research for such programs, the services of which are available to the public. Public purpose means a program(s) carried out by a public agency that is legally authorized in accordance with the laws of the State or political subdivision thereof and for which public funds may be expended. Public purposes include but are not limited to programs such as conservation, economic development, education, parks and recreation, public health, public safety, programs of assistance to the homeless or impoverished, and programs for older individuals. Public safety means a program(s) carried out or promoted by a public agency for public purposes involving, directly or indirectly, the protection, safety, law enforcement activities, and criminal justice system of a given political area. Public safety programs may include, but are not limited to those carried out by: (1) Public police departments. (2) Sheriffs' offices. (3) The courts. (4) Penal and correctional institutions (including juvenile facilities). (5) State and local civil defense organizations. (6) Fire departments and rescue squads (including volunteer fire departments and rescue squads supported in whole or in part with public funds). School (except schools for the mentally or physically disabled) means a public or nonprofit approved or accredited organizational entity devoted primarily to approved academic, vocational, or professional study and instruction, that operates primarily for educational purposes on a full-time basis for a minimum school year and employs a full-time staff of qualified instructors. School for the mentally or physically disabled means a facility or institution operated primarily to provide specialized instruction to students of limited mental or physical capacity. It must be public or nonprofit and must operate on a full-time basis for the equivalent of a minimum school year prescribed for public school instruction for the mentally or physically disabled, have a staff of qualified instructors, and demonstrate that the facility meets the health and safety standards of the State or local government. University means a public or nonprofit approved or accredited institution for instruction and study in the higher branches of learning and empowered to confer degrees in special departments or colleges. [67 FR 2584, Jan. 18, 2002, as amended at 71 FR 23868, Apr. 25, 2006]
Title 41: Public Contracts and Property Management
PART 102–37—DONATION OF SURPLUS PERSONAL PROPERTY
Subpart H—Donations to Public Bodies in Lieu of Abandonment/Destruction
§ 102-37.560 What is a public body?
§ 102-37.565 What is the authority for donations to public bodies?
§ 102-37.570 What type of property may a holding agency donate under this subpart?
§ 102-37.575 Is there a special form for holding agencies to process donations?
§ 102-37.580 Who is responsible for costs associated with the donation?
Appendix A to Part 102–37—Miscellaneous Donation Statutes
Appendix B to Part 102–37—Elements of a State Plan of Operation
State Plan Requirements------------------------------------------------------------------------ Regarding . . . The plan must . . .------------------------------------------------------------------------(a) Designation of a SASP.... (1) Name the State agency that will be responsible for administering the plan. (2) Describe the responsibilities vested in the agency which must include the authorities to acquire, warehouse and distribute surplus property to eligible donees, carry out other requirements of the State plan, and provide details concerning the organization of the agency, including supervision, staffing, structure, and physical facilities. (3) Indicate the organizational status of the agency within the State governmental structure and the title of the State official who directly supervises the State agent.------------------------------------------------------------------------(b) Operational authority.... Include copies of existing State statutes and/or executive orders relative to the operational authority of the SASP. Where express statutory authority does not exist or is ambiguous, or where authority exists by virtue of executive order, the plan must include also the opinion of the State's Attorney General regarding the existence of such authority.------------------------------------------------------------------------(c) Inventory control and (1) Require the SASP to use a management accounting system. control and accounting system that effectively governs the utilization, inventory control, accountability, and disposal of property. (2) Provide a detailed explanation of the inventory control and accounting system that the SASP will use. (3) Provide that property retained by the SASP to perform its functions be maintained on separate records from those of donable property.------------------------------------------------------------------------(d) Return of donated (1) Require the SASP to provide for the property. return of donated property from the donee, at the donee's expense, if the property is still usable as determined by the SASP; and (i) The donee has not placed the property into use for the purpose for which it was donated within 1 year of donation; or (ii) The donee ceases to use the property within 1 year after placing it in use. (2) Specify that return of property can be accomplished by: (i) Physical return to the SASP facility, if required by the SASP. (ii) Retransfer directly to another donee, SASP, or Federal agency, as required by the SASP. (iii) Disposal (by sale or other means) as directed by the SASP. (3) Set forth procedures to accomplish property returns to the SASP, retransfers to other organizations, or disposition by sale, abandonment, or destruction.------------------------------------------------------------------------(e) Financing and service (1) Set forth the means and methods for charges. financing the SASP. When the State authorizes the SASP to assess and collect service charges from participating donees to cover direct and reasonable indirect costs of its activities, the method of establishing the charges must be set forth in the plan. (2) Affirm that service charges, if assessed, are fair and equitable and based on services performed (or paid for) by the SASP, such as screening, packing, crating, removal, and transportation. When the SASP provides minimal services in connection with the acquisition of property, except for document processing and other administrative actions, the State plan must provide for minimal charges to be assessed in such cases and include the bases of computation. (3) Provide that property made available to nonprofit providers of assistance to homeless individuals be distributed at a nominal cost for care and handling of the property. (4) Set forth how funds accumulated from service charges, or from other sources such as sales or compliance proceeds are to be used for the operation of the SASP and the benefit of participating donees. (5) Affirm, if service charge funds are to be deposited or invested, that such deposits or investments are permitted by State law and set forth the types of depositories and/or investments contemplated. (6) Cite State authority to use service charges to acquire or improve SASP facilities and set forth disposition to be made of any financial assets realized upon the sale or other disposal of the facilities. (7) Indicate if the SASP intends to maintain a working capital reserve. If one is to be maintained, the plan should provide the provisions and limitations for it. (8) State if refunds of service charges are to be made to donees when there is an excess in the SASP's working capital reserve and provide details of how such refunds are to be made, such as a reduction in service charges or a cash refund, prorated in an equitable manner.------------------------------------------------------------------------(f) Terms and conditions on (1) Require the SASP to identify terms donated property. and conditions that will be imposed on the donee for any item of donated property with a unit acquisition cost of $5,000 or more and any passenger motor vehicle. (2) Provide that the SASP may impose reasonable terms and conditions on the use of other donated property. If the SASP elects to impose additional terms and conditions, it should list them in the plan. If the SASP wishes to provide for amending, modifying, or releasing any terms or conditions it has elected to impose, it must state in the plan the standards it will use to grant such amendments, modifications or releases. (3) Provide that the SASP will impose on the donation of property, regardless of unit acquisition cost, such conditions involving special handling or use limitations as GSA may determine necessary because of the characteristics of the property.------------------------------------------------------------------------(g) Nonutilized or Provide that, subject to GSA approval, undistributed property. property in the possession of the SASP which donees in the State cannot use will be disposed of by: (1) Transfer to another SASP or Federal agency. (2) Sale. (3) Abandonment or destruction. (4) Other arrangements.------------------------------------------------------------------------(h) Fair and equitable (1) Provide that the SASP will make fair distribution. and equitable distribution of property to eligible donees in the State based on their relative needs and resources and ability to use the property. (2) Set forth the policies and detailed procedures for effecting a prompt, fair, and equitable distribution. (3) Require that the SASP, insofar as practicable, select property requested by eligible donees and, if requested by the donee, arrange for shipment of the property directly to the donee.------------------------------------------------------------------------(i) Eligibility.............. (1) Set forth procedures for the SASP to determine the eligibility of applicants for the donation of surplus personal property. (2) Provide for donee eligibility records to include at a minimum: (i) Legal name and address of the donee. (ii) Status of the donee as a public agency or as an eligible nonprofit activity. (iii) Details on the scope of the donee's program. (iv) Proof of tax exemption under section 501 of the Internal Revenue Code if the donee is nonprofit. (v) Proof that the donee is approved, accredited, licensed, or meets any other legal requirement for operation of its program(s). (vi) Financial information. (vii) Written authorization by the donee's governing body or chief administrative officer designating at least one person to act for the donee in acquiring property. (viii) Assurance that the donee will comply with GSA's regulations on nondiscrimination. (ix) Types of property needed.------------------------------------------------------------------------(j) Compliance and (1) Provide that the SASP conduct utilization. utilization reviews for donee compliance with the terms, conditions, reservations, and restrictions imposed by GSA and the SASP on property having a unit acquisition cost of $5,000 or more and any passenger motor vehicle. (2) Provide for the reviews to include a survey of donee compliance with any special handling conditions or use limitations imposed on items of property by GSA. (3) Set forth the proposed frequency of such reviews and provide adequate assurances that the SASP will take effective action to correct noncompliance or otherwise enforce such terms, conditions, reservations, and restrictions. (4) Require the SASP to prepare reports on utilization reviews and compliance actions and provide assurance that the SASP will initiate appropriate investigations of alleged fraud in the acquisition of donated property or misuse of such property.------------------------------------------------------------------------(k) Consultation with (1) Provide for consultation with advisory bodies and public advisory bodies and public and private and private groups. groups which can assist the SASP in determining the relative needs and resources of donees, the proposed utilization of surplus property by eligible donees, and how distribution of surplus property can be effected to fill existing needs of donees. (2) Provide details of how the SASP will accomplish such consultation.------------------------------------------------------------------------(l) Audit.................... (1) Provide for periodic internal audits of the operations and financial affairs of the SASP. (2) Provide for compliance with the external audit requirements of Office of Management and Budget Circular No. A- 133, ``Audits of States, Local Governments, and Non-Profit Organizations'' (available at www.whitehouse.gov/OMB), and make provisions for the SASP to furnish GSA with: (i) Two copies of any audit report made pursuant to the Circular, or with two copies of those sections that pertain to the Federal donation program. (ii) An outline of all corrective actions and scheduled completion dates for the actions. (3) Provide for cooperation in GSA or Comptroller General conducted audits.------------------------------------------------------------------------(m) Cooperative agreements... If the SASP wishes to enter into, renew, or revise cooperative agreements with GSA or other Federal agencies: (1) Affirm the SASP's intentions to enter into cooperative agreements. (2) Cite the authority for entering into such agreements.------------------------------------------------------------------------(n) Liquidation.............. Provide for the SASP to submit a liquidation plan prior to termination of the SASP activities if the State decides to dissolve the SASP.------------------------------------------------------------------------(o) Forms.................... Include copies of distribution documents used by the SASP.------------------------------------------------------------------------(p) Records.................. Affirm that all official records of the SASP will be retained for a minimum of 3 years, except that: (1) Records involving property subject to restrictions for more than 2 years must be kept 1 year beyond the specified period of restriction. (2) Records involving property with perpetual restriction must be retained in perpetuity. (3) Records involving property in noncompliance status must be retained for at least 1 year after the noncompliance case is closed.------------------------------------------------------------------------
Appendix C to Part 102–37—Glossary of Terms for Determining Eligibility of Public Agencies and Nonprofit Organizations
