§524 — Title 40 Public Buildings, Property, and Works | U.S. Code

Summary

Executive agencies must keep good records and controls for the property they own or manage. They must watch their property all the time to find items that are not needed, take care of extra property, and quickly tell the Administrator of General Services about property that is excess. Agencies must move or get rid of excess property quickly under GSA rules. They must plan their workforce needs for real property, set goals to cut down on excess and underused property, try work methods that need less space, and check leased space for underuse. Every year, agencies must list all real property they control and assess each site. The assessment must cover things like age and condition, size and location, how much it is used, annual operating costs and capital costs, sustainability measures, how many employees are there, how important the property is to the agency’s mission, and projected capital costs for the next 5 years, plus any other information the GSA asks for. Agencies must give this information to the Federal Real Property Council and GSA for the federal property database. They must also do yearly checks of capitalized personal property and regular checks of accountable personal property, looking at age, condition, use, mission dependence, and other GSA-required factors. Agencies should reassign unneeded property inside the agency when practical, transfer excess to other federal agencies or the organizations listed in section 321(c)(2), and can obtain excess property from other agencies. Executive agency — means the same as “Federal agency” in section 621.

Title 40, §524

Public Buildings, Property, and Works — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Each executive agency shall—

(1)maintain adequate inventory controls and accountability systems for property under its control;

(2)continuously survey property under its control to identify excess property;

(3)promptly report excess property to the Administrator of General Services;

(4)perform the care and handling of excess property;

(5)transfer or dispose of excess property as promptly as possible in accordance with authority delegated and regulations prescribed by the Administrator;

(6)develop current and future workforce projections so as to have the capacity to assess the needs of the Federal workforce regarding the use of real property;

(7)establish goals and policies that will lead the executive agency to reduce excess property and underutilized property in the inventory of the executive agency;

(8)submit to the Federal Real Property Council an annual report on all excess property that is real property and underutilized property in the inventory of the executive agency, including—

(A)whether underutilized property can be better utilized, including through collocation with other executive agencies or consolidation with other facilities; and

(B)the extent to which the executive agency believes that retention of the underutilized property serves the needs of the executive agency;

(9)adopt workplace practices, configurations, and management techniques that can achieve increased levels of productivity and decrease the need for real property assets;

(10)assess leased space to identify space that is not fully used or occupied;

(11)on an annual basis and subject to the guidance of the Federal Real Property Council—

(A)conduct an inventory of real property under control of the executive agency; and

(B)make an assessment of each property, which shall include—

(i)the age and condition of the property;

(ii)the size of the property in square footage and acreage;

(iii)the geographical location of the property, including an address and description;

(iv)the extent to which the property is being utilized;

(v)the actual annual operating costs associated with the property;

(vi)the total cost of capital expenditures incurred by the Federal Government associated with the property;

(vii)sustainability metrics associated with the property;

(viii)the number of Federal employees and contractor employees and functions housed at the property;

(ix)the extent to which the mission of the executive agency is dependent on the property;

(x)the estimated amount of capital expenditures projected to maintain and operate the property during the 5-year period beginning on the date of enactment of this paragraph; and

(xi)any additional information required by the Administrator of General Services to carry out section 623;

(12)provide to the Federal Real Property Council and the Administrator of General Services the information described in paragraph (11)(B) to be used for the establishment and maintenance of the database described in section 21 of the Federal Assets Sale and Transfer Act of 2016; and

(13)in accordance with guidance from the Administrator of General Services—

(A)on an annual basis, conduct an inventory and assessment of capitalized personal property to identify excess capitalized personal property under its control, including evaluating—

(i)the age and condition of the personal property;

(ii)the extent to which the executive agency utilizes the personal property;

(iii)the extent to which the mission of the executive agency is dependent on the personal property; and

(iv)any other aspect of the personal property that the Administrator determines is useful or necessary for the executive agency to evaluate; and

(B)on a regular basis, conduct an inventory and assessment of accountable personal property under its control, including evaluating—

(i)the age and condition of the personal property;

(ii)the extent to which the executive agency utilizes the personal property;

(iii)the extent to which the mission of the executive agency is dependent on the personal property; and

(iv)any other aspect of the personal property that the Administrator determines is useful or necessary for the executive agency to evaluate.

(b)Each executive agency, as far as practicable, shall—

(1)reassign property to another activity within the agency when the property is no longer required for the purposes of the appropriation used to make the purchase;

(2)transfer excess property under its control to other federal agencies and to organizations specified in section 321(c)(2) of this title; and

(3)obtain excess property from other federal agencies.

(c)For the purpose of paragraphs (6) through (12) of subsection (a), the term “executive agency” shall have the meaning given the term “Federal agency” in section 621.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Historical and Revision Notes

Revised SectionSource (U.S. Code)Source (Statutes at Large) 524(a)40:483(b).June 30, 1949, ch. 288, title II, § 202(b), 63 Stat. 384. 524(b)40:483(c).June 30, 1949, ch. 288, title II, § 202(c), 63 Stat. 384; July 12, 1952, ch. 703, § 1(g), 66 Stat. 593. In clause (a)(2), the word “identify” is substituted for “determine which is” to eliminate unnecessary words. In clause (b)(1), the words “determined to be” are omitted as unnecessary.

Editorial Notes

References in Text

The date of enactment of this paragraph, referred to in subsec. (a)(11)(B)(x), is the date of enactment of Pub. L. 114–318, which was approved Dec. 16, 2016. section 21 of the Federal Assets Sale and Transfer Act of 2016, referred to in subsec. (a)(12), is section 21 of Pub. L. 114–287, which is set out in a note under section 1303 of this title.

Amendments

2019—Subsec. (a)(13). Pub. L. 115–419 added par. (13). 2016—Subsec. (a)(6) to (12). Pub. L. 114–318, § 6(a), added pars. (6) to (12). Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 114–318, § 6(b), added subsec. (c).

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

OMB Report Pub. L. 109–396, title IV, § 408, Dec. 15, 2006, 120 Stat. 2720, provided that the Director of the Office of Management and Budget was to submit, not later than 6 months after Dec. 15, 2006, a report on surplus and excess government property to Congress and, by such date, to develop, implement, and report to Congress on procedures requiring Federal agencies to share data on surplus and excess Federal real property under the jurisdiction of each agency.

§524 Duties of executive agencies