§549a — Title 40 Public Buildings, Property, and Works | U.S. Code

Summary

The Administrator must transfer ownership of repairable surplus computers and technology to nonprofit refurbishers within 30 days after State surplus property agencies get to review them, if the equipment can be fixed and has been wiped following NIST Special Publication 800–88. Those nonprofit refurbishers must repair the equipment, give it to eligible recipients for free (they may charge small shipping or handling fees that do not exceed fair market value), provide training to the recipients, and recycle items that cannot be fixed. The Administrator may partner with outside groups to find refurbishers, must make rules about fees, who can participate (including checks for national security concerns), how recipients are identified, and which recyclers to use. Refurbishers must give the Administrator non‑personal information for required reports. Each year the Administrator will publish a report to Congress listing partners, refurbishers (including any foreign ownership), and donated items with the donating agency, the recipient’s State and county, and the recipient type. Federal agencies must report, starting 5 years after this law takes effect and every year after, how many repairable items were recycled, abandoned, or destroyed. The law does not create a private right to sue and does not replace the Stevenson‑Wydler Act. Definitions (short): Administrator — head of the General Services Administration; digital divide — gap between people who have internet‑connected computers and the skills to use them and those who do not; disability — as defined in the ADA; educational institution — child care, preschool, elementary and secondary schools, vocational schools, colleges and universities, and home schools; eligible recipient — an educational institution, person with a disability, low‑income person, student, senior in need, or veteran in the United States; nongovernmental entity — non‑government organizations involved in computer refurbishment and access work in the U.S.; nonprofit computer refurbisher — a U.S. nonprofit focused on improving access to technology; nonprofit organization — a 501(c)(3) tax‑exempt group; repairable — unusable now but can be fixed economically; senior — age 65 or older; senior in need — a senior who is isolated in a way that limits daily tasks or independence; technology equipment — computers and related devices and parts (tablets, routers, phones, printers, cables, etc.); veteran — as defined in title 38.

Title 40, §549a

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

(a)Not later than 30 days after the date on which the Administrator provides State agencies for surplus property an opportunity to review surplus computer or technology equipment under section 549, the Administrator shall, as appropriate, transfer full title to such surplus computer or technology equipment that is determined to be eligible under subsection (b)(1) to nonprofit computer refurbishers for repair, distribution, and subsequent transfer of full title of the equipment to eligible recipients under this section.

(b)(1)Surplus computer or technology equipment is eligible for transfer under this section if a Federal agency determines that—

(A)the surplus computer or technology equipment is repairable; and

(B)the surplus computer or technology equipment meets the Guidelines for Media Sanitization issued by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST Special Publication 800–88), or any successor thereto.

(2)The Administrator may establish partnerships with nongovernmental entities, at no cost and through cooperative agreements, to facilitate the identification and participation of nonprofit computer refurbishers under this section.

(3)A nonprofit computer refurbisher that receives surplus computer or technology equipment under this section shall—

(A)make necessary repairs to restore the surplus computer or technology equipment to working order;

(B)distribute the repaired surplus computer or technology equipment to eligible recipients at no cost, except to the extent—

(i)necessary to facilitate shipping and handling of such equipment; and

(ii)that such cost is consistent with any regulations promulgated by the Administrator under subsection (d);

(C)offer training programs on the use of the repaired computers and technology equipment for the recipients of the equipment; and

(D)use recyclers to the maximum extent practicable in the event that surplus computer or technology equipment transferred under this section cannot be repaired or reused.

(c)(1)A nonprofit computer refurbisher that receives surplus computer or technology equipment under this section shall provide the Administrator with any information the Administrator determines to be necessary for required reporting—

(A)including information about the distribution of such equipment; and

(B)which shall not include any personal identifying information about the recipient of such equipment apart from whether a recipient is an educational institution, individual with disabilities, low-income individual, student, senior in need, or veteran for the purposes of eligibility under this section.

(2)Annually and consistent with reporting requirements for transfers of Federal personal property to non-Federal entities, the Administrator shall submit to Congress and make publicly available a report that includes, for the period covered by the report—

(A)a description of the efforts of the Administrator under this section;

(B)a list of nongovernmental entities with which the Administrator had a partnership described in subsection (b)(2);

(C)a list of nonprofit computer refurbishers that received, made repairs to, and distributed surplus computer and technology equipment, including disclosure of any foreign ownership interest in a nonprofit computer refurbisher; and

(D)a list of donated and subsequently repaired surplus computer or technology equipment identifying—

(i)the Federal agency that donated the surplus computer or technology equipment;

(ii)the State and county (or similar unit of local government) where the recipient is located; and

(iii)whether the recipient is an educational institution, individual with disabilities, low-income individual, student, senior in need, or veteran.

(3)Not later than 5 years after the date of enactment of this section, and annually thereafter, the head of each Federal agency shall make publicly available a report on the number of pieces of repairable surplus computer or technology equipment that were sent to recycling, abandoned, or destroyed.

(d)The Administrator shall issue regulations that are necessary and appropriate to implement this section, including—

(1)allowing nonprofit computer refurbishers to assess nominal fees (which shall not exceed fair market value) on recipients of refurbished surplus computer or technology equipment to facilitate shipping and handling of the surplus computer or technology equipment;

(2)determining, in coordination with other relevant Federal agencies, eligibility and certification requirements for nongovernmental entities and nonprofit computer refurbishers to participate in the program established under this section, including whether the participation of a nongovernmental entity or nonprofit computer refurbisher poses any actual or potential harm to the national security interests of the United States;

(3)establishing an efficient process for identifying eligible recipients; and

(4)determining appropriate recyclers to dispose of surplus computer or technology equipment if it cannot be repaired or refurbished under this section.

(e)Nothing in this section shall be construed to create any substantive or procedural right or benefit enforceable by law by a party against the United States, its agencies, its officers, or its employees.

(f)Nothing in this section may be construed to supersede the requirements of the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980 (Public Law 96–480; 15 U.S.C. 3701 et seq.).

(g)In this section:

(1)The term “Administrator” means the Administrator of General Services.

(2)The term “digital divide” means the gap between those who have an internet-connected computer and the skills to use the computer and those who do not.

(3)The term “disability” has the meaning given that term in section 3 of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12102).

(4)The term “educational institution” means—

(A)any public or private child care center, preschool, elementary school, secondary school, accredited institution of vocational or professional education, or institution of higher education;

(B)in the case of an accredited institution of vocational or professional education or an institution of higher education composed of more than 1 school, college, or department that is administratively a separate unit, each such school, college, or department; and

(C)a home school (whether treated as a home school or private school for the purposes of applicable State law).

(5)The term “eligible recipient” means an educational institution, individual with a disability, low-income individual, student, senior in need, or veteran that is residing or based in the United States.

(6)The term “institution of higher education” has the meaning given that term in section 101 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001).

(7)The term “low-income individual” has the meaning given that term in section 351 of the Small Business Investment Act of 1958 (15 U.S.C. 689).

(8)The term “nongovernmental entity” means an organization or group of organizations that—

(A)are not part of a Federal, State, local, Tribal, or territorial government; and

(B)are nonprofit computer refurbishers or other industry participants that—

(i)primarily work to improve access to information and communication technology in their mission to bridge the digital divide through coordination and oversight of computer refurbishment and repair; and

(ii)operate in the United States.

(9)The term “nonprofit computer refurbisher” means a nonprofit organization that—

(A)primarily works to improve access to information and communication technology in their mission to bridge the digital divide; and

(B)operates in the United States.

(10)The term “nonprofit organization” means an organization that is described under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and is exempt from taxation under section 501(a) of such Code.

(11)The term “repairable” means property that is unusable in its current state but can be economically repaired.

(12)The term “secondary school” has the meaning given that term in section 8101 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801).

(13)The term “senior” means an individual who is 65 years of age or older.

(14)The term “senior in need” means a senior who experiences cultural, social, or geographical isolation that—

(A)restricts the ability of the senior to perform normal daily tasks; or

(B)threatens the capacity of the senior to live independently.

(15)The term “State agency for surplus property” has the meaning given the term “state agency” under section 549(a).

(16)The term “student” means any individual enrolled in an educational institution, but not a public or private child care center.

(17)The term “surplus computer or technology equipment” means computer or technology equipment that is property described under section 549(b)(2).

(18)The term “technology equipment” means any physical asset related to a computer or information technology, including any peripheral component, tablet, communication device (such as a router, server, or cell phone), printer, scanner, uninterruptible power source, cable, or connection.

(19)The term “veteran” has the meaning given that term in section 101 of title 38.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

References in Text

The date of enactment of this section, referred to in subsec. (c)(3), is the date of enactment of Pub. L. 117–328, which was approved Dec. 29, 2022. The Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980, referred to in subsec. (f), is Pub. L. 96–480, Oct. 21, 1980, 94 Stat. 2311, which is classified generally to chapter 63 (§ 3701 et seq.) of Title 15, Commerce and Trade. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see

Short Title

note set out under section 3701 of Title 15 and Tables. section 501 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, referred to in subsec. (g)(10), is classified to section 501 of Title 26, Internal Revenue Code.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Findings Pub. L. 117–328, div. Z, § 102, Dec. 29, 2022, 136 Stat. 5523, provided that: “Congress finds the following: “(1) Access to computers and computer technology is indispensable for success in the 21st century. Millions of Americans do not regularly use a computer and research shows that substantial disparities remain in both internet use and the quality of access, with the digital divide concentrated among older, less educated, less affluent populations, especially veterans, low-income students, and senior citizens. “(2) The COVID–19 pandemic has highlighted the gap between those with computer access and those without. Millions of students, their families, and workers from across the economy were unable to do schoolwork, work remotely from home, or connect to loved ones and their communities because of the digital divide. “(3) Any Federal program that distributes surplus, repairable Federal computers or technology equipment would benefit from a partnership with a nonprofit organization whose mission is bridging the digital divide.”

§549a Donation of personal property through nonprofit refurbishers