Federal Electronic Equipment Donation Act of 2019

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 5495 To direct Federal agencies to transfer excess Federal electronic equipment, including computers, computer components, printers, and fax machines, to educational recipients, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES DECEMBER 19, 2019 Mr. BUTTERFIELD (for himself and Mr. MEADOWS) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Reform A BILL To direct Federal agencies to transfer excess Federal elec- tronic equipment, including computers, computer compo- nents, printers, and fax machines, to educational recipi- ents, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Federal Electronic 4 Equipment Donation Act of 2019’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:47 Dec 29, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5495.IH H5495 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 5495 IH SEC. 2. REQUIREMENT TO TRANSFER USEFUL FEDERAL 1 ELECTRONIC EQUIPMENT TO EDUCATIONAL 2 RECIPIENTS. 3 (a) TRANSFER OF EQUIPMENT TO EDUCATIONAL 4 ENTITIES.— 5 (1) IN GENERAL.—The head of each Federal 6 agency shall identify useful Federal electronic equip- 7 ment that the head has determined is excess to the 8 needs of the Federal agency and— 9 (A) report such equipment to the Adminis- 10 trator of General Services for processing for 11 transfer to an educational recipient in accord- 12 ance with section 549 of title 40, United States 13 Code; 14 (B) transfer such equipment directly to an 15 educational recipient, through an arrangement 16 made by the Administrator of General Services 17 under subsection (b); or 18 (C) report such equipment to the Adminis- 19 trator of General Services as excess property if 20 transfer under subparagraph (A) or (B) is not 21 practicable. 22 (2) MANAGEMENT OF NONTRANSFERABLE 23 EQUIPMENT.—For equipment reported under para- 24 graph (1)(C), the Administrator of General Services 25 shall manage the equipment in accordance with sub- 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:47 Dec 29, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5495.IH H5495 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 5495 IH chapters II and III of chapter 5 of subtitle I of title 1 40, United States Code. 2 (3) EXCEPTION.—Equipment transferred under 3 section 11(i) of the Stevenson-Wydler Technology 4 Innovation Act of 1980 (15 U.S.C. 3710(i)) is nei- 5 ther transferred pursuant to this Act nor subject to 6 the requirements of this Act. 7 (b) ADVANCE REPORTING OF EQUIPMENT TO 8 GSA.—The head of each Federal agency shall report to 9 the Administrator of General Services the availability of 10 useful Federal electronic equipment as far as possible in 11 advance of the date the equipment is expected to become 12 excess to the needs of the Federal agency, so that the Ad- 13 ministrator may attempt to arrange for the direct transfer 14 from the donating agency to educational recipients. 15 (c) USE OF NONPROFIT REFURBISHERS.—In trans- 16 ferring any equipment pursuant to this Act, at the request 17 of the educational recipient and if appropriate, if the 18 equipment is not classroom-usable, the head of the trans- 19 ferring agency shall convey the equipment initially to a 20 nonprofit refurbisher for upgrade before transfer to the 21 educational recipient. 22 (d) REMOVAL OF DATA BEFORE TRANSFER.—In 23 transferring any equipment pursuant to this Act, the head 24 of the transferring agency shall remove data from the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:47 Dec 29, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5495.IH H5495 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 5495 IH equipment prior to transfer to the educational recipient 1 according to accepted sanitization procedures. To the max- 2 imum extent practicable, the head of the transferring 3 agency shall remove data using a means that does not re- 4 move, disable, destroy, or otherwise render unusable the 5 equipment or components. 6 (e) PREFERENCE.—In transferring any equipment 7 pursuant to this Act, the head of the transferring agency 8 shall give the highest preference to educational recipients 9 located in a persistent poverty county, a qualified oppor- 10 tunity zone, an enterprise community, a qualifying small 11 town, or a qualifying county. 12 (f) LOW COST.—Any transfer made pursuant to this 13 Act shall be made at the lowest cost to the educational 14 recipient permitted by law. 15 (g) TITLE.—Title of ownership of equipment trans- 16 ferred pursuant to this Act shall transfer to the edu- 17 cational recipient receiving the equipment. 18 (h) NOTICE OF AVAILABILITY OF EQUIPMENT.—The 19 Administrator of General Services shall provide notice of 20 the anticipated availability of useful Federal electronic 21 equipment to educational recipients by all practicable 22 means, including newspapers, community announcements, 23 and the internet. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:47 Dec 29, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5495.IH H5495 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 5495 IH (i) FACILITATION BY REGIONAL FEDERAL EXECU- 1 TIVE BOARDS.—The regional Federal Executive Boards 2 (as that term is used in part 960 of title 5, Code of Fed- 3 eral Regulations) shall help facilitate the transfer of useful 4 Federal electronic equipment from the agencies they rep- 5 resent to educational recipients under this Act. 6 SEC. 3. PREFERENCE IN DONATION OF PERSONAL PROP- 7 ERTY THROUGH STATE AGENCIES. 8 Section 549(e)(3)(B) of title 40, United States Code, 9 is amended— 10 (1) by striking ‘‘The state plan’’ and inserting 11 the following: 12 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The state plan’’; 13 and 14 (2) by adding at the end the following new 15 clause: 16 ‘‘(ii) PREFERENCE.—The state plan 17 of operation shall require the state agency 18 to give the highest preference for electronic 19 equipment to eligible institutions (as de- 20 scribed in subsection (c)(3)) that are lo- 21 cated in an enterprise community or em- 22 powerment zone designated under section 23 1391 or 1400 of the Internal Revenue 24 Code of 1986, a political subdivision with 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:47 Dec 29, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5495.IH H5495 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 5495 IH a population of not more than 24,999 indi- 1 viduals where 20 percent or more of the 2 residents earn less than the poverty thresh- 3 old (as defined by the Bureau of the Cen- 4 sus), or a county where 20 percent or more 5 of the residents earn less than poverty 6 threshold (as defined by the Bureau of the 7 Census).’’. 8 SEC. 4. REPORT TO CONGRESS. 9 Not later than 18 months after the date of the enact- 10 ment of this Act, the Administrator of General Services 11 shall submit to Congress a report that contains the fol- 12 lowing: 13 (1) An inventory of items that Federal agencies 14 identified as useful Federal electronic equipment 15 that the agency has determined is excess to its needs 16 in the first 365 days after the date of the enactment 17 of this Act. 18 (2) The number of such items that were— 19 (A) transferred to educational recipients 20 pursuant to this Act; 21 (B) transferred to other Federal agencies 22 and organizations pursuant to section 521 of 23 title 40, United States Code; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:47 Dec 29, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5495.IH H5495 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 5495 IH (C) transferred to State agencies pursuant 1 to section 549 of title 40, United States Code; 2 or 3 (D) disposed of through other means. 4 (3) Recommendations for further legislation or 5 administrative action that the Administrator con- 6 siders appropriate to establish an effective system 7 for transferring excess useful Federal electronic 8 equipment to educational recipients. 9 SEC. 5. RULEMAKING. 10 Not later than 6 months after the date of the enact- 11 ment of this Act, the Administrator of General Services 12 shall prescribe rules and procedures to carry out this Act. 13 SEC. 6. DEFINITIONS. 14 In this Act: 15 (1) CLASSROOM-USABLE.—The term ‘‘class- 16 room-usable’’, with respect to useful Federal elec- 17 tronic equipment, means such equipment that does 18 not require an upgrade of hardware or software in 19 order to be used by an educational recipient without 20 being first transferred under section 2(c) to a non- 21 profit refurbisher for such an upgrade. 22 (2) COMMUNITY BASED EDUCATIONAL ORGANI- 23 ZATION.—The term ‘‘community based educational 24 organization’’ means a nonprofit entity that qualifies 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:18 Dec 31, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5495.IH H5495 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 5495 IH as a nonprofit educational institution or organization 1 for purposes of section 501(c)(3) of the Internal 2 Revenue Code of 1986 and— 3 (A) is engaged in collaborative projects, 4 the primary focus of which is education, with 5 schools, qualifying small towns, qualifying coun- 6 ties, or libraries; or 7 (B) provides use of computers and internet 8 access to members of the community at no 9 charge. 10 (3) EDUCATIONAL RECIPIENT.—The term 11 ‘‘educational recipient’’ means a school or a commu- 12 nity-based educational organization. 13 (4) ENTERPRISE COMMUNITY.—The term ‘‘en- 14 terprise community’’ has the meaning given that 15 term in section 1391 of the Internal Revenue Code 16 of 1986 (26 U.S.C. 1391). 17 (5) FEDERAL AGENCY.—The term ‘‘Federal 18 agency’’ means an Executive department or an Ex- 19 ecutive agency (as such terms are defined in chapter 20 1 of title 5, United States Code). 21 (6) NONPROFIT REFURBISHER.—The term 22 ‘‘nonprofit refurbisher’’ means an organization 23 that— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:47 Dec 29, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5495.IH H5495 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 5495 IH (A) is exempt from income taxes under 1 section 501(c) of the Internal Revenue Code of 2 1986; and 3 (B) upgrades useful Federal electronic 4 equipment that is not yet classroom-usable at 5 no cost or low cost to the ultimate educational 6 recipient. 7 (7) SCHOOL.—The term ‘‘school’’ includes an 8 early childhood education program (as that term is 9 defined in section 103 of the Elementary and Sec- 10 ondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801)), 11 an elementary school, a secondary school, and a local 12 educational agency (as those terms are defined in 13 section 8101 of that Act). 14 (8) QUALIFIED OPPORTUNITY ZONE.—The term 15 ‘‘qualified opportunity zone’’ has the meaning given 16 that term under section 1400Z–1 of the Internal 17 Revenue Code of 1986 (26 U.S.C. 1400Z–1). 18 (9) PERSISTENT POVERTY COUNTY.—The term 19 ‘‘persistent poverty county’’ means any county that 20 has had 20 percent or more of its population living 21 in poverty over the past 30 years, as measured by 22 the last three completed decennial censuses, and the 23 most recently available American Community Survey 24 5 year average. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:47 Dec 29, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5495.IH H5495 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 5495 IH (10) QUALIFYING COUNTY.—The term ‘‘quali- 1 fying county’’ means a county where 20 percent or 2 more of the residents earn less than the poverty 3 threshold (as defined by the Bureau of the Census). 4 (11) QUALIFYING SMALL TOWN.—The term 5 ‘‘qualifying small town’’ means a political subdivi- 6 sion with a population of not more than 24,999 indi- 7 viduals where 20 percent or more of the residents 8 earn less than the poverty threshold (as defined by 9 the Bureau of the Census). 10 (12) USEFUL FEDERAL ELECTRONIC EQUIP- 11 MENT.—The term ‘‘useful Federal electronic equip- 12 ment’’— 13 (A) means— 14 (i) computers and related peripheral 15 tools (such as computer printers, modems, 16 routers, and servers), including tele- 17 communications and research equipment; 18 (ii) fax machines; and 19 (iii) any other electronic equipment 20 determined by a Federal agency to be po- 21 tentially useful to an educational recipient; 22 and 23 (B) includes computer software if the 24 transfer of a license is permitted. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:47 Dec 29, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5495.IH H5495 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 5495 IH SEC. 7. EFFECT ON OTHER LAWS; RULE OF CONSTRUCTION. 1 (a) EFFECT ON OTHER LAWS.—This Act supersedes 2 Executive Order 12999 (61 Fed. Reg. 17227; relating to 3 educational technology: ensuring opportunity for all chil- 4 dren in the next century). 5 (b) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—This Act may not be 6 construed to create any right or benefit, substantive or 7 procedural, enforceable at law by a party against the 8 United States or its agencies, officers, or employees. 9 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:47 Dec 29, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H5495.IH H5495 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS