Federal Electronic Equipment Donation Act of 2019

Bill: 116-hr-5495
Sponsor: full_name: Rep. Butterfield, G. K. [D-NC-1]
Introduced: 2019-12-19
Policy area: Government Operations and Politics
Subjects: Computers and information technology

Congressional oversight

Elementary and secondary education

Government buildings, facilities, and property

Government information and archives

Higher education

Intergovernmental relations

Public-private cooperation

State and local government operations
Latest action: action_date: 2019-12-19
text: Referred to the House Committee on Oversight and Reform.

Summaries:
action_date: 2019-12-19
action_desc: Introduced in House
text: <p><b>Federal Electronic Equipment Donation Act of 2019</b></p> <p>This bill directs federal agencies to transfer excess federal electronic equipment, including computers and related peripheral tools, to educational recipients.</p> <p>Each agency shall identify useful electronic equipment determined to be excess to the needs of the agency (excluding research equipment) and</p> <ul> <li>report such equipment to the General Services Administration (GSA) for processing for transfer to an educational recipient; </li> <li>transfer such equipment directly to an educational recipient, through an arrangement made by the GSA; or </li> <li>report such equipment to the GSA as excess property if such transfers are not practicable. </li></ul> <p>Each agency shall report to the GSA the availability of useful federal electronic equipment as far as possible in advance. If the equipment is not classroom-usable, the transferring agency shall convey the equipment initially to a nonprofit refurbisher for upgrade before transfer.</p> <p>The transferring agency shall (1) remove data using a means that does not render the equipment or components unusable, and (2) give the highest preference to educational recipients located in a persistent poverty county or other specified areas.</p> <p>A state's plan for distributing donated federal equipment must give the highest preference for electronic equipment to institutions that are located in an enterprise community, an empowerment zone, or specified high poverty areas.</p>

tv_txt: I 116th CONGRESS 1st Session H. R. 5495 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 electronic equipment, including computers, computer components, printers, and fax machines, to educational recipients, and for other purposes.

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Federal Electronic Equipment Donation Act of 2019 . 2. Requirement to transfer useful Federal electronic equipment to educational recipients (a) Transfer of Equipment to educational Entities (1) In general The head of each Federal agency shall identify useful Federal electronic equipment that the head has determined is excess to the needs of the Federal agency and— (A) report such equipment to the Administrator of General Services for processing for transfer to an educational recipient in accordance with section 549 of title 40, United States Code; (B) transfer such equipment directly to an educational recipient, through an arrangement made by the Administrator of General Services under subsection (b); or (C) report such equipment to the Administrator of General Services as excess property if transfer under subparagraph (A) or (B) is not practicable. (2) Management of nontransferable equipment For equipment reported under paragraph (1)(C), the Administrator of General Services shall manage the equipment in accordance with subchapters II and III of chapter 5 of subtitle I of title 40, United States Code. (3) Exception Equipment transferred under section 11(i) of the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980 ( 15 U.S.C. 3710(i) ) is neither transferred pursuant to this Act nor subject to the requirements of this Act. (b) Advance Reporting of Equipment to GSA The head of each Federal agency shall report to the Administrator of General Services the availability of useful Federal electronic equipment as far as possible in advance of the date the equipment is expected to become excess to the needs of the Federal agency, so that the Administrator may attempt to arrange for the direct transfer from the donating agency to educational recipients. (c) Use of nonprofit refurbishers In transferring any equipment pursuant to this Act, at the request of the educational recipient and if appropriate, if the equipment is not classroom-usable, the head of the transferring agency shall convey the equipment initially to a nonprofit refurbisher for upgrade before transfer to the educational recipient. (d) Removal of data before transfer In transferring any equipment pursuant to this Act, the head of the transferring agency shall remove data from the equipment prior to transfer to the educational recipient according to accepted sanitization procedures. To the maximum extent practicable, the head of the transferring agency shall remove data using a means that does not remove, disable, destroy, or otherwise render unusable the equipment or components. (e) Preference In transferring any equipment pursuant to this Act, the head of the transferring agency shall give the highest preference to educational recipients located in a persistent poverty county, a qualified opportunity zone, an enterprise community, a qualifying small town, or a qualifying county. (f) Low Cost Any transfer made pursuant to this Act shall be made at the lowest cost to the educational recipient permitted by law. (g) Title Title of ownership of equipment transferred pursuant to this Act shall transfer to the educational recipient receiving the equipment. (h) Notice of Availability of Equipment The Administrator of General Services shall provide notice of the anticipated availability of useful Federal electronic equipment to educational recipients by all practicable means, including newspapers, community announcements, and the internet. (i) Facilitation by Regional Federal Executive Boards The regional Federal Executive Boards (as that term is used in part 960 of title 5, Code of Federal Regulations) shall help facilitate the transfer of useful Federal electronic equipment from the agencies they represent to educational recipients under this Act. 3. Preference in donation of personal property through State agencies Section 549(e)(3)(B) of title 40, United States Code, is amended— (1) by striking The state plan and inserting the following: (i) In general The state plan ; and (2) by adding at the end the following new clause: (ii) Preference The state plan of operation shall require the state agency to give the highest preference for electronic equipment to eligible institutions (as described in subsection (c)(3)) that are located in an enterprise community or empowerment zone designated under section 1391 or 1400 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, a political subdivision with a population of not more than 24,999 individuals where 20 percent or more of the residents earn less than the poverty threshold (as defined by the Bureau of the Census), or a county where 20 percent or more of the residents earn less than poverty threshold (as defined by the Bureau of the Census). . 4. Report to Congress Not later than 18 months after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Administrator of General Services shall submit to Congress a report that contains the following: (1) An inventory of items that Federal agencies identified as useful Federal electronic equipment that the agency has determined is excess to its needs in the first 365 days after the date of the enactment of this Act. (2) The number of such items that were— (A) transferred to educational recipients pursuant to this Act; (B) transferred to other Federal agencies and organizations pursuant to section 521 of title 40, United States Code; (C) transferred to State agencies pursuant to section 549 of title 40, United States Code; or (D) disposed of through other means. (3) Recommendations for further legislation or administrative action that the Administrator considers appropriate to establish an effective system for transferring excess useful Federal electronic equipment to educational recipients. 5. Rulemaking Not later than 6 months after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Administrator of General Services shall prescribe rules and procedures to carry out this Act. 6. Definitions In this Act: (1) Classroom-usable The term classroom-usable , with respect to useful Federal electronic equipment, means such equipment that does not require an upgrade of hardware or software in order to be used by an educational recipient without being first transferred under section 2(c) to a nonprofit refurbisher for such an upgrade. (2) Community based educational organization The term community based educational organization means a nonprofit entity that qualifies as a nonprofit educational institution or organization for purposes of section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and— (A) is engaged in collaborative projects, the primary focus of which is education, with schools, qualifying small towns, qualifying counties, or libraries; or (B) provides use of computers and internet access to members of the community at no charge. (3) Educational recipient The term educational recipient means a school or a community-based educational organization. (4) Enterprise community The term enterprise community has the meaning given that term in section 1391 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 ( 26 U.S.C. 1391 ). (5) Federal agency The term Federal agency means an Executive department or an Executive agency (as such terms are defined in chapter 1 of title 5, United States Code). (6) Nonprofit refurbisher The term nonprofit refurbisher means an organization that— (A) is exempt from income taxes under section 501(c) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986; and (B) upgrades useful Federal electronic equipment that is not yet classroom-usable at no cost or low cost to the ultimate educational recipient. (7) School The term school includes an early childhood education program (as that term is defined in section 103 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 ( 20 U.S.C. 7801 )), an elementary school, a secondary school, and a local educational agency (as those terms are defined in section 8101 of that Act). (8) Qualified opportunity zone The term qualified opportunity zone has the meaning given that term under section 1400Z–1 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 ( 26 U.S.C. 1400Z–1 ). (9) Persistent poverty county The term persistent poverty county means any county that has had 20 percent or more of its population living in poverty over the past 30 years, as measured by the last three completed decennial censuses, and the most recently available American Community Survey 5 year average. (10) Qualifying county The term qualifying county means a county where 20 percent or more of the residents earn less than the poverty threshold (as defined by the Bureau of the Census). (11) Qualifying small town The term qualifying small town means a political subdivision with a population of not more than 24,999 individuals where 20 percent or more of the residents earn less than the poverty threshold (as defined by the Bureau of the Census). (12) Useful Federal electronic equipment The term useful Federal electronic equipment — (A) means— (i) computers and related peripheral tools (such as computer printers, modems, routers, and servers), including telecommunications and research equipment; (ii) fax machines; and (iii) any other electronic equipment determined by a Federal agency to be potentially useful to an educational recipient; and (B) includes computer software if the transfer of a license is permitted. 7. Effect on other laws; rule of construction (a) Effect on other laws This Act supersedes Executive Order 12999 (61 Fed. Reg. 17227; relating to educational technology: ensuring opportunity for all children in the next century). (b) Rule of construction This Act may not be construed to create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law by a party against the United States or its agencies, officers, or employees.