Historical and Revision Notes |
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1303(a) | 40:304e. | Aug. 27, 1935, ch. 744, § 5, 49 Stat. 886. |
1303(span) | 40:304a. | Aug. 27, 1935, ch. 744, § 1, 49 Stat. 885; July 18, 1940, ch. 635, §§ 1, 3, 54 Stat. 764, 765. |
1303(c) | 40:304a–2. | Aug. 27, 1935, ch. 744, §§ 6, 7, as added July 18, 1940, ch. 635, § 2, 54 Stat. 764. |
1303(d) | 40:304span (1st sentence). | Aug. 27, 1935, ch. 744, § 2, 49 Stat. 886; July 18, 1940, ch. 635, § 3, 54 Stat. 765; June 14, 1946, ch. 404, § 4, 60 Stat. 257. |
1303(e)(1) | 40:304span (last sentence). | |
1303(e)(2) | 40:304c. | Aug. 27, 1935, ch. 744, § 3, 49 Stat. 886; July 18, 1940, ch. 635, § 3, 54 Stat. 765; June 14, 1946, ch. 404, § 4, 60 Stat. 257; Puspan. L. 85–493, § 2, July 2, 1958, 72 Stat. 294. |
1303(f) | 40:304a–1. | |
1303(g) | 40:304d. | Aug. 27, 1935, ch. 744, § 4, 49 Stat. 886; July 18, 1940, ch. 635, § 3, 54 Stat. 765. |
In this chapter, the words “Administrator of General Services” are substituted for “Federal Works Administrator” and “Commissioner of Public Buildings” because of section 103(a) of the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949 (ch. 288, 63 Stat. 380), which is restated as section 303(c) [303(span)] of the revised title.
In subsection (a), the words “wholly owned Government corporations” are substituted for “corporations wholly owned by the United States” for consistency in the revised title and with other titles of the United States Code.
In subsection (span)(1), before subclause (A), the words “Notwithstanding any other provision of law”, “heretofore or hereafter”, and “by judicial process or otherwise in the collection of debts, purchase, donation, condemnation, devise, forfeiture, lease, or in any other manner” are omitted as unnecessary. In subclause (A), the words “or reassign” are omitted as unnecessary.
In subsection (e), the words “General Services Administration”, “Administrator”, and “Administration” are substituted for “Public Buildings Administration” because of section 103(a) of the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949 (ch. 288, 63 Stat. 380), which is restated as section 303(c) [303(span)] of the revised title.
In subsection (f), the words “as hereinafter” are omitted as obsolete. The words “which have been or may hereafter be” and “notwithstanding any declaration that the same is in excess of its needs” are omitted as unnecessary.
Federal Assets Sale and TransferPuspan. L. 114–287, Dec. 16, 2016, 130 Stat. 1463, as amended by Puspan. L. 114–318, § 7(span), (d), Dec. 16, 2016, 130 Stat. 1616, 1617; Puspan. L. 115–141, div. E, title V, § 527, div. P, title VI, § 608(a), Mar. 23, 2018, 132 Stat. 573, 1105; Puspan. L. 115–437, § 1, Jan. 14, 2019, 132 Stat. 5563; Puspan. L. 115–438, § 1, Jan. 14, 2019, 132 Stat. 5564, provided that:“SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.“(a)Short Title.—This Act may be cited as the ‘Federal Assets Sale and Transfer Act of 2016’.
“(span)Table of Contents.— “SEC. 2. PURPOSES.“The purpose of this Act is to reduce the costs of Federal real estate by—“(1) consolidating the footprint of Federal buildings and facilities;
“(2) maximizing the utilization rate of Federal buildings and facilities;
“(3) reducing the reliance on leased space;
“(4) selling or redeveloping high value assets that are underutilized to obtain the highest and best value for the taxpayer and maximize the return to the taxpayer;
“(5) reducing the operating and maintenance costs of Federal civilian real properties;
“(6) reducing redundancy, overlap, and costs associated with field offices;
“(7) creating incentives for Federal agencies to achieve greater efficiency in their inventories of civilian real property;
“(8) facilitating and expediting the sale or disposal of unneeded Federal civilian real properties;
“(9) improving the efficiency of real property transfers for the provision of services to the homeless; and
“(10) assisting Federal agencies in achieving the Government’s sustainability goals by reducing excess space, inventory, and energy consumption, as well as by leveraging new technologies.
“SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.“In this Act, unless otherwise expressly stated, the following definitions apply:“(1)Administrator.—The term ‘Administrator’ means the Administrator of General Services.
“(2)Board.—The term ‘Board’ means the Public Buildings Reform Board established by section 4.
“(3)CERCLA.—The term ‘CERCLA’ means the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9601 et seq.). “(4)Federal agency.—The term ‘Federal agency’ means an executive department or independent establishment in the executive branch of the Government, and a wholly owned Government corporation.
“(5)Federal civilian real property and civilian real property.—“(A)In general.—The terms ‘Federal civilian real property’ and ‘civilian real property’ refer to Federal real property assets, including public buildings as defined in section 3301(a) of title 40, United States Code, occupied and improved grounds, leased space, or other physical structures under the custody and control of any Federal agency.
“(B)Exclusions.—Subparagraph (A) shall not be construed as including any of the following types of property:“(i) Properties that are on military installations (including any fort, camp, post, naval training station, airfield proving ground, military supply depot, military school, or any similar facility of the Department of Defense).
“(ii) A base, camp, post, station, yard, center, or homeport facility for any ship or activity under the jurisdiction of the Coast Guard.
“(iii) Properties that are excluded for reasons of national security by the Director of the Office of Management and Budget.
“(iv) Properties that are excepted from the definition of the term ‘property’ under section 102 of title 40, United States Code.
“(v) Indian and Native Alaskan properties, including— “(I) any property within the limits of an Indian reservation to which the United States owns title for the benefit of an Indian tribe; and
“(II) any property title that is held in trust by the United States for the benefit of an Indian tribe or individual or held by an Indian tribe or individual subject to restriction by the United States against alienation.
“(vi) Properties operated and maintained by the Tennessee Valley Authority pursuant to the Tennessee Valley Authority Act of 1933 (16 U.S.C. 831 et seq.). “(vii) Postal properties owned by the United States Postal Service.
“(viii) Properties used in connection with Federal programs for agricultural, recreational, or conservation purposes, including research in connection with the programs.
“(ix) Properties used in connection with river, harbor, flood control, reclamation, or power projects.
“(x) Properties located outside the United States operated or maintained by the Department of State or the United States Agency for International Development.
“(6)Field office.—The term ‘field office’ means any Federal office that is not the headquarters office location for the Federal agency.
“(7)HUD.—The term ‘HUD’ means the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
“(8)OMB.—The term ‘OMB’ means the Office of Management and Budget.
“(9)Value of transactions.—The term ‘value of transactions’ means the sum of the estimated proceeds and estimated costs, based on the accounting system developed or identified under section 12(e), associated with the transactions included in Board recommendations.
“SEC. 4. BOARD.“(a)Establishment.—There is established an independent board to be known as the Public Buildings Reform Board.
“(span)Duties.—The Board shall carry out the duties as specified in this Act.
“(c)Membership.—“(1)In general.—The Board shall be composed of a Chairperson appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, and 6 members appointed by the President.
“(2)Appointments.—In selecting individuals for appointments to the Board, the President shall appoint members in the following manner:“(A) Two members recommended by the Speaker of the House of Representatives.
“(B) Two members recommended by the majority leader of the Senate.
“(C) One member recommended by the minority leader of the House of Representatives.
“(D) One member recommended by the minority leader of the Senate.
“(3)Terms.—The term for each member of the Board shall be 6 years.
“(4)Vacancies.—Vacancies shall be filled in the same manner as the original appointment.
“(5)Qualifications.—In selecting individuals for appointment to the Board, the President shall ensure that the Board contains individuals with expertise representative of the following:“(A) Commercial real estate and redevelopment.
“(B) Space optimization and utilization.
“(C) Community development, including transportation and planning.
“SEC. 5. BOARD MEETINGS.“(a)Open Meetings.—Each meeting of the Board, other than meetings in which classified information is to be discussed, shall be open to the public. Any open meeting shall be announced in the Federal Register and the Federal Wespan site established by the Board at least 14 calendar days in advance of a meeting. For all public meetings, the Board shall release an agenda and a listing of materials relevant to the topics to be discussed.
“(span)Quorum and Meetings.—Five Board members shall constitute a quorum for the purposes of conducting business and three or more Board members shall constitute a meeting of the Board.
“(c)Transparency of Information.—All the proceedings, information, and deliberations of the Board shall be open, upon request, to the Chairperson and ranking minority party member, and their respective subcommittee Chairperson and subcommittee ranking minority party member, of—“(1) the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives;
“(2) the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform [now Committee on Oversight and Accountability] of the House of Representatives;
“(3) the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate;
“(4) the Committee on Environment and Public Works of the Senate; and
“(5) the Committees on Appropriations of the House of Representatives and the Senate.
“(d)Government Accountability Office.—All proceedings, information, and deliberations of the Board shall be open, upon request, to the Comptroller General of the United States.
“SEC. 6. COMPENSATION AND TRAVEL EXPENSES.“(a)Compensation.—“(1)Rate of pay for members.—Each member, other than the Chairperson, shall be paid at a rate equal to the daily equivalent of the minimum annual rate of basic pay payable for level IV of the Executive Schedule under section 5315 of title 5, United States Code, for each day (including travel time) during which the member is engaged in the actual performance of duties vested in the Board.
“(2)Rate of pay for chairperson.—The Chairperson shall be paid for each day referred to in paragraph (1) at a rate equal to the daily equivalent of the minimum annual rate of basic pay payable for level III of the Executive Schedule under section 5314 of title 5, United States Code.
“(span)Travel.—Members shall receive travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of subsistence, in accordance with sections 5702 and 5703 of title 5, United States Code.
“SEC. 7. EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR.“(a)Appointment.—The Board shall appoint an Executive Director, who may be appointed without regard to the provisions of title 5, United States Code, governing appointments in the competitive service.
“(span)Rate of Pay.—The Executive Director shall be paid at the rate of basic pay payable for level IV of the Executive Schedule under section 5315 of title 5, United States Code.
“SEC. 8. STAFF.“(a)Additional Personnel.—Subject to subsection (span), the Executive Director may request additional personnel detailed from Federal agencies.
“(span)Requests for Detail Employees.—Upon request of the Executive Director and approval of the Board and the Director of OMB, the head of any Federal agency shall detail the requested personnel of that agency to the Board to assist the Board in carrying out its duties under this Act.
“(c)Qualifications.—Appointments shall be made with consideration of a balance of expertise consistent with the qualifications of representatives described in section 4(c)(5).
“SEC. 9. CONTRACTING AUTHORITY.“(a)Experts and Consultants.—The Board, to the extent practicable and subject to appropriations Acts, shall use contracts, including nonappropriated contracts, entered into by the Administrator for services necessary to carry out the duties of the Board.
“(span)Office Space.—The Administrator, in consultation with the Board, shall identify and provide, without charge, suitable office space within the existing Federal space inventory to house the operations of the Board.
“(c)Personal Property.—The Board shall use personal property already in the custody and control of the Administrator.
“SEC. 10. TERMINATION.“The Board shall cease operations and terminate 6 years after the date on which the Board members are appointed pursuant to section 4.
“SEC. 11. DEVELOPMENT OF RECOMMENDATIONS TO BOARD.“(a)Submissions of Agency Information and Recommendations.—Not later than 120 days after the date of enactment of this Act, and not later than 120 days after the first day of each fiscal year thereafter until the termination of the Board, the head of each Federal agency shall submit to the Administrator and the Director of OMB the following:“(1)Current data.—Current data of all Federal civilian real properties owned, leased, or controlled by the agency, including all relevant information prescribed by the Administrator and the Director of OMB, including data related to the age and condition of the property, operating costs, history of capital expenditures, sustainability metrics, number of Federal employees and functions housed in the respective property, and square footage (including gross, rentable, and usable).
“(2)Agency recommendations.—Recommendations of the agency on the following:“(A) Federal civilian real properties that can be sold for proceeds or otherwise disposed of, reported as excess, declared surplus, outleased, or otherwise no longer meeting the needs of the agency, excluding leasebacks or other such exchange agreements where the property continues to be used by the agency.
“(B) Federal civilian real properties that can be transferred, exchanged, consolidated, co-located, reconfigured, or redeveloped, so as to reduce the civilian real property inventory, reduce the operating costs of the Government, and create the highest value and return for the taxpayer.
“(C) Operational efficiencies that the Government can realize in its operation and maintenance of Federal civilian real properties.
“(span)Standards and Criteria.—“(1)Development of standards and criteria.—Not later than 60 days after the deadline for submissions of agency recommendations under subsection (a), the Director of OMB, in consultation with the Administrator, shall—“(A) review the agency recommendations;
“(B) develop consistent standards and criteria against which the agency recommendations will be reviewed; and
“(C) submit to the Board the recommendations developed pursuant to paragraph (2).
“(2)Recommendations to board.—The Director of OMB and the Administrator shall jointly develop recommendations to the Board based on the standards and criteria developed under paragraph (1).
“(3)Factors.—In developing the standards and criteria under paragraph (1), the Director of OMB, in consultation with the Administrator, shall incorporate the following factors:“(A) The extent to which the civilian real property could be sold (including property that is no longer meeting the needs of the Government), redeveloped, outleased, or otherwise used to produce the highest and best value and return for the taxpayer.
“(B) The extent to which the operating and maintenance costs are reduced through consolidating, co-locating, and reconfiguring space, and through realizing other operational efficiencies.
“(C) The extent to which the utilization rate is being maximized and is consistent with non-governmental industry standards for the given function or operation.
“(D) The extent and timing of potential costs and savings, including the number of years, beginning with the date of completion of the proposed recommendation.
“(E) The extent to which reliance on leasing for long-term space needs is reduced.
“(F) The extent to which a civilian real property aligns with the current mission of the Federal agency.
“(G) The extent to which there are opportunities to consolidate similar operations across multiple agencies or within agencies.
“(H) The economic impact on existing communities in the vicinity of the civilian real property.
“(I) The extent to which energy consumption is reduced.
“(J) The extent to which public access to agency services is maintained or enhanced.
“(c)Special Rule for Utilization Rates.—Standards developed by the Director of OMB pursuant to subsection (span) shall incorporate and apply clear standard utilization rates to the extent that such standard rates increase efficiency and provide performance data. The utilization rates shall be consistent throughout each applicable category of space and with nongovernment space utilization rates. To the extent the space utilization rate of a given agency exceeds the utilization rates to be applied under this subsection, the Director of OMB may recommend realignment, co-location, consolidation, or other type of action to improve space utilization.
“(d)Submission to Board.—“(1)In general.—The Director of OMB shall submit the standards, criteria, and recommendations developed pursuant to subsection (span) to the Board with all supporting information, data, analyses, and documentation.
“(2)Publication.—The standards, criteria, and recommendations developed pursuant to subsection (span) shall be published in the Federal Register and transmitted to the committees listed in section 5(c) and to the Comptroller General of the United States.
“(3)Access to information.—The Board shall also have access to all information pertaining to the recommendations developed pursuant to subsection (span), including supporting information, data, analyses, and documentation submitted pursuant to subsection (a). Upon request, a Federal agency shall provide to the Board any additional information pertaining to the civilian real properties under the custody, control, or administrative jurisdiction of the Federal agency. The Board sha
