| 12 | 13 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1 |
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| 13 | 14 | | AN ACT TO ALLOW FOR STATE AGENCIES TO UTILIZE THIRD -PARTY AUCTION 2 |
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| 14 | 15 | | SITES FOR THE SALE OR DISPOSITION OF STATE-OWNED PROPERTY . 3 |
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| 15 | 16 | | The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts: 4 |
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| 16 | 17 | | SECTION 1. Part 1 of Article 3A of Chapter 143 of the General Statutes reads as 5 |
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| 17 | 18 | | rewritten: 6 |
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| 18 | 19 | | "Article 3A. 7 |
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| 19 | 20 | | "Surplus Property. 8 |
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| 20 | 21 | | "Part 1. State Surplus Property Agency. 9 |
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| 21 | 22 | | "§ 143-64.01. Department of Administration designated State Surplus Property Agency. 10 |
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| 22 | 23 | | The State Surplus Property Agency division within the Department of Administration is 11 |
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| 23 | 24 | | designated as the State agency for State surplus property, and with respect to the acquisition of 12 |
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| 24 | 25 | | State surplus property the agency shall be subject to the supervision and direction of the Secretary 13 |
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| 25 | 26 | | of Administration. 14 |
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| 26 | 27 | | "§ 143-64.02. Definitions. 15 |
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| 27 | 28 | | The following definitions apply in Part 1 of this Article: 16 |
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| 28 | 29 | | (1) Agency. – An existing A unit of the executive branch, including any 17 |
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| 29 | 30 | | department, institution, commission, committee, board, division, or bureau of 18 |
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| 30 | 31 | | the State. The term includes the Council of State, The University of North 19 |
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| 31 | 32 | | Carolina, and the State Board of Community Colleges. 20 |
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| 32 | 33 | | … 21 |
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| 33 | 34 | | (4) State owned. State-owned property. – Supplies, materials, and equipment 22 |
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| 34 | 35 | | equipment, inventory, farm products, goods, and consumer goods, as those 23 |
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| 35 | 36 | | terms are defined in Chapter 25 of the General Statutes, in the possession of 24 |
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| 36 | 37 | | the State of North Carolina and purchased with State funds, personal property 25 |
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| 37 | 38 | | donated to the State, or personal property purchased with other funds that give 26 |
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| 38 | 39 | | ownership to the State.State, or personal property rightfully seized or acquired 27 |
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| 39 | 40 | | by the State. The term does not include real property. 28 |
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| 40 | 41 | | (5) Surplus property. – Personal State-owned property that is obsolete, unused, or 29 |
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| 41 | 42 | | no longer needed by a State agency. 30 |
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| 42 | 43 | | "§ 143-64.03. Powers and duties of the State agency for surplus property. 31 |
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| 43 | 44 | | (a) The State Surplus Property Agency is authorized and directed to:to do the following: 32 |
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| 44 | 45 | | (1) Sell Coordinate the sale of all State owned supplies, materials, and equipment 33 |
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| 45 | 46 | | that are surplus, obsolete, or unused surplus property and sell all seized 34 |
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| 46 | 47 | | vehicles and other conveyances that the State Surplus Property Agency is 35 |
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| 49 | 54 | | (2) Warehouse such property; andproperty. 1 |
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| 50 | 55 | | (3) Distribute such property to tax-supported or nonprofit tax-exempt 2 |
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| 51 | 56 | | organizations. 3 |
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| 52 | 57 | | (b) The State Surplus Property Agency is authorized and empowered to act as a 4 |
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| 53 | 58 | | clearinghouse of information for agencies and private nonprofit tax-exempt organizations, to 5 |
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| 54 | 59 | | locate property available for acquisition from State agencies, to ascertain the terms and conditions 6 |
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| 55 | 60 | | under which the property may be obtained, to receive requests from agencies and private 7 |
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| 56 | 61 | | nonprofit tax-exempt organizations, and transmit all available information about the property, 8 |
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| 57 | 62 | | and to aid and assist the agencies and private nonprofit tax-exempt organizations in transactions 9 |
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| 58 | 63 | | for the acquisition of State surplus property. Prioritization should be given to distributing 10 |
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| 59 | 64 | | computer equipment to nonprofit entities that refurbish computers and donate them to 11 |
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| 60 | 65 | | low-income students or households in this State, the State Surplus Property Agency shall 12 |
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| 61 | 66 | | distribute the computer equipment at no cost or the lowest possible cost to the nonprofit entities 13 |
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| 62 | 67 | | and must give consideration to the counties where the computer equipment will be donated to 14 |
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| 63 | 68 | | ensure that all geographic regions of the State benefit from the distributions. 15 |
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| 64 | 69 | | (b1) Nothing in this Article, or any administrative rules promulgated under this Article, 16 |
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| 65 | 70 | | shall be deemed to prohibit The University of North Carolina from doing the following: 17 |
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| 66 | 71 | | (1) Conveying surplus computer equipment at no cost. The University of North 18 |
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| 67 | 72 | | Carolina is encouraged to prioritize distribution to nonprofit entities that 19 |
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| 68 | 73 | | refurbish computers to donate to low-income students or households in the 20 |
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| 69 | 74 | | State. Any conveyance to a nonprofit under this subdivision shall be 21 |
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| 70 | 75 | | conditioned upon, and in consideration of, the nonprofit's promise to refurbish 22 |
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| 71 | 76 | | the computer equipment and its donation to low-income students or 23 |
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| 72 | 77 | | households in the State and the nonprofit's reporting of information required 24 |
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| 73 | 78 | | by subsection (b2) of this section. After an initial conveyance, The University 25 |
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| 74 | 79 | | of North Carolina shall not convey additional surplus computer equipment to 26 |
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| 75 | 80 | | a nonprofit, unless that nonprofit has reported the information required by 27 |
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| 76 | 81 | | subsection (b2) of this section for prior conveyances. 28 |
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| 77 | 82 | | (2) Entering into agreements with one or more vendors to trade in any 29 |
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| 78 | 83 | | technological equipment purchased from the vendor or to allow a vendor to 30 |
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| 79 | 84 | | buy back any technological equipment even if the equipment was not 31 |
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| 80 | 85 | | purchased from that vendor. 32 |
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| 81 | 86 | | (b2) When either distributing surplus computer equipment as provided in subdivision (1) 33 |
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| 82 | 87 | | of subsection (b1) of this section or entering into a trade-in or buyback agreement under 34 |
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| 83 | 88 | | subdivision (2) of subsection (b1) of this section, The University of North Carolina shall keep 35 |
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| 84 | 89 | | records on the type of computer equipment distributed or the technological equipment subject to 36 |
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| 85 | 90 | | the agreement, the number of computers distributed or the type and quantity of technological 37 |
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| 86 | 91 | | equipment subject to the agreement, the name of the nonprofit that received the distributions or 38 |
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| 87 | 92 | | the name of the vendor subject to the agreement, and the nonprofit's report on donations of 39 |
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| 88 | 93 | | refurbished computers to low-income students or households in the State. If the nonprofit is 40 |
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| 89 | 94 | | unable to refurbish computer equipment for any reason, its report shall include the disposition of 41 |
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| 90 | 95 | | such computer equipment. A nonprofit shall provide a report to the Board of Governors of The 42 |
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| 91 | 96 | | University of North Carolina by February 1, 2022, and by February 1 of each year thereafter. The 43 |
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| 92 | 97 | | report shall contain the information required by this subsection and any other information the 44 |
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| 93 | 98 | | Board of Governors deems reasonably necessary to ensure the conditions required under this 45 |
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| 94 | 99 | | subsection are satisfied. The Board of Governors of The University of North Carolina shall 46 |
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| 95 | 100 | | submit a report containing the information required to be collected under this subsection to the 47 |
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| 96 | 101 | | Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee by December 1, 2022, and by March 1 of each 48 |
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| 97 | 102 | | year thereafter. 49 General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025 |
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| 99 | 104 | | (c) The State agency for surplus property, Surplus Property Agency, in the administration 1 |
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| 100 | 105 | | of Part 1 of this Article, shall cooperate to the fullest extent consistent with the provisions of Part 2 |
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| 101 | 106 | | 1 of this Article, with the departments or agencies of the State. 3 |
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| 102 | 107 | | (d) The State agency for surplus property Surplus Property Agency may sell or otherwise 4 |
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| 103 | 108 | | dispose of surplus property, including motor vehicles, through an electronic auction service or 5 |
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| 104 | 109 | | any third-party auction service. The General Assembly and the Judicial Department may sell or 6 |
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| 105 | 110 | | otherwise dispose of State-owned or surplus property within their possession and control. 7 |
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| 106 | 111 | | "§ 143-64.03A. Third-party auctions; auction procedures; reporting. 8 |
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| 107 | 112 | | (a) An agency may utilize a third-party auction service by submitting a petition to the 9 |
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| 108 | 113 | | State Surplus Property Agency for approval. All petitions submitted under this subsection shall 10 |
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| 109 | 114 | | be approved unless one or more of the circumstances listed in subsection (b) of this section apply. 11 |
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| 110 | 115 | | The State Surplus Property Agency shall approve or deny a petition submitted under this 12 |
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| 111 | 116 | | subsection within 30 days of submission and shall transmit the approval or denial to the agency 13 |
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| 112 | 117 | | in writing. A denial of a petition shall include a detailed justification for the denial under one or 14 |
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| 113 | 118 | | more of the circumstances listed in subsection (b) of this section. Within 30 days of receiving a 15 |
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| 114 | 119 | | denial, an agency may appeal the denial by submitting a written appeal to the Secretary of 16 |
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| 115 | 120 | | Administration detailing why the denial of the petition under subsection (b) of this section was 17 |
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| 116 | 121 | | improper. The Secretary of Administration may uphold the initial petition denial or approve the 18 |
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| 117 | 122 | | petition as submitted. 19 |
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| 118 | 123 | | (b) The State Surplus Property Agency may deny a petition to use a third-party auction 20 |
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| 119 | 124 | | service submitted under this section if one or more of the following circumstances apply: 21 |
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| 120 | 125 | | (1) The third-party auction service has had a license denied, suspended, or 22 |
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| 121 | 126 | | revoked pursuant to Chapter 85B of the General Statutes or faced any other 23 |
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| 122 | 127 | | similar disciplinary action by a State or federal governmental entity. 24 |
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| 123 | 128 | | (2) The third-party auction service is or was debarred from entering into contracts 25 |
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| 124 | 129 | | by the Department of Administration pursuant to Article 3 of Chapter 143 of 26 |
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| 125 | 130 | | the General Statutes. 27 |
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| 126 | 131 | | (3) The third-party auction service charges the State a fee, or any combination of 28 |
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| 127 | 132 | | fees to the State, that exceeds eight percent (8%) of the final selling price of 29 |
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| 128 | 133 | | the item. 30 |
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| 129 | 134 | | (c) Upon a finding that one or more of the circumstances listed in subsection (b) of this 31 |
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| 130 | 135 | | section apply, a prior approval of a petition to use a third-party auction service under this section 32 |
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| 131 | 136 | | is subject to revocation by the State Surplus Property Agency upon written notice to the agency 33 |
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| 132 | 137 | | utilizing the third-party auction service. Within 30 days of receiving the notice of revocation, an 34 |
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| 133 | 138 | | agency may appeal the revocation by submitting a written appeal to the Secretary of 35 |
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| 134 | 139 | | Administration detailing why the revocation was improper. The Secretary of Administration may 36 |
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| 135 | 140 | | uphold or rescind the notice of revocation. 37 |
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| 136 | 141 | | (d) All items that are listed through a third-party auction site or through a Department of 38 |
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| 137 | 142 | | Administration auction site shall be listed a minimum of three times before disposal of the item. 39 |
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| 138 | 143 | | An agency may dispose of items that have not sold after three attempts. All items, whether the 40 |
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| 139 | 144 | | item is sold by a third-party auction service or by the Department of Administration in-house 41 |
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| 140 | 145 | | auction platform, that are valued at one hundred dollars ($100.00) or more based on fair market 42 |
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| 141 | 146 | | value shall have a minimum bid price set at no less than twenty-five percent (25%) of the fair 43 |
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| 142 | 147 | | market value of the item. Fair market value shall be determined by the selling agency or, at the 44 |
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| 143 | 148 | | selling agency's discretion, by a certified appraiser licensed pursuant to Chapter 95E of the 45 |
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| 144 | 149 | | General Statutes. If an agency chooses to use a third-party auction service, the agency must first 46 |
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| 145 | 150 | | report the item to the State Surplus Property Agency. Items listed through a third-party auction 47 |
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| 146 | 151 | | service may be stored at a location chosen by the agency, including the State Surplus Property 48 |
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| 147 | 152 | | warehouse, an agency facility, or a third-party auction service facility. 49 General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025 |
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| 149 | 154 | | (e) Each agency shall keep a record of items sold through third-party auction services 1 |
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| 150 | 155 | | and items that were disposed of. The following information shall be retained by the agency for a 2 |
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| 151 | 156 | | period of three years: 3 |
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| 152 | 157 | | (1) The name of the item listed on the third-party auction site, along with any 4 |
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| 153 | 158 | | identifiable information used in the sale or disposition of the item. 5 |
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| 154 | 159 | | (2) The final bid amount for the item. 6 |
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| 155 | 160 | | (3) The amount received by the agency for the sale or disposition of the item. 7 |
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| 156 | 161 | | (4) The amount paid to the third-party auction service, if any. 8 |
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| 157 | 162 | | (5) If disposed after being unable to sell, the manner of disposition. 9 |
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| 158 | 163 | | (f) On January 1, and then annually thereafter, each agency utilizing a third-party auction 10 |
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| 159 | 164 | | service shall submit to the Joint Legislative Oversight Committee on General Government a 11 |
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| 160 | 165 | | report that includes the following: 12 |
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| 161 | 166 | | (1) A listing of the third-party auction services that were used to sell surplus 13 |
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| 162 | 167 | | items. 14 |
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| 163 | 168 | | (2) The total funds received by sales through each auction service. 15 |
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| 164 | 169 | | (3) The total funds distributed to each agency. 16 |
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| 165 | 170 | | (4) The total funds disbursed to the Department of Administration. 17 |
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| 166 | 171 | | (g) On January 1, and then annually thereafter, the State Surplus Property Agency shall 18 |
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| 167 | 172 | | submit to the Joint Legislative Oversight Committee on General Government a report that 19 |
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| 168 | 173 | | includes the following: 20 |
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| 169 | 174 | | (1) The number of petitions submitted from agencies under this section. 21 |
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| 170 | 175 | | (2) The number of petitions from agencies that were denied. 22 |
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| 171 | 176 | | (3) A detailed justification of why each petition was denied. 23 |
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| 172 | 177 | | (4) The results of any appeals that were submitted to the Secretary of 24 |
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| 173 | 178 | | Administration. 25 |
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| 174 | 179 | | Once a petition has been approved, the agency shall be allowed to continue using the 26 |
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| 175 | 180 | | third-party auction service, unless the approval is revoked pursuant to subsection (c) of this 27 |
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| 176 | 181 | | section. 28 |
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| 177 | 182 | | "§ 143-64.04. Powers of the Secretary to delegate authority. 29 |
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| 178 | 183 | | (a) The Secretary of Administration may delegate to any employees of the State agency 30 |
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| 179 | 184 | | for surplus property Surplus Property Agency such power and authority as he or they deem the 31 |
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| 180 | 185 | | Secretary deems reasonable and proper for the effective administration of Part 1 of this Article. 32 |
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| 181 | 186 | | The Secretary of Administration may, in his the Secretary's discretion, bond any person in the 33 |
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| 182 | 187 | | employ of the State agency for surplus property, Surplus Property Agency handling moneys, 34 |
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| 183 | 188 | | signing checks, or receiving or distributing property from the United States under authority of 35 |
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| 184 | 189 | | Part 1 of this Article. 36 |
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| 185 | 190 | | (b) The Secretary of Administration may adopt rules necessary to carry out Part 1 of this 37 |
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| 186 | 191 | | Article. 38 |
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| 187 | 192 | | "§ 143-64.05. Service charge; receipts. 39 |
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| 188 | 193 | | (a) The State agency for surplus property Surplus Property Agency may assess and 40 |
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| 189 | 194 | | collect a service charge (i) for the acquisition, receipt, warehousing, distribution, or transfer of 41 |
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| 190 | 195 | | any State surplus property; (ii) for the transfer or sale of recyclable material; and (iii) for the 42 |
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| 191 | 196 | | towing, storing, processing, maintaining, and selling of motor vehicles seized pursuant to 43 |
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| 192 | 197 | | G.S. 20-28.3. The service charge authorized by this subsection does not apply to the transfer or 44 |
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| 193 | 198 | | sale of timber on land owned by the Wildlife Resources Commission or the Department of 45 |
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| 194 | 199 | | Agriculture and Consumer Services. No fee or service charge may be assessed or charged to an 46 |
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| 195 | 200 | | agency utilizing a third-party auction service pursuant to G.S. 143-64.03A. 47 |
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| 196 | 201 | | …." 48 |
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| 197 | 202 | | SECTION 2. This act is effective when it becomes law. 49 |
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