NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF STATE AGENCIES FOR SURPLUS …



NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF STATE AGENCIES FOR SURPLUS PROPERTY

OVERSEAS PROGRAM ADMINISTRATIVE GUIDELINES

(Revised November 2014)

I. Overseas Program

A. Definition

The Overseas Program of NASASP is made up of a consortium of state agencies for surplus property (SASPs). Together these SASPs work to bring reusable federal surplus property back to the states for donation to eligible organizations. The Program employs screeners to cover Central Europe, Southern Europe, England, the Pacific Region and Central America and the Caribbean. The Program is directed by the SASPs through the NASASP Overseas Committee that is appointed annually by the Association President.

B. Authority

1.) Public Law 91-426, dated September 26, 1970, authorizes that excess Federal property located outside the U.S. may be made available for further use by federal agencies and state agencies through the donation program.

2.) Public Law 94-519 authorized GSA to administer the Donation Program including property located outside the United States.

3.) Article IV, Section 12 of the NASASP By-laws authorizes an Overseas Committee to be appointed by the President of NASASP. This committee is responsible for the administration of the program operating under guidelines promulgated by the Overseas Program Participants.

C. Mission

The mission of the Overseas Program is to make reusable property located outside the Continental United States available to participating SASPs. This mission is accomplished through screening, allocating, shipping and distributing the property in a fair and equitable manner, bearing cost in mind, in partnership with GSA.

D. Meetings and Quorum

Meetings of the Overseas Program participants shall be held in conjunction with the NASASP meetings, including by telephone conference call or internet use between national meetings, or when deemed necessary by a majority of the participants. A simple majority of the Program participants will constitute a quorum.

II. Overseas Committee – Duties

A. The committee shall meet in conjunction with NASASP meetings, including by telephone conference call or internet use between national meetings, or when deemed necessary by a majority of the participants. The chairperson and one-half of the remaining members, including ex-officio members, will constitute a quorum.

B. SASP Eligibility

1.) Article IX, Section 12, Clause 2 of the NASASP By-laws state that the Overseas Program shall be open to all association members upon proper application to the Overseas Committee and payment of the initiation fee.

2.) The initiation fee shall be the total equity of the fund divided by the number of participants at the time of entry. (Example – Fund Equity as of the date of entry equals $120,000 divided by 30 total participants = $4,000 initiation fee for that new member. The amount would be recalculated for each subsequent new entry to determine current initiation fee on that date.)

C. The Committee shall be responsible for developing a contract for the performance of the operational function of this program including, but not limited to, screening property located outside of the continental United States and arranging for shipment quotes back to the United States. The duties and responsibilities contained in this contract shall be carried out by a vendor initially chosen by the committee. This contract, and the vendor chosen to perform the functions contained therein, will be presented to the membership at the annual conference.

D. Assessment of Service Charges

1.) The overseas Committee shall establish service charges necessary to cover the cost of screening, loading and all other reasonable costs associated with the operation of the Program.

2.) Those charges shall be assessed to the participants on each shipment received.

3.) In the event that the Committee reduces a Contractor’s screening fee on a shipment, the SASP does not receive a corresponding service charge reduction.

4.) Charges shall be reviewed annually by the Committee to ensure adequacy and equity in the assessments.

E. Voluntary Withdrawal

A SASP may withdraw from participation in this program at any time by submitting their intention in writing to the Committee Chairman. Upon receipt of this documentation, the Chairman will refund to the participant his/her share of the current fund equity equal to the current initiation fee (as calculated in II.B.2.) above.

F. Suspension and Termination

The Committee or its designee may suspend any participant from Program participation when that participant fails to pay service charges within 120 days from the invoice date. If payment is not received within 180 days, the amount in arrears may be deducted from the initiation fee. The remainder of the fee will be refunded to the participant SASP. This action will automatically terminate the participant from the Program. The Committee or its designee shall re-instate any participant suspended under this Section upon receiving evidence that all overdue obligations have been satisfied.

G. Allocation

1.) To ensure equitable treatment, the Overseas Committee or its designee shall allocate available property on a rotational basis in accordance with the following instructions as to the type of property acceptable to the SASP.

a.) Container (CTR)

Container shipments of surplus usually consist of one or two key pieces of surplus and as much good surplus as can be packed around the key pieces to fill out the container. Property that would normally be classified as HE or SHE but that can be shipped in a container without alteration (without removing parts) is considered a CTR shipment.

1. Each state rotates through the positions until they reach the first position.

2. Being in first position, they may elect to take the container offered or pass.

3. If they take the container offered, they drop to the bottom of the list.

4. If they pass, they remain at the top of the list until a selection is made.

5. New states to the Overseas Program will be started at the bottom of the list on the date they are accepted into the Program.

b.) General Heavy Equipment (HE)

General Heavy Equipment is all Heavy Equipment not designated as Special Heavy Equipment.

1. Each state rotates through he positions until they reach the first position.

2. Being in first position, they may elect to take one (1) piece offered or pass it up.

3. If they take the piece offered, they drop to the bottom of the list.

4. If they do not select a piece being offered, they remain at the top of the list until a selection is made.

5. New states to the Overseas Program will be started at the bottom of the list on the date they are accepted into the Program.

c.) Specialized Heavy Equipment (SHE)

Specialized Heavy Equipment consists of loaders, graders, dozers, backhoes, excavators, and scrapers.

1. Each state rotates through he positions until they reach the first position.

2. Being in first position, they may elect to take one (1) piece offered or pass it up.

3. If they take the piece offered, they drop to the bottom of the list.

4. If they do not select a piece being offered, they remain at the top of the list until a selection is made.

5. New states to the Overseas Program will be started at the bottom of the list on the date they are accepted into the Program.

d.) “Free Allocation”

1. A “free” allocation is one where a state does not lose its rotation position. This will occur when only one state requests property which has been offered to all other states.

2. On free allocations, two pieces of heavy equipment are counted as one.

3. Free allocations are allocated from the bottom of the rotational listing.

2.) In the event of unusual items and large generations of property, the Overseas Committee or its designee shall notify all participants in writing. The property shall then be allocated on a first-come, first-serve and rotational basis by shipment until the generation is exhausted. Such special allocations shall in no way alter or disrupt the routine allocation method described in paragraph one.

3.) Under no circumstances shall the rotational basis of allocation be circumvented to meet a special need of a participant without the approval of the majority of the Overseas Committee.

4.) This rotational allocation process cannot be altered by agreement between SASPs, i.e., a SASP may not convey their position on any rotational list to another SASP, or request property on behalf of another SASP.

5.) In the event that property is not requested by a SASP during the initial broadcast, it may be offered to program participants as a free allocation. This means that the SASP receiving the property will not lose its position on the rotational list. If more than one SASP requests the free allocation, the SASP with the lowest position on the applicable list will receive the property.

6.) The Overseas Committee shall review the allocation process annually to ensure fair and equitable distribution and to report its findings at the NASASP meeting.

H. Damaged Shipments / Appeals Process

In the event a participant receives a shipment that is severely damaged:

1.) Due to problems existing that could not be determined by a component Screener by physical inspection at the point of freezing; or

2.) Due to unloading and/or handling in transit by contract haulers selected by the Committee or its designee;

The SASP may appeal to the Committee or its designee for relief within 15 days after receipt of property. Such an appeal must:

a.) Be in writing, stating the circumstances.

b.) Be supported by outside documentation wherever possible.

c.) State the total cost to the participant for screening, loading, and ocean freight charges by carriers selected by the Committee or its designee.

d.) Include the service charge the participant would expect to receive if the property was donated in a “where is, as is” condition.

e.) If the Committee or its designee so decide it may move the injured participant to the top of the rotational allocation list in order to replace the damaged property with a like item. Like items are defined as basically the same piece of equipment as the damaged equipment (i.e. a dump truck for a dump truck, a road grader for a road grader, etc.).

f.) The Committee will send a letter to the injured SASP authorizing their priority status for that specific piece of equipment when it is next screened and broadcast.

g.) The Committee may also offer the damaged property to any other SASP that expresses an interest and is willing to assume the screening and transportation cost.

h.) Subsequently, the injured SASP will be placed on the bottom of the rotational list for the next piece in that category of property (i.e. heavy equipment, special heavy equipment).

I. Screening

1.) The Committee, on behalf of the participants, shall oversee the use of resources, personnel and operational, to ensure efficient and effective return of overseas property.

2.) This responsibility shall include the hiring and termination of personnel and annual performance evaluations of all employees and/or contractors.

3.) The Committee may delegate to its employees and/or contractors those responsibilities necessary to provide adequate allocating, screening, shipping and distribution of overseas Surplus property.

4.) The Overseas Committee shall report this activity to the overseas participants at the NASASP meetings. All Committee actions regarding personnel matters shall be reported to the participants in writing within 30 days of such action.

J. Shipping

1.) The Overseas Committee or its designee shall work with the freight forwarders and shipping companies to ensure the most economical shipping and loading costs.

2.) Written specific instructions from a participant shall be followed by the Committee or its designee whenever possible.

3.) The decision to use a particular shipping vendor lies solely with the state receiving the shipment. Payment is made by the state directly to the chosen shipping vendor. Any shipping contracts are between the state and the shipping vendor. Any disputes shall be handled or resolved between the state and the shipping vendor.

K. Reporting

The Committee shall report the activity of the Funds Administrator to the overseas participants at the NASASP meetings or whenever requested by any participant in writing.

L. Funds Administration

1.) The NASASP President shall appoint a Funds Administrator no later than 15 days subsequent to assumption of the office.

2.) The funds Administrator shall be bonded under the same bond as the Secretary-Treasurer of NASASP.

III. Overseas Program Fund Administrator

A. Funds Administrator Shall:

1.) Receive, deposit, and invest all monies on behalf of the Program.

2.) Pay all indebtedness of the Program.

3.) Maintain necessary records providing adequate audit trails and documentation to support funds activity.

4.) Act on behalf of the Committee in the oversight of the screening, allocation, billing, and shipping activity when the Committee is not in session.

5.) Oversee other matters deemed appropriate in the management of the Fund.

B. Investments

1.) The Funds Administrator shall deposit all receipts in an interest bearing liquid account in a financial institution sufficient insured to safeguard the value of the program.

2.) The Funds Administrator may at his/her discretion invest program funds that have accumulated in excess of sixty (60) day operating expenses, provided that:

a.) Investments are fully insured under FDIC, FSLIC, NCUA or equal.

b.) All investments are short term.

c.) The Program participants shall approve any deviation from these investment guidelines.

C. Provision to Suspend or Debar

Whereas the Overseas Program was created to return Foreign Excess Personal Property (FEPP) to member states from various foreign locations; and, whereas the Overseas program has a formal screening presence in numerous overseas locations; and whereas the Overseas Program exists to benefit all participating members equally; therefore, be it resolved that when any SASP in the Overseas program is found to be competing with the Overseas Program in the procurement process, the Overseas Committee shall have the authority to suspend or debar that SASP. Any SASP so disciplined shall have the right to appeal the decision, in writing, to the National Officers of NASASP within 30 days.

D. Provision to Suspend

Any State Agency receiving a shipment from the Overseas Program must complete an Evaluation Form, including a copy of the freight invoice, and submit it to both the Overseas Committee Chairman and the individual in charge of the overseas screeners with 90 days of shipment confirmation. Failure to do so will cause any further allocations to that State Agency to cease until the necessary paperwork is submitted.

IV. Disaster Relief Procedures

A. Any property being requested for a federally declared disaster must be identified as such when the request is made. The requesting State must prioritize if there is more than one request from any particular broadcast. If multiple States request the same item(s), the overseas facilitator will determine the allocation based on the priority list. If multiple States ask for the same item as their top request, the Overseas Committee will make the final determination.

B. An allocation list will be generated by the facilitator similar to the allocation list for general overseas property. The committee is only going to consider disaster assistance priority for 120 days after the disaster. All dates will be in accordance to FEMA’s website.

C. Each State receiving disaster assistance from the overseas program will be required to submit a copy of the invoice to the Treasurer of NASASP. This is to ensure the property is going to a disaster stricken donee and also help promote how NASASP can assist before, during, and after a disaster.

V. Donee Participation Procedure

NASASP recognizes that because of financial constraints, some SASPs are unable to pay the shipping and screening fees for overseas property and get reimbursed for those expenses by their donees. Therefore, the purpose of this procedure is to provide a way for participation in the overseas program by donees in States where the SASP is unable to participate in the program. As it pertains to the Overseas Program, the term donee does not include participating SBA 8(a) contractors. It does not override the Overseas Program Administrative Guidelines.

By definition, the Overseas Program of NASASP is made up of a consortium of state agencies for surplus property (SASPs). In keeping with the Overseas Program Administrative Guidelines, only donees of participating SASPs (those who have bought into the overseas program) are eligible to use these procedures to obtain property.

A. The Facilitator will email all broadcasts to SASPs and recognize that some SASPs distribute those broadcasts to their donees. When a donee contacts the Facilitator, they should first be informed to contact their SASP. If the SASP informs the donee that they do not have the funds to pay the transportation and/or screening fees, NASASP will attempt to provide the means for the donee to get overseas property. Under no circumstances will a donee obtain this property without the approval of the SASP.

B. The Facilitator will follow the normal allocation process as described in the Administrative Guidelines. If a SASP approves a donee requesting property, the request is considered as being the SASP’s request and the SASP will move to the bottom of the rotational listing when property is allocated. When more than one donee from a given State requests the same item, the SASP will be responsible for determining which donee should be allocated the item.

C. The SASP will verify to the Facilitator (via email), that the donee requesting property is an eligible donee.

D. NASASP recognizes that one method will not work for all donees to obtain overseas property. In case of such an event that does not fully fit the methods described herein, the Facilitator and NASASP Overseas Committee will make the sole determination concerning property availability and payments both in amounts and methods.

1. The donee will be required to pay the estimated shipping and screening fees in advance to the NASASP Overseas Program. NASASP Fund Administrator will send a preliminary invoice to the donee based on charges obtained by the Overseas Facilitator and initially approved by the donee. Preliminary invoice will include the following statement “This is a preliminary invoice which must be paid prior to shipment. Due to unforeseeable circumstances, there could be some additional charges incurred during shipment. After the shipment is made, a final invoice will be issued which will reflect actual charges less this preliminary invoice.”

2. In an effort to make sure that the donee understands the process, the preliminary invoice will also include the following statement: “We have attempted to provide a thorough description of the property; however, we cannot guarantee its condition. You are taking this property as-is and must use it for the period of restriction as dictated by your SASP. If there are issues, you will need to work with your SASP.”

3. When the property is delivered to the donee, NASASP will pay the freight forwarder. If there are additional fees, NASASP will bill the donee for the additional charges. If the shipment charges are less than what the donee paid, a refund will be made to the donee.

E. Paying the charges up-front, does not guarantee that the donee will get the property. In the event that the shipment is cancelled for any reason, NASASP will be held harmless and will reimburse the donee for the fees paid in advance.

F. Since the SASP must sign the SF123, verify eligibility, and ensure compliance with donation program restrictions, the SASP is encouraged to establish a reasonable service charge to these donees. However, NASASP will not collect the SASP’s service charge nor be responsible in any way for payment of those service charges.

G. Donees will be encouraged to complete an evaluation report which will be treated the same as any other evaluation report as described in the Administrative Guidelines.

H. Any donee getting a damaged shipment will be entitled to follow the same appeals process described in the Administrative Guidelines.

Should a SASP withdraw from the program at any time, donees in that State will no longer be able to obtain property. Likewise, should a SASP be suspended or terminated from the program, donees in that State will no longer be able to obtain property until the matter is resolved.

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