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8.10 Acquisition

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PURPOSE:

To identify sources and procedures for University departments to acquire surplus property from the University, State of Arizona, federal government and private industry surplus programs.

SOURCE:  

Powers and duties of the University President, ABOR Policy 3-801 and 3-802

Authority below applies ONLY to Federal Property (acquisition dollars or title):

  • Government Property, 48 C.F.R. § 45
  • Government Property, 48 C.F.R. § 52.245-1
  • Government Property, 48 C.F.R. § 245
  • Government Property, 48 C.F.R. § 1852.245
  • Uniform Guidance, 2 C.F.R. § 200

POLICY:  University departments are encouraged to utilize the various surplus property programs to meet their equipment needs and to conserve University funds whenever possible. However, departments are not to acquire quantities of equipment in excess of their actual needs through these programs.

The possession of unused or extra items of surplus property held in reserve can result in negative audit findings and in the disapproval of the University's Capital Asset Module (CAM).

PROCEDURE

I. WANT LIST 

RESPONSIBILITY

ACTION

SURPLUS PROPERTY
  1. Maintains a "Want List" of requested items from surplus. 

DEPARTMENTS
  1. Contact Surplus Property with a detailed description of desired items.

SURPLUS PROPERTY
  1. Property turned into Surplus Property will be matched against the Want List and reserved for those departments before being offered to other departments. Position on the Want List is determined by the chronological date of the request.
  2. A notice will be sent to the requesting department indicating the availability of the item. The requester has three working days to respond, after which time all departments on the Want List are notified. After one notifications without a response, the request will be deleted from the file.

DEPARTMENTS
  1. Each year departments are required to reconfirm their requests in order to purge the file of invalid records. The Want List is also matched against the Federal Property Programs and donations available from industry.

II. EXCESS AND SURPLUS PROPERTY ACQUISITION

SURPLUS PROPERTY
  1. Assists departments with federal grants and contracts to obtain property through the Federal Excess Property Program.
  2. Coordinates the University participation in the Federal Donation Program which allows University departments without federal grants or contracts to acquire federal surplus property.
  3. Belongs to several organizations that place items from private industry with educational institutions.
  4. Items listed on the Want List are matched against property as it becomes available through these programs.
  5. Restrictions apply when property is acquired through Federal Property Programs. For additional information contact Surplus Property or Sponsored Projects Services. All property with value above the University capitalization threshold must be tagged with a property number before it may be issued.
  6. The following is a description of various surplus property distribution programs.
    1. Federal Excess Property Program: The requester must qualify for acquisitions through eligible federal grants or contracts in order to receive property from the Federal Excess Property Program. The acquiring department will be charged for the costs of transporting the item and any expenditures for the acquisition that were paid by Surplus Property. There are a number of restrictions that apply to the acquisition, use and disposal of such property. This method has the highest priority of all of the Federal Property Programs.
    2. Federal Donation Program: Departments acquiring items from the Federal Donation Program will be charged the service and handling charge assessed by the Arizona State Surplus Property Agency, transportation costs from the holding agency and any expenses for the acquisition paid by the Surplus Property. Again, there are restrictions as to the use and disposal of said property. This has the lowest priority of the Federal Property programs.
    3. Energy Related Laboratory Equipment (ERLE) Program:The U.S. Department of Energy will give excess property from their agency to universities that teach and do research in energy related fields. All that is necessary is to submit a simple proposal that can be coordinated through Property Management. Some restrictions apply.
    4. Donations by Industry: There are several organizations that actively seek the donation of new property by private industry. The Donor receives Federal tax deductions if the property is donated to an educational institution. Surplus Property must pay yearly fees to belong to such organizations. These annual fees and the transportation of the property is passed along to departments receiving items. In most cases the property is new and unused and the shipping costs minimal. Some restrictions as to the disposal of the property exist.