
From the U.S. Code Online via GPO Access
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[Laws in effect as of January 23, 2000]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
  January 23, 2000 and December 4, 2001]
[CITE: 40USC356]

 
             TITLE 40--PUBLIC BUILDINGS, PROPERTY, AND WORKS
 
CHAPTER 6--ACQUISITION OF SITES FOR AND CONSTRUCTION OF PUBLIC BUILDINGS
 
Sec. 356. Lease purchase contracts


(a) Authority to procure space; terms; limitation on amount

    Whenever the Administrator of General Services determines that (1) 
the needs for space for the permanent activities of the Federal 
Government in any particular area cannot be satisfied by utilization of 
any existing property suitable for the purpose then owned by the 
Government, and (2) the best interests of the United States will be 
served by taking action hereunder, he is authorized to obtain and 
provide space for the accommodation of activities of the Government in 
the several States, the District of Columbia, and the Territories and 
possessions of the United States (including Guam), except for the 
accommodation of activities of the United States Postal Service, by 
negotiating and entering into purchase contracts, the terms of which 
shall not be less than ten nor more than twenty-five years and which 
shall provide in each case that title to the property shall vest in the 
United States at or before the expiration of the contract term and upon 
fulfillment of the terms and conditions stipulated in each of such 
purchase contracts. Such terms and conditions shall include provision 
for the application to the purchase price agreed upon therein of 
installment payments made thereunder including provision for the 
exchange of surplus real property or real property which may become 
surplus as a result of such agreement, where the Administrator 
determines that the best interests of the Government in economy and 
efficiency of operation will be served. Every purchase contract entered 
into pursuant to this title shall provide for equal annual payments for 
the amortization of principal with interest thereon and the 
Administrator shall not enter into any such contract unless the amount 
of the annual payment required by such contract plus the aggregate of 
the annual payments required by all other purchase contracts entered 
into during the same fiscal year do not exceed the specific limitations 
on such payments which shall be provided in appropriation acts: 
Provided, That prior to July 1, 1955, a limitation of not to exceed 
$5,000,000 is established for such purpose.

(b) Utilization of existing property

    The Administrator of General Services is authorized to exercise the 
powers granted in this section with respect to existing properties, 
including those for which conversions, additions, extensions, or 
remodeling may be required, and properties upon which construction is to 
be subsequently effected in pursuance of the terms of applicable 
purchase contracts.

(c) Agreements to effectuate purposes; development and improvement of 
        land

    The Administrator of General Services is authorized to enter into 
agreements with any person, copartnership, corporation, or other public 
or private entity, to effectuate any of the purposes of this section; 
and is further authorized to bring about the development and improvement 
of any land owned by the United States and under the control of the 
General Services Administration including the demolition of obsolete and 
outmoded structures situated thereon, by providing for the construction 
thereon by others of such structures and facilities as shall be the 
subject of the applicable purchase contracts.

(d) Contract provisions; limitations on amount of payments

     Each such purchase contract shall include such provisions as the 
Administrator of General Services, in his discretion, shall deem to be 
in the best interests of the United States and appropriate to secure the 
performance of the obligations imposed upon the party or parties that 
shall enter into such agreement with the United States: Provided, That 
no such agreement may provide for the payment by the United States in 
pursuance of the terms thereof of moneys in an aggregate annual amount 
in excess of 15 per centum of the appraised fair market value of the 
property at the date of the purchase contract, or in the case of 
property where construction shall not have been completed at that date 
in excess of 15 per centum of the fair market value at the date of 
completion of such construction. No such purchase contract shall provide 
for any payments to be made by the United States in excess of the amount 
necessary, as determined by the Administrator, to--
        (1) amortize--
            (A) the cost of improvements to be constructed plus the fair 
        market value, on the date of the agreement, of the site, if 
        owned or acquired by the contractor; or
            (B) the fair market value, on the date of the agreement, of 
        completed improvements together with the site thereof; or
            (C) a combination of the foregoing in the case of existing 
        improvements to be remodeled by the contractor; and

        (2) provide a reasonable rate of interest on the outstanding 
    principal as determined under (1) above; and
        (3) reimburse the contractor for the cost of any other 
    obligations assumed by him under the contract, including (but not 
    limited to) payment of taxes, costs of carrying appropriate 
    insurance, and costs of repair and maintenance if so assumed by the 
    contractor.

(e) Omitted

(f) Utilization of funds for payments; conditions

    Funds now or hereafter available for the payment of rent and related 
charges for premises, whether appropriated directly to the General 
Services Administration or to any other agency of the Government and 
received by said Administration for such purpose, may be utilized by the 
Administrator of General Services to make payments becoming due from 
time to time from the United States as current charges in connection 
with agreements entered into under authority of this section: Provided, 
That no such funds may be expended for acquisition of title to the 
property covered by any such agreement prior to the expiration of the 
contract term specified therein (whether by exercise of option to 
purchase or otherwise) in the absence of specific appropriations of 
funds for such acquisition, which appropriations are authorized: 
Provided further, That the value of any Government real property to be 
exchanged under any such agreement may be credited at the time of 
exchange to the payments to be made by the United States thereunder: 
Provided further, That Government real property to be exchanged may be 
credited in whole or in part to the purchase price of the property for 
which it is exchanged, except that where the amount of the credit for 
the real property to be exchanged exceeds the amount of the purchase 
price, the amount of the remaining proceeds shall, except as provided in 
section 2003 of title 39, be covered into the miscellaneous receipts of 
the Treasury of the United States.

(g) Postal purposes

    When requested by the United States Postal Service, the 
Administrator of General Services is authorized to exercise the 
authority vested in him by this section (1) to acquire property for 
postal purposes, or (2) to provide space for postal purposes in 
buildings acquired under this section for other purposes.

(h) State and local taxes

    With respect to any interest in real property acquired under the 
provisions of this section, the same shall be subject to State and local 
taxes until title to the same shall pass to the Government of the United 
States.

(i) Separability

    If any provision of this section or the application thereof to any 
person or circumstance is held invalid, the remainder of this section 
and the application thereof to other persons or circumstances shall not 
be affected thereby.

(j) Applicability of other sections

    (1) Section 252(c) \1\ of title 41 and section 255 of this title 
shall apply to purchase contract agreements entered into under this 
section, except that any such agreement may be entered into and placed 
in effect after request for but prior to receipt of an opinion of the 
Attorney General with respect to the validity of title to the property 
described therein.
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    \1\ See References in Text note below.
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    (2) Except as provided by paragraph (1) of this subsection, sections 
34, 37a,\1\ 259,\1\ 267 \1\ and 304c of this title; and sections 12 and 
14 of title 41; and any other provision of law (except applicable labor 
standards provisions) relating to the acquisition of real property, 
construction of buildings, or leasing of space, shall not apply to 
purchase contract agreements executed under this section.

(June 16, 1949, ch. 218, title IV, Sec. 411, as added July 22, 1954, ch. 
560, title I, Sec. 101, 68 Stat. 518; amended July 9, 1956, ch. 525, 
Sec. 1, 70 Stat. 510; Pub. L. 91-375, Secs. 4(a), 6(m)(1), (o), Aug. 12, 
1970, 84 Stat. 773, 782, 783.)

                       References in Text

    This title, referred to in subsec. (a), means title IV of act June 
16, 1949, ch. 218, which enacted sections 37a, 298, 298a, 298b, 298c, 
298d, 355, 356, and 356a of this title, and amended section 345 of this 
title. Sections 37a, 298, 298c, 345, and 355 of this title have since 
been repealed.
    Subsection (c) of section 252 of title 41, referred to in subsec. 
(j), was struck out by section 2714(a)(1)(B) of Pub. L. 98-369 and 
provisions formerly contained in subsection (e) were restated in 
subsection (c)(1) of section 252 of Title 41, Public Contracts.
    Section 37a of this title, referred to in subsec. (j)(2), was 
repealed by Pub. L. 85-493, Sec. 2, July 2, 1958, 72 Stat. 294.
    Sections 259 and 267 of this title, referred to in subsec. (j)(2), 
were repealed by Pub. L. 86-249, Sec. 17(12), Sept. 9, 1959, 73 Stat. 
485.

                          Codification

    Provisions of subsec. (e) of this section required Congressional 
approval by the Committees on Public Works of the Senate and the House 
of Representatives of proposed purchase contract projects within three 
years after July 22, 1954 in order for such contract projects to be 
eligible for appropriations.


                            Prior Provisions

    A prior section 411 of act June 16, 1949, was renumbered section 413 
and is set out as a note under section 298a of this title.


                               Amendments

    1970--Subsec. (f). Pub. L. 91-375 substituted ``section 2003 of 
title 39'' for ``section 205 of the Post Office Department Property Act 
of 1954''.
    1956--Subsec. (e). Act July 9, 1956, struck out requirement for 
approval of purchase-contract agreements by Director of the Bureau of 
the Budget and inserted at end of subpar. 8, requirement that project 
statement by Director be based on budgetary and related considerations, 
and not deemed to constitute approval of specific terms of any proposed 
agreement or of selection of any particular contractor or lessor.


                    Effective Date of 1970 Amendment

    Amendment by Pub. L. 91-375 effective within 1 year after Aug. 12, 
1970, on date established therefor by the Board of Governors of the 
United States Postal Service and published by it in the Federal 
Register, see section 15(a) of Pub. L. 91-375, set out as an Effective 
Date note preceding section 101 of Title 39, Postal Service.


                               Short Title

    Section 103 of title I of act July 22, 1954, provided that: ``This 
title [enacting this section and section 357 of this title] may be cited 
as the `Public Buildings Purchase Contract Act of 1954'.''

                          Transfer of Functions

    In subsec. (a), ``United States Postal Service'' substituted for 
``Post Office Department'', and in subsec. (g), ``United States Postal 
Service'' substituted for ``Postmaster General'' pursuant to Pub. L. 91-
375 which abolished Post Office Department and office of Postmaster 
General of Post Office Department, transferred their functions to United 
States Postal Service, and provided that references in other laws to 
Post Office Department shall be considered a reference to United States 
Postal Service.


     Limitation on Use of Funds for Payment for Sites, Planning or 
          Construction of Buildings by Lease-Purchase Contracts

    Pub. L. 85-844, title I, Sec. 101, Aug. 28, 1958, 72 Stat. 1067, 
provided: ``That hereafter, except for projects located at Atlanta, 
Georgia; Rock Island, Illinois; Council Bluffs, Iowa; Kansas City, 
Kansas; Burlington, Iowa; Albuquerque, New Mexico; Sacramento, 
California; Brunswick, Georgia; Sedan, Kansas; Jonesboro, Louisiana; 
Lake Charles, Louisiana; Redwood Falls, Minnesota; Biloxi, Mississippi; 
Greenville, Mississippi; Laurel, Mississippi; Omaha, Nebraska; Durham, 
New Hampshire; Manning, South Carolina; Sisseton, South Dakota; 
Kingsport, Tennessee; Gainesville, Texas; McKinney, Texas; Huntington, 
West Virginia; Green Bay, Wisconsin; Marshfield, Missouri; Terrell, 
Texas; Mount Hope, West Virginia; Benton, Illinois; Burlington, Vermont; 
St. Marys, Ohio; West Memphis, Arkansas; Newkirk, Oklahoma; Point 
Pleasant, New Jersey; and Denver, Colorado; no part of any funds in this 
or any other Act shall be used for payment for sites, planning or 
construction of any buildings by lease-purchase contracts.''

                  Section Referred to in Other Sections

    This section is referred to in sections 356a, 357 of this title.
