
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: 40USC488]

 
             TITLE 40--PUBLIC BUILDINGS, PROPERTY, AND WORKS
 
       CHAPTER 10--MANAGEMENT AND DISPOSAL OF GOVERNMENT PROPERTY
 
                   SUBCHAPTER II--PROPERTY MANAGEMENT
 
Sec. 488. Disposal of property


(a) Advice of Attorney General with respect to antitrust laws

    Except as provided by subsection (c) of this section, no executive 
agency shall dispose of any plant, plants, or other property to any 
private interest until such agency has received the advice of the 
Attorney General on the question whether such disposal would tend to 
create or maintain a situation inconsistent with the antitrust laws. 
Whenever any such disposal is contemplated by any executive agency, such 
agency shall transmit promptly to the Attorney General notice of such 
proposed disposal and the probable terms or conditions thereof. If such 
notice is given by any executive agency other than the General Services 
Administration, a copy of such notice shall be transmitted 
simultaneously to the Administrator. Within a reasonable time, in no 
event to exceed sixty days, after receipt of such notification, the 
Attorney General shall advise the Administrator and any other interested 
executive agency whether, so far as he can determine, the proposed 
disposition would tend to create or maintain a situation inconsistent 
with the antitrust laws.

(b) Request by Attorney General for information

    Upon request made by the Attorney General, the Administrator or any 
other executive agency shall furnish or cause to be furnished to the 
Attorney General such information as the Administrator or such other 
executive agency may possess which the Attorney General determines to be 
appropriate or necessary to enable him to give the advice required by 
this section, or to determine whether any other disposition or proposed 
disposition of surplus property violates or would violate any of the 
antitrust laws.

(c) Applicability of provisions

    This section shall not apply to the disposal of--
        (1) real property, if the estimated fair market value is less 
    than $3,000,000; or
        (2) personal property (other than a patent, process, technique, 
    or invention), if the estimated fair market value is less than 
    $3,000,000.

(d) Provisions held not to impair, amend, etc., antitrust laws

    Nothing contained in this Act shall impair, amend, or modify any of 
the antitrust laws or limit or prevent the application of any such law 
to any person who acquires in any manner any property under the 
provisions of this Act.
    As used in this section, the term ``antitrust laws'' includes the 
Act of July 2, 1890 (ch. 647, 26 Stat. 209), as amended; the Act of 
October 15, 1914 (ch. 323, 38 Stat. 730), as amended; the Federal Trade 
Commission Act (38 Stat. 717), as amended [15 U.S.C. 41 et seq.]; and 
sections 73 and 74 of the Act of August 27, 1894 (28 Stat. 570), as 
amended.

(June 30, 1949, ch. 288, title II, Sec. 207, 63 Stat. 391; Pub. L. 85-
680, Aug. 19, 1958, 72 Stat. 631; Pub. L. 100-612, Sec. 7, Nov. 5, 1988, 
102 Stat. 3182.)

                       References in Text

    This Act, referred to in subsec. (d), is act June 30, 1949, ch. 288, 
63 Stat. 377, as amended, known as the Federal Property and 
Administrative Services Act of 1949. For complete classification of this 
Act to the Code, see Short Title note set out under section 471 of this 
title and Tables.
    Act of July 2, 1890, as amended, referred to in subsec. (d), is act 
July 2, 1890, ch. 647, 26 Stat. 209, as amended, known as the Sherman 
Act, which is classified to sections 1 to 7 of Title 15, Commerce and 
Trade. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short 
Title note set out under section 1 of Title 15 and Tables.
    Act of October 15, 1914, as amended, referred to in subsec. (d), is 
act Oct. 15, 1914, ch. 323, 38 Stat. 730, as amended, known as the 
Clayton Act, which is classified generally to sections 12, 13, 14 to 19, 
20, 21, 22 to 27 of Title 15 and sections 52 and 53 of Title 29, Labor. 
For further details and complete classification of this Act to the Code, 
see note set out under section 12 of Title 15 and Tables.
    The Federal Trade Commission Act, referred to in subsec. (d), is act 
Sept. 26, 1914, ch. 311, 38 Stat. 717, as amended, which is classified 
generally to subchapter I (Sec. 41 et seq.) of chapter 2 of Title 15. 
For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see section 58 of 
Title 15 and Tables.
    Sections 73 and 74 of the Act of August 27, 1894, referred to in 
subsec. (d), are classified to sections 8 and 9 of Title 15.

                          Codification

    Section was formerly classified to section 237 of Title 41, Public 
Contracts.


                               Amendments

    1988--Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 100-612 amended subsec. (c) generally. 
Prior to amendment, subsec. (c) read as follows: ``This section shall 
not apply to the disposal of--
        ``(1) real property if the aggregate amount of the original 
    acquisition cost of such property to the Government and all capital 
    expenditures made by the Government with respect thereto is less 
    than $1,000,000; or
        ``(2) personal property (other than a patent, process, 
    technique, or invention) with an acquisition cost of less than 
    $3,000,000.''
    1958--Pub. L. 85-680 subdivided section into subsections (a) to (d), 
retaining former last sentence defining ``antitrust laws'' as a separate 
paragraph at end, and amended provisions to increase exemptions of 
proposed disposals of surplus property from referral to the Attorney 
General for his advice as to whether or not such disposals would be 
inconsistent with the antitrust laws, to modify and improve procedure 
for such referrals to the Attorney General by the disposal agencies and 
to provide for notification of the General Services Administration by 
other agencies making disposals.

                  Section Referred to in Other Sections

    This section is referred to in section 781 of this title; title 42 
sections 2201, 5919.
