§ 107a. — Federal and State responsibilities.
[Laws in effect as of January 24, 2002]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
January 24, 2002 and December 19, 2002]
[CITE: 20USC107a]
TITLE 20--EDUCATION
CHAPTER 6A--VENDING FACILITIES FOR BLIND IN FEDERAL BUILDINGS
Sec. 107a. Federal and State responsibilities
(a) Functions of Secretary; surveys; designation of State licensing
agencies; qualifications for license; evaluation of programs
The Secretary of Education shall--
(1) Insure that the Rehabilitation Services Administration is
the principal agency for carrying out this chapter; and the
Commissioner shall, within one hundred and eighty days after
enactment of the Randolph-Sheppard Act Amendments of 1974, establish
requirements for the uniform application of this chapter by each
State agency designated under paragraph (5) of this subsection,
including appropriate accounting procedures, policies on the
selection and establishment of new vending facilities, distribution
of income to blind vendors, and the use and control of set-aside
funds under section 107b(3) of this title;
(2) Through the Commissioner, make annual surveys of concession
vending opportunities for blind persons on Federal and other
property in the United States, particularly with respect to Federal
property under the control of the General Services Administration,
the Department of Defense, and the United States Postal Service;
(3) Make surveys throughout the United States of industries with
a view to obtaining information that will assist blind persons to
obtain employment;
(4) Make available to the public, and especially to persons and
organizations engaged in work for the blind, information obtained as
a result of such surveys;
(5) Designate as provided in section 107b of this title the
State agency for the blind in each State, or, in any State in which
there is no such agency, some other public agency to issue licenses
to blind persons who are citizens of the United States for the
operating of vending facilities on Federal and other property in
such State for the vending of newspapers, periodicals, confections,
tobacco products, foods, beverages, and other articles or services
dispensed automatically or manually and prepared on or off the
premises in accordance with all applicable health laws, as
determined by the State licensing agency, and including the vending
or exchange of chances for any lottery authorized by State law and
conducted by an agency of a State; and
(6) Through the Commission,\1\ (A) conduct periodic evaluations
of the program authorized by this chapter, including upward mobility
and other training required by section 107d-4 of this title, and (B)
take such other steps, including the issuance of such rules and
regulations, as may be necessary or desirable in carrying out the
provisions of this chapter.
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\1\ So in original. Probably should be ``Commissioner,''.
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(b) Duty of State licensing agencies to prefer blind
The State licensing agency shall, in issuing each such license for
the operation of a vending facility, give preference to blind persons
who are in need of employment. Each such license shall be issued for an
indefinite period but may be terminated by the State licensing agency if
it is satisfied that the facility is not being operated in accordance
with the rules and regulations prescribed by such licensing agency. Such
licenses shall be issued only to applicants who are blind within the
meaning of section 107e of this title.
(c) Selection of location and type of facility
The State licensing agency designated by the Secretary is
authorized, with the approval of the head of the department or agency in
control of the maintenance, operation, and protection of the Federal
property on which the facility is to be located but subject to
regulations prescribed pursuant to section 107 of this title, to select
a location for such facility and the type of facility to be provided.
(d) Buildings occupied by United States departments, agencies, and
instrumentalities required to provide sites for facilities;
exceptions
(1) After January 1, 1975, no department, agency, or instrumentality
of the United States shall undertake to acquire by ownership, rent,
lease, or to otherwise occupy, in whole or in part, any building unless,
after consultation with the head of such department, agency, or
instrumentality and the State licensing agency, it is determined by the
Secretary that (A) such building includes a satisfactory site or sites
for the location and operation of a vending facility by a blind person,
or (B) if a building is to be constructed, substantially altered, or
renovated, or in the case of a building that is already occupied on such
date by such department, agency, or instrumentality, is to be
substantially altered or renovated for use by such department, agency,
or instrumentality, the design for such construction, substantial
alteration, or renovation includes a satisfactory site or sites for the
location and operation of a vending facility by a blind person. Each
such department, agency, or instrumentality shall provide notice to the
appropriate State licensing agency of its plans for occupation,
acquisition, renovation, or relocation of a building adequate to permit
such State agency to determine whether such building includes a
satisfactory site or sites for a vending facility.
(2) The provisions of paragraph (1) shall not apply (A) when the
Secretary and the State licensing agency determine that the number of
people using the property is or will be insufficient to support a
vending facility, or (B) to any privately owned building, any part of
which is leased by any department, agency, or instrumentality of the
United States and in which, (i) prior to the execution of such lease,
the lessor or any of his tenants had in operation a restaurant or other
food facility in a part of the building not included in such lease, and
(ii) the operation of such a vending facility by a blind person would be
in proximate and substantial direct competition with such restaurant or
other food facility except that each such department, agency, and
instrumentality shall make every effort to lease property in privately
owned buildings capable of accommodating a vending facility.
(3) For the purposes of this subsection, the term ``satisfactory
site'' means an area determined by the Secretary to have sufficient
space, electrical and plumbing outlets, and such other facilities as the
Secretary may by regulation prescribe, for the location and operation of
a vending facility by a blind person.
(e) State licensing agency in States having vocational rehabilitation
plans
In any State having an approved plan for vocational rehabilitation
pursuant to the Vocational Rehabilitation Act or the Rehabilitation Act
of 1973 [29 U.S.C. 701 et seq.], the State licensing agency designated
under paragraph (5) of subsection (a) of this section shall be the State
agency designated under section 101(a)(2)(A) of such Rehabilitation Act
of 1973 [29 U.S.C. 721(a)(2)(A)].
(June 20, 1936, ch. 638, Sec. 2, 49 Stat. 1559; 1939 Reorg. Plan No. I,
Secs. 201, 204, eff. July 1, 1939, 4 F.R. 2728, 53 Stat. 1424; 1946
Reorg. Plan No. 2, Sec. 6, eff. July 16, 1946, 11 F.R. 7873, 60 Stat.
1095; 1953 Reorg. Plan No. 1, Secs. 5, 8, eff. Apr. 11, 1953, 18 F.R.
2053, 67 Stat. 631; Aug. 3, 1954, ch. 655, Sec. 4(b)-(d), 68 Stat. 663;
Pub. L. 93-516, title II, Sec. 203, Dec. 7, 1974, 88 Stat. 1623; Pub. L.
93-651, title II, Sec. 203, Nov. 21, 1974, 89 Stat. 2-8; Pub. L. 96-88,
title III, Sec. 301(a)(4)(B), title V, Sec. 507, Oct. 17, 1979, 93 Stat.
678, 692; Pub. L. 104-66, title I, Sec. 1041(i), Dec. 21, 1995, 109
Stat. 715; Pub. L. 105-220, title IV, Sec. 414(a), Aug. 7, 1998, 112
Stat. 1241.)
References in Text
For the date of the enactment of the Randolph-Sheppard Act
Amendments of 1974, referred to in subsec. (a)(1), see Codification note
below.
The Vocational Rehabilitation Act, referred to in subsec. (e), is
act June 2, 1920, ch. 219, 41 Stat. 735, as amended, which was
classified to chapter 4 (Sec. 31 et seq.) of Title 29, Labor, and was
repealed by Pub. L. 93-112, title V, Sec. 500(a), Sept. 26, 1973, 87
Stat. 357. Such section 500, classified to section 790 of Title 29,
provides in part that references to the Vocational Rehabilitation Act in
any other provision of law shall be deemed to be references to the
Rehabilitation Act of 1973.
The Rehabilitation Act of 1973, referred to in subsec. (e), is Pub.
L. 93-112, Sept. 26, 1973, 87 Stat. 355, as amended, which is classified
generally to chapter 16 (Sec. 701 et seq.) of Title 29, Labor. For
complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title note
set out under section 701 of Title 29 and Tables.
Codification
The content of Pub. L. 93-516, including provisions of section 203
thereof which amended this section, were originally contained in H.R.
14225, 93rd Congress, Second Session, which was pocket-vetoed during the
31-day intrasession adjournment of the 93rd Congress for the
Congressional elections in November, 1974. See 1974 Amendment note
below.
Pursuant to an order of the United States District Court for the
District of Columbia (Kennedy v. Jones, D.C.D.C. 1976, 412 F.Supp. 353)
H.R. 1422 was deemed to have become law without the approval of the
President on Nov. 21, 1974, and was given the designation Pub. L. 93-
651. Therefore, for purposes of codification, this section should be
deemed to have been amended by Pub. L. 93-651, title II, Sec. 203, Nov.
21, 1974, 89 Stat. 2-8, 2-9, in exactly the same manner as it was
amended by Pub. L. 93-516, Dec. 7, 1974, 88 Stat. 1617.
Amendments
1998--Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 105-220 substituted ``section
101(a)(2)(A)'' for ``section 101(a)(1)(A)''.
1995--Subsec. (a)(6)(A). Pub. L. 104-66 struck out ``and annually
submit to the appropriate committees of Congress a report based on such
evaluations,'' after ``section 107d-4 of this title,''.
1974--Subsec. (a)(1). Pub. L. 93-516, Sec. 203(a)(1), added par.
(1). Former par. (1) redesignated (2). An identical amendment was made
by Pub. L. 93-651. See Codification note above.
Subsec. (a)(2). Pub. L. 93-516, Sec. 203(a)(1), (2), redesignated
former par. (1) as (2) and substituted ``Through the Commissioner, make
annual surveys of concessions vending opportunities for blind persons on
Federal and other property in the United States, particularly with
respect to Federal property under the control of the General Services
Administration, the Department of Defense, and the United States Postal
Service'' for ``Make surveys of concession-stand opportunities for blind
persons on Federal and other property in the United States''. Former
par. (2) redesignated (3). An identical amendment was made by Pub. L.
93-651. See Codification note above.
Subsec. (a)(3). Pub. L. 93-516, Sec. 203(a)(1), redesignated former
par. (2) as (3). Former par. (3) redesignated (4). An identical
amendment was made by Pub. L. 93-651. See Codification note above.
Subsec. (a)(4). Pub. L. 93-516, Sec. 203(a)(1), redesignated former
par. (3) as (4). Former par. (4) redesignated (5). An identical
amendment was made by Pub. L. 93-651. See Codification note above.
Subsec. (a)(5). Pub. L. 93-516, Sec. 203(a)(1), (3), redesignated
former par. (4) as (5), substituted ``State agency for the blind in each
State, or, in any State in which there is no such agency, some other
public agency to issue licenses to blind persons who are citizens of the
United States for the operating of vending facilities'' for ``State
commission for the blind in each State, or, in any State in which there
is no such commission, some other public agency to issue licenses to
blind persons who are citizens of the United States and at least twenty-
one years of age for the operating of vending stands'', and ``foods,
beverages, and other articles or services dispensed automatically or
manually and prepared on or off the premises in accordance with all
applicable health laws, as determined by the State licensing agency, and
including the vending or exchange of chances for any lottery authorized
by State law and conducted by an agency of a State'' for ``articles
dispensed automatically or in containers or wrapping in which they are
placed before receipt by the vending stand, and such other articles as
may be approved for each property by the department or agency in control
of the maintenance, operation, and protection thereof and the State
licensing agency in accordance with the regulations prescribed pursuant
to section 107 of this title'', and struck out proviso that effective
four years after the enactment of the Vocational Rehabilitation
Amendments of 1954, in States having an approved plan for vocational
rehabilitation pursuant to the Vocational Rehabilitation Act, the
licensing agency to be designated hereunder shall be the State agency
designated pursuant to section 35(a)(1) of title 29 as the sole agency
with respect to vocational rehabilitation of the blind, and that prior
to such time, no license shall be granted except upon certification by a
vocational rehabilitation agency that the individual is qualified to
operate a vending stand. An identical amendment was made by Pub. L. 93-
651. See Codification note above.
Subsec. (a)(6). Pub. L. 93-516, Sec. 203(a)(1), (4), redesignated
former par. (5) as (6), substantially reenacted existing provisions in
cl. (B), and added cl. (A) and provisions preceding cl. (A). An
identical amendment was made by Pub. L. 93-651. See Codification note
above.
Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 93-516, Sec. 203(b), substituted ``operation of
a vending facility'' for ``operation of a vending stand'', struck out
one year residency requirement for giving preference, and in provisions
relating to qualifications of applicants, struck out ``but are able, in
spite of such infirmity, to operate such stands''. An identical
amendment was made by Pub. L. 93-651. See Codification note above.
Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 93-516, Sec. 203(c), substituted ``facility''
for ``stand'' in three places. An identical amendment was made by Pub.
L. 93-651. See Codification note above.
Subsecs. (d), (e). Pub. L. 93-516, Sec. 203(d), added subsecs. (d)
and (e). An identical amendment was made by Pub. L. 93-651. See
Codification note above.
1954--Act Aug. 3, 1954, added to the list of articles which may be
vended, articles dispensed automatically or in containers or wrappings
received by the stand and to provide that after four years the agency
designated under section 35(a)(1) of title 29 shall be the sole State
agency for vocational rehabilitation of the blind and to require, prior
to that time, certification by agencies as a condition for issuing
licenses.
Effective Date of 1954 Amendment
Amendment by act Aug. 3, 1954, effective July 1, 1954, see section 8
of act Aug. 3, 1954.
Transfer of Functions
``Secretary of Education'' substituted for ``Secretary of Health,
Education, and Welfare'' in subsec. (a) pursuant to sections
301(a)(4)(B) and 507 of Pub. L. 96-88 which are classified to sections
3441(a)(4)(B) and 3507 of this title and which transferred functions of
Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare under this chapter to
Secretary of Education.
For transfer of functions and offices of Secretary and Department of
Health, Education, and Welfare, including Rehabilitation Services
Administration and Commissioner thereof, to Secretary and Department of
Education, and for delegation of certain functions of Secretary of
Education under this chapter to Assistant Secretary for Special
Education and Rehabilitative Services, see sections 3417 and 3441 of
this title.
Functions of Federal Security Administrator transferred to Secretary
of Health, Education, and Welfare and all agencies of Federal Security
Agency transferred to Department of Health, Education, and Welfare by
section 5 of Reorg. Plan No. 1 of 1953, set out in the Appendix to Title
5, Government Organization and Employees. Federal Security Agency and
office of Administrator abolished by section 8 of Reorg. Plan No. 1 of
1953.
``Federal Security Administrator'' substituted for ``Office of
Education under the Federal Security Agency, subject to the direction of
the Commissioner of Education and such rules and regulations as he may,
with the approval of the Federal Security Administrator, prescribe'' in
subsec. (a) and for ``Office of Education'' in subsec. (c) by Reorg.
Plan No. 2 of 1946, set out in the Appendix to Title 5, which
transferred functions of Office of Education and Commissioner of
Education under sections 107 to 107f of this title to Federal Security
Administrator. Federal Security Agency Order 62, July 16, 1946, 11 F.R.
7943, provided that these functions shall be performed under supervision
and direction of Commissioner for Special Services by Director of
Vocational Rehabilitation and such officers and employees of Office of
Vocational Rehabilitation as Director shall designate.
Office of Education originally established in Department of the
Interior from which it was transferred to Federal Security Agency by
Reorg. Plan No. I of 1939, Sec. 201, which is set out in the Appendix to
Title 5.
Section Referred to in Other Sections
This section is referred to in section 107e of this title; title 23
section 111.
