Federal Vending Facilities Reform Bill

[Ebowed]

Federal Vending Facilities Reform Bill

§1. Findings
   (a) The Randolph-Sheppard Act is a 1936 law that had the admirable goal of providing a preference to the legally blind in the operation of vending facilities on Federal property at a time when employment opportunities for the legally blind were scarce and vending machines were not as ubiquitous as they are today.
   (b) Assistive technologies have greatly widened the scope of available professions for the legally blind from what was achievable in 1936.
   (c) The subsequent development of vending machines and the passage of the Randolph-Sheppard Act Amendments of 1974 have effectively transformed the Randolph-Sheppard Act from one which provided the legally blind with self-employment into one which provides the legally blind with subsidy payments from vending machines operating in competition with them.

§2. Repeal
   (a) The Randolph-Sheppard Act (Chapter 6A of title 20 [20 U.S.C. section 107 et seq.]) and the fourth sentence of section 111(b) of title 23 (concerning highway rest stop vending machines) are hereby repealed subject to the savings provisions of this section.
   (b) Contracts with legally blind licensees to operate vending facilities under the provisions of the Randolph Sheppard Act (including payments under section 7 of said act from competing vending machines) shall continue in force until the normal end of the contract. If said contract contains provisions allowing renewal of the contract on a periodic basis, then the government shall agree to any renewal it would have agreed to save for the passage of this act until two years after the date of passage of this act. If said contract allows termination at will, the government shall terminate the contract two years after the date of passage of this act.
   (c) Termination of contracts with legally blind licensees shall be handled in accordance with the provisions of section 3 of the Randolph Sheppard Act.

§3. Additional transition period
   (a) The government shall be able to enter into non-competitive contracts with existing licensees for the operation of their current vending facilities after the repeal of the Randolph Sheppard Act takes effect. Such contracts shall be on a non-subsidy basis, but may take into account the convienience of continuity of service, amortization of existing equipment of the licensee, and other relevant factors favoring the retention of existing licensees over other potential vendors that would not normally be considered under Title 41, Public Contracts.
   (b) No such contract under this section may be entered into that -
      (1) begins later than five years after the passage of this Act, or
      (2) ends later than eight years after the passage of this Act.


Sponsor: Sen. Ernest

[Ebowed]

We will now vote on final passage (bill is above).

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Nay

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

Aye

[Colin]

Abstain

[Ebowed]

We have a tie.  It is presented to the Vice President and so forth.

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

We don't have a quorum, even if one assumes that we need only a majority of active senators, that still would be four of seven voting and only three votes were cast.

[Brandon H]

Aye if it will create a quorum.

[The Man From G.O.P.]

Aye if it will create a quorum.

[Јas]

Somehow compltely mnissed this one.

Aye

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

Aye

[Ebowed]

Well, these votes were all cast after the seven day period ended, but I'm content to ignore that if there's no objection.

Thus, the bill is presented to the President for his signature.

[afleitch]

x Afleitch