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The federal Randolph-Sheppard Act was the work of Senator John Morris Sheppard of Texas, and then Representative (he later became a US Senator) Jennings Randolph of West Virginia.  Senator Randolph is best known for his later work as the "Father of the 26th Amendment", which gave 18-year-olds the right to vote.  Senator Sheppard was a renowned orator and championed many programs to help various low-income groups, but is perhaps best remembered as a major force behind the 18th amendment, Prohibition.

Basically, the Randolph-Sheppard Act provides a right of first refusal to blind vendors on federal properties, as well as matching grant funds to state licensing agencies for administration and reporting.  To earn the federal grant funds, the vendors must set aside a certain amount of their business profits, which provides the "match".  The funds are granted to a designated state agency, who takes a percentage of the money as a fee for its management services.  The rest are used by that agency to purchase equipment and pay for administrative services, such as aggregated reporting and startup assistance to new operators.  Because equipment and facilities are owned by the state, and vendors do not directly receive any government money, the program most closely resembles a franchise.  The difference between the Randolph-Sheppard program and other franchises is that one must be blind or visually impaired to get into a Randolph-Sheppard franchise.  Click one of the links at left for more details.

Read more about Senator John Morris Sheppard.

Read more about Senator Jennings Randolph.

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