General Services Administration March 2011 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

Under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. chapter 35), the Regulatory Secretariat (MVCB) will be submitting to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) a request to review and approve an extension of a currently approved information collection requirement concerning environmentally sound products.

Under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. chapter 35), the Regulatory Secretariat (MVCB) will be submitting to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) a request to review and approve an extension of a currently approved information collection requirement concerning certification of independent price determination and parent company and identifying data. Public comments are particularly invited on: Whether this collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of functions of the FAR, and whether it will have practical utility; whether our estimate of the public burden of this collection of information is accurate, and based on valid assumptions and methodology; ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and ways in which we can minimize the burden of the collection of information on those who are to respond, through the use of appropriate technological collection techniques or other forms of information technology.

The General Services Administration (GSA) has conducted its mid-year review and has determined that the per diem rates for certain locations in the States of California, Mississippi, New York, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Virginia are inadequate.

The General Services Administration (GSA) is removing a part from the Code of Federal Regulations because it no longer provides employees with guidance on employee standards of conduct.

This document makes amendments to the Federal Acquisition Regulations in order to make editorial changes.

DoD, GSA, and NASA have adopted as final, without change, an interim rule amending the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to align it with a Cost Accounting Standards (CAS) Board clause, Disclosure and Consistency of Cost Accounting Practices-Foreign Concerns.

DoD, GSA, and NASA have adopted as final, without change, an interim rule amending the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to implement section 868 of the Duncan Hunter National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2009. Section 868 provides that the FAR shall be amended with respect to the procurement of commercial services, specifically services that are not offered and sold competitively in substantial quantities in the commercial marketplace, but are of a type offered and sold competitively in substantial quantities in the commercial marketplace. These services may be considered commercial items only if the contracting officer has determined in writing that the offeror has submitted sufficient information to evaluate, through price analysis, the reasonableness of the price for such services. The rule details the information the contracting officer may consider in order to make this determination.

DoD, GSA, and NASA have adopted as final, with changes, the interim rule amending the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to implement section 826, Market Research, of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008. Section 826 requires the head of an agency to take appropriate steps to ensure that any prime contractor of a contract (or task order or delivery order) in an amount in excess of $5 million for the procurement of items other than commercial items engages in market research as necessary before making purchases.

DoD, GSA, and NASA are issuing an interim rule amending the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to implement section 863 of the Duncan Hunter National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2009. Section 863, entitled ``Requirements for Purchase of Property and Services Pursuant to Multiple-Award Contracts,'' mandates enhanced competition for orders placed under multiple-award contracts, including GSA's Federal Supply Schedules (FSS). If an individual order over the simplified acquisition threshold does not follow the section 863 competitive procedures, section 863 requires that a notice of, and the determination to waive competition for, the order be published in FedBizOpps within 14 days after award. These FAR changes support the Administration's commitment to strengthened competition and increased transparency.

This document summarizes the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) rules agreed to by DoD, GSA, and NASA in this Federal Acquisition Circular (FAC) 2005-50. A companion document, the Small Entity Compliance Guide (SECG), follows this FAC. The FAC, including the SECG, is available via the Internet at https://www.regulations.gov.

GSA is proposing to amend the General Services Administration Acquisition Regulation (GSAR) to amend the GSAR to restore guidance on making final payments under construction and building service contracts to ensure contractors are paid in accordance with their contract requirements and not overpaid or receive improper payments for work performed. This guidance, which prescribed the use of GSA Form 1142, Release of Claims, for releases of claims under construction and building service contracts, was inadvertently deleted as part of the Rewrite of GSAR regulations on Contract Financing. GSA Contracting Officers have used this form to achieve uniformity and consistency in the release of claims process.

The Civilian Agency Acquisition Council, and the Defense Acquisition Regulations Council (Councils), are hosting the first of at least two public meetings to start a dialogue with industry and Government agencies about ways for the acquisition community to transition to Secure Hash Algorithm SHA-256. SHA-256 is a cryptographic hash function that is used in digital signatures, and authentication protocols.