General Services Administration September 2012 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

Under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act, the General Services Administration will be submitting to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) a request to review and approve an extension of a previously approved information collection requirement regarding Environmental Conservation, Occupational Safety, and Drug- Free Workplace. A notice was published in the Federal Register at 77 FR 36543, on June 19, 2012. No comments were received. Public comments are particularly invited on: Whether this collection of information is necessary 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; and ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected.

The General Services Administration (GSA), Federal Acquisition Service (FAS) issued a notice on July 23, 2012. The comment period is extended to provide additional time for interested parties to the review and submit comments on the notice.

Under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act, the Regulatory Secretariat will be submitting to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) a request to review and approve an extension of a previously approved information collection requirement concerning corporate aircraft costs. A notice was published in the Federal Register at 77 FR 20012, on April 3, 2012. One respondent submitted comments. Public comments are particularly invited on: Whether this collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of functions of the Federal Acquisition Regulation (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.

Under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act, the Regulatory Secretariat will be submitting to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) a request to review and approve an extension of a previously approved information collection requirement regarding Art-in Architecture Program National Artist Registry (GSA Form 7437). The Art-in-Architecture Program is the result of a policy decision made in January 1963 by GSA Administrator Bernard L. Boudin who had served on the Ad Hoc Committee on Federal Office Space in 1961-1962. The program has been modified over the years, most recently in 2009 when a requirement was instituted that all artists who want to be considered for any potential GSA commission must be included on the National Artists Registry, which serves as the qualified list of eligible artists. The program continues to commission works of art from living American artists. One-half of one percent of the estimated construction cost of new or substantially renovated Federal buildings and U.S. courthouses is allocated for commissioning works of art. Public comments are particularly invited on: whether this collection of information is necessary 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.

This document is issued under the joint authority of DOD, GSA, and NASA. This Small Entity Compliance Guide has been prepared in accordance with section 212 of the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996. It consists of a summary of the rule appearing in Federal Acquisition Circular (FAC) 2005-61, which amends the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR). An asterisk (*) next to a rule indicates that a regulatory flexibility analysis has been prepared. Interested parties may obtain further information regarding this rule by referring to FAC 2005-61, which precedes this document. These documents are also available via the Internet at https:// www.regulations.gov.

DoD, GSA, and NASA are issuing a final rule amending the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to address bid protest and appeal authorities.

DoD, GSA, and NASA are issuing a final rule amending the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to delete references to the obsolete ``DoD Industrial Preparedness Program''.

This document summarizes the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) rules agreed to by the Civilian Agency Acquisition Council and the Defense Acquisition Regulations Council (Councils) in this Federal Acquisition Circular (FAC) 2005-61. 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.

Under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act, Regulatory Secretariat will be submitting to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) a request to review and approve a reinstatement of a previously approved information collection requirement concerning Accident Prevention Plans and Recordkeeping. Public comments are particularly invited on: Whether this collection of information is necessary; 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.

Under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act Regulatory Secretariat will be submitting to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) a request to review and approve an extension of a previously approved information collection requirement concerning use of the Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) as primary contractor identification. The DUNS number is the nine-digit identification number assigned by Dun and Bradstreet Information Services to an establishment. Public comments are particularly invited on: Whether this collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of functions of the Federal Acquisition Regulations (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.

Under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act, the Regulatory Secretariat will be submitting to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) a request to review and approve an extension of a previously approved information collection requirement concerning permits, authorities, or franchises for regulated transportation. Public comments are particularly invited on: Whether this collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of functions of the Federal Acquisition Regulations (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.

DoD, GSA, and NASA are proposing to amend the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to provide Governmentwide standardized past performance evaluation factors and performance rating categories and require that past performance information be entered into the Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System (CPARS).

The General Services Administration's (GSA) Fiscal Year (FY) 2013 per diem review has resulted in lodging and meal allowance changes for certain locations within the continental United States (CONUS) to provide for reimbursement of Federal employees' expenses covered by per diem. All current non-standard area (NSA) lodging per diem rates will remain at FY 2012 levels for FY 2013. The standard lodging per diem rate of $77 will also continue to remain the same for FY 2013. The meals and incidental expense tiers remain unchanged for FY 2013 and range from $46-$71. GSA identified 10 new NSAs: Bakersfield/Ridgecrest, California (Kern County); Stockton, California (San Joaquin County); Hancock and Pearl River Counties in Mississippi; Sidney/Glendive, Montana (Richland and Dawson Counties); Dickinson/Beulah, North Dakota (Stark, Mercer, and Billings Counties); Minot, North Dakota (Ward County); Williston, North Dakota (Williams, Mountrail, and McKenzie Counties); Carlsbad, New Mexico (Eddy County); Watertown, New York (Jefferson County); and Pasco, Washington (Franklin County). The CONUS per diem rates prescribed in Bulletin 13-01 may be found at www.gsa.gov/perdiem. GSA bases the lodging rates on the average daily rate that the lodging industry reports to an independent organization. If a lodging rate or a per diem rate is insufficient to meet necessary expenses in any given location, Federal executive agencies can request that GSA review that location. Please review numbers five and six of GSA's per diem Frequently Asked Questions at (www.gsa.gov/perdiemfaqs) for more information on the special review process. In addition, the Federal Travel Regulation allows for actual expense reimbursement as provided in Sec. Sec. 301-11.300 through 301- 11.306.