General Services Administration December 2015 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

DoD, GSA, and NASA are issuing a final rule amending the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to incorporate revised thresholds for application of the World Trade Organization (WTO) Government Procurement Agreement (GPA) and the Free Trade Agreements (FTAs), as determined by the United States Trade Representative.

DoD, GSA, and NASA are issuing an interim rule amending the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to implement regulatory changes made by the Small Business Administration (SBA) that provide for authority to award sole source contracts to economically disadvantaged women-owned small business concerns and to women-owned small business concerns eligible under the Women-Owned Small Business (WOSB) 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) 2005-86. 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, the Regulatory Secretariat Division 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 Economic Purchase QuantitySupplies.

The General Services Administration (GSA) uses the single standard mileage rate established by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) as the mileage rate for privately owned automobiles (POA). In addition, the IRS' mileage rate for medical or moving purposes is used to determine the POA rate when a Government-furnished automobile is authorized. This IRS rate also establishes the standard mileage rate for moving purposes as it pertains to official relocation. Finally, GSA's annual privately owned airplane and motorcycle mileage reimbursement rate reviews have resulted in new CY 2016 rates. GSA conducts independent airplane and motorcycle studies that evaluate various factors, such as the cost of fuel, the depreciation of the original vehicles costs, maintenance and insurance, and/or by applying consumer price index data. FTR Bulletin 16-02 establishes the new CY 2016 POV mileage reimbursement rates for official temporary duty and relocation travel ($0.54 for POAs, $0.19 for POAs when a Government furnished automobile is authorized, $1.17 for privately owned airplanes, $0.51 for privately owned motorcycles, and $0.19 for moving purposes), pursuant to the process discussed above. This notice of subject bulletin is the only notification to agencies of revisions to the POV mileage rates for official travel and relocation other than the changes posted on GSA's Web site.

Under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act, the Regulatory Secretariat Division 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 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.

Under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act, the Regulatory Secretariat Division 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 drug-free workplace.

Notice of these conference calls is being provided according to the requirements of the Federal Advisory Committee Act. This notice provides the schedule for a series of conference calls, supplemented by Web meetings, for two task groups of the Green Building Advisory Committee. The conference calls are open for the public to listen in. Interested individuals must register to attend as instructed below under Supplementary Information.

Under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act, the Regulatory Secretariat Division 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 the packing list clause.

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 rules appearing in Federal Acquisition Circular (FAC) 2005-85, 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 these rules by referring to FAC 2005-85, which precedes this document. These documents are also available via the Internet at https:// www.regulations.gov.

DoD, GSA, and NASA have adopted as final, with changes, an interim rule amending the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to implement the Executive Order (E.O.) Establishing a Minimum Wage for Contractors, and a final rule issued by the Department of Labor (DOL).

DoD, GSA, and NASA have adopted as final, with changes, an interim rule amending the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to implement a statutory pilot program enhancing whistleblower protections for contractor employees.

DoD, GSA, and NASA have adopted as final, without change, an interim rule amending the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to implement Executive Order (E.O.) 13672, entitled, ``Further Amendments to Executive Order 11478, Equal Employment Opportunity in the Federal Government, and Executive Order 11246, Equal Employment Opportunity,'' and a final rule issued by the Department of Labor (DOL).

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) 2005-85. 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.