General Services Administration 2019 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

Under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act, the Regulatory Secretariat Division has submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) a request to review and approve a revision and renewal of a previously approved information collection requirement regarding commerce patent regulations.

This agenda announces the proposed regulatory actions the Council plans for the next 12 months and those completed since the fall 2018 edition. This agenda was developed under the guidelines of Executive Orders (E.O.) 12866 ``Regulatory Planning and Review,'' as amended, Executive Order 13771 ``Reducing Regulation and Controlling Regulatory Costs,'' and Executive Order 13563 ``Improving Regulation and Regulatory Review.'' The purpose in publishing this agenda is to allow interested persons an opportunity to participate in the rulemaking process. Members of the public may submit comments on individual proposed and interim final rulemakings at www.regulations.gov during the comment period that follows publication in the Federal Register. This agenda updates the report published on June 24, 2019, and the next agenda is scheduled for publication in the spring of 2020. The complete Unified Agenda is available online at www.reginfo.gov.

The General Services Administration (GSA) is issuing a final rule amending the General Services Administration Acquisition Regulation (GSAR) to adopt an additional project delivery method for construction, known as ``construction manager as constructor'' (CMc). The private sector commonly uses a similar construction project delivery method, which allows for early industry engagement by the construction contractor to enable reduced cost growth, reduced schedule growth, and administrative savings. The current Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) lacks coverage of the CMc project delivery method. GSA has previously issued policies on CMc through other means. Incorporating CMc into the GSAR provides centralized guidance to industry and ensures consistent application of construction project principles across GSA. Additionally, integrating these requirements into the GSAR allowed for revision and improvement of the requirements through public comments in the rulemaking process.

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) 2020-03, 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 2020-03, which precedes this document. These documents are also available via the internet at https:// www.regulations.gov.

This document summarizes the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) rule agreed to by the Civilian Agency Acquisition Council and the Defense Acquisition Regulations Council (Councils) in this Federal Acquisition Circular (FAC) 2020-03. 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 has submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) a request to review and approve a revision and renewal of a previously approved information collection requirement regarding commercial item acquisitions.

Under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act, the Regulatory Secretariat Division has submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) a request to review and approve a revision and renewal of a previously approved information collection requirement regarding Anti-Kickback Procedures.

The General Services Administration (GSA) is committed to fostering productive relationships between GSA and its industry partners. Toward that end, the GSA Office of Leasing within GSA's Public Buildings Service (PBS) is working with GSA's Office of the Procurement Ombudsman to host a GSA Leasing Forum in February 2020. The target audience for this event is the Office of Leasing's industry partners. In order to ensure that the GSA Leasing Forum is meaningful and effective, PBS is hosting a virtual Roundtable discussion to identify leasing topics of interest to GSA's industry partners.

This document summarizes the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) rule agreed to by the Civilian Agency Acquisition Council and the Defense Acquisition Regulations Council (Councils) in this Federal Acquisition Circular (FAC) 2020-02. 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.

DoD, GSA, and NASA are issuing a final rule amending the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to require contractors and subcontractors to report to the Government-Industry Data Exchange Program certain counterfeit or suspect counterfeit parts and certain major or critical nonconformances.

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 existing information collection requirement regarding OMB Control No: 3090-0310; Nondiscrimination in Federal Financial Assistance Programs, GSA 3702. This information is needed to facilitate nondiscrimination in GSA's Federal Financial Assistance Programs, consistent with Federal civil rights laws and regulations that apply to recipients of Federal financial assistance.

The Presidential Transition Directory website is designed to help candidates in the 2020 Presidential election get quick and easy access to key resources about the federal government structure and key policies related to Presidential Transition. The creation of the Presidential Transition Directory is mandated by the Presidential Transition Act of 1963, as amended.

This bulletin reaffirms that sleeping in buildings under the jurisdiction, custody or control of GSA, including those buildings delegated to other Federal agencies by the Administrator of General Services, is prohibited, except when expressly authorized by an agency official. Sleeping may be authorized if the person is directed by a supervisor to remain in the building to conduct official government business and it is necessary for the person to sleep on the premises or, in the case of an emergency where there is imminent danger to human life or property, where persons are directed to shelter-in-place.

GSA is hosting an industry engagement event to highlight how section 889 of Title VII of the NDAA for FY 2019 (hereinafter Sec. 889) will affect GSA's business and supply chain. Toward that end, GSA invites industry partners and associations to join in a broad based dialogue.

DoD, GSA, and NASA are proposing to amend the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to implement a Department of Labor (DOL) rule, which exempts certain contracts for seasonal recreational services or seasonal recreational equipment rental for the general public on Federal lands from an Executive Order minimum wage.

On September 20, 2019, DoD, GSA, and NASA published a document proposing to amend the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to add two new clauses that notify contractors of requirements relating to Afghanistan taxes or similar charges when contracts are being performed in Afghanistan. The document heading carried an incorrect Regulation Identifier Number (RIN). This document carries the correct RIN.

DoD, GSA and NASA are issuing a final rule to amend the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to implement a section of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2018 to revise the definition of a ``commercial item.''

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) regulations, DoD, GSA, and NASA invite the public to comment on an extension concerning prohibition on contracting for certain telecommunications and video surveillance services or equipment. OMB has approved this information collection for use through February 29, 2019. DoD, GSA, and NASA propose that OMB extend its approval for use for three additional years beyond the current expiration date.

In accordance with section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) regulations, DoD, GSA, and NASA invite the public to comment on a revision and renewal concerning contractor use of Interagency Fleet Management System Vehicles. DoD, GSA, and NASA invite comments on: Whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of Federal Government acquisitions, including whether the information will have practical utility; the accuracy of the estimate of the burden of the proposed information collection; ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and ways to minimize the burden of the information collection on respondents, including the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology. OMB has approved this information collection for use through January 31, 2020. DoD, GSA, and NASA propose that OMB extend its approval for use for three additional years beyond the current expiration date.

Pursuant to the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA), the Council on Environmental Quality Regulations, GSA Order ADM 1095.1F Environmental Considerations in Decision Making, the GSA PBS NEPA Desk Guide, the FHWA Policy Guide, and FHWA's Environmental Impact and Related Procedures, GSA, PBS, FHWA, and MaineDOT, in cooperation with the U.S. Coast Guard and in coordination with the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), announce the availability of a Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (FSEIS)/Final Programmatic Section 4(f) Evaluation for the proposed new U.S. land port of entry (LPOE) in Madawaska, Maine, and a new International Bridge between Madawaska, Maine, and Edmundston, New Brunswick, Canada.

DoD, GSA, and NASA are proposing to amend the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to implement a section of the John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019, which specifies the criteria that must be met in order to include lowest price technically acceptable (LPTA) source selection criteria in a solicitation; and requires procurements predominantly for the acquisition of certain services and supplies to avoid the use of LPTA source selection criteria, to the maximum extent practicable.

DoD, GSA, and NASA are proposing to amend the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to implement a section of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year (FY) 2017 and several sections of the NDAA for FY 2018 that increase the micro-purchase threshold (MPT), increase the simplified acquisition threshold (SAT), and clarify certain procurement terms, as well as align some non- statutory thresholds with the MPT and SAT.

Under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act, the Regulatory Secretariat Division is submitting a request to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to review and approve an extension of a previously approved information collection requirement regarding Commercial Sales Practices disclosures and the General Services Administration Acquisition Regulation (GSAR) clause regarding price reductions. The information collected is used to establish and maintain Federal Supply Schedule (FSS) pricing and price-related terms and conditions. The extension has been renamed ``Federal Supply Schedule Pricing Disclosures and Sales Reporting'' because it now includes a burden estimate associated with the basic version of the GSAR clause regarding industrial funding fee and sales reporting. GSA uses this information to collect the Industrial Funding Fee and administer the FSS program. This burden was included under a separate approved information collection identified by OMB control number 3090-0121.

DoD, GSA, and NASA are proposing to amend the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to withhold a 2 percent tax on contract payments made by the United States Government to foreign persons pursuant to certain contracts. This rule applies to Federal government contracts for goods or services that are awarded to foreign persons.

Meeting notice is being provided according to the requirements of the Federal Advisory Committee Act. This notice provides the schedule and agenda for the October 3, 2019, in-person meeting of the Women's Suffrage Centennial Commission (Commission). The meeting is open to the public.