General Services Administration – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

Under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35), the General Services Administration will be submitting to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) a request to review and approve a new information collection requirement regarding an Online Citizen Survey. 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 Civilian Agency Acquisition Council and the Defense Acquisition Regulations Council (Councils) have agreed to convert the interim rule that published in the Federal Register at 72 FR 63027, November 7, 2007 to a final rule. The final rule amends the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to implement the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) regulations on the SAFETY Act.

The General Services Administration is amending the Federal Management Regulation (FMR) to revise its policy on appraisals of foreign gifts and decorations, and to encourage agencies to use various methods in obtaining appraisals, including reliable retail Web sites.

The Civilian Agency Acquisition Council and the Defense Acquisition Regulations Council (Councils) have adopted as final, with one minor change, the interim rule amending the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to revise the process for reporting contract actions to the Federal Procurement Data System (FPDS). This final rule revises the definition of indefinite delivery vehicle at FAR 4.601.

This document summarizes the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) rules agreed to by the Civilian Agency Acquisition Council and the Defense Acquisition Regulations Council in this Federal Acquisition Circular (FAC) 2005-30. 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.

The Civilian Agency Acquisition Council and the Defense Acquisition Regulations Council (Councils) have agreed to adopt as final, without change, the interim rule published in the Federal Register at 72 FR 73215 on December 26, 2007. The interim rule amended the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to provide regulations for purchasing environmentally preferable products and services when acquiring personal computer products such as desktops, notebooks (also known as laptops), and monitors with use of Electronic Products Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT) pursuant to the Energy Policy Act of 2005 and Executive Order 13423, ``Strengthening Federal Environmental, Energy, and Transportation Management.''

The Civilian Agency Acquisition Council and the Defense Acquisition Regulations Council (Councils) have agreed on a final rule amending the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to incorporate increased thresholds for application of the World Trade Organization Government Procurement Agreement and the Free Trade Agreements, as determined by the United States Trade Representative.

This document is issued under the joint authority of the Secretary of Defense, the Administrator of General Services and the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. 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 rules appearing in Federal Acquisition Circular (FAC) 2005-30 which amend the 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 2005-30, which precedes this document. These documents are also available via the Internet at http:/ /www.regulations.gov.

The Department of Defense, General Services Administration, and National Aeronautics and Space Administration have agreed to delay the effective and applicability dates of FAR Case 2007-013, Employment Eligibility Verification, to January 19, 2009, and February 20, 2009, respectively.

The General Services Administration published a document in the Federal Register of December 9, 2008, concerning OMB Control No. 3090-0221 requesting comments 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. The document contained an incorrect date.

The General Services Administration (GSA) is amending the General Services Administration Acquisition Regulation (GSAR) to revise sections of GSAR Part 542 that provide requirements for contract administration and audit services.

The General Services Administration is amending the mail management section of the Federal Management Regulation (FMR). The proposed changes will help agencies show accountability for their costs regardless of whether they choose to use commercial payment processes.

On December 11, 2007, the General Services Administration (GSA) published FTR Amendment 2007-06 in the Federal Register (72 FR 70234) specifying that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Standard Mileage Rate for moving purposes would be the rate at which agencies will reimburse an employee for using a privately-owned vehicle for relocation on a worldwide basis. The amendment indicated that the change to the IRS Standard Mileage Rate for moving purposes applied to relocations on and after September 25, 2007, and that GSA would publish a bulletin announcing any changes to that rate made by the IRS thereafter. On November 24, 2008, the IRS announced that as of January 1, 2009, the relocation mileage rate would decrease to $0.24 per mile for the 12 month period ending on December 31, 2009. Thus, the reimbursement rate for relocation will also be $0.24 for the same period. GSA Bulletin FTR 09-03 may be found at https://www.gsa.gov/ federaltravelregulation.

The General Services Administration (GSA) is announcing a public meeting of the GSA Small Business Advisory Committee, Subcommittee on Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Businesses (the Subcommittee).

The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) Multiple Award Schedule Advisory Panel (MAS Panel), a Federal Advisory Committee, will hold public meetings on the following dates: Friday, January 30, 2009 and Monday February 2, 2009. GSA utilizes the MAS program to establish long-term Governmentwide contracts with responsible firms to provide Federal, State, and local government customers with access to a wide variety of commercial supplies (products) and services. The MAS Panel was established to develop advice and recommendations on MAS program pricing policies, provisions, and procedures in the context of current commercial pricing practices. The Panel will be developing recommendations for MAS program pricing provisions for the acquisition of (1) professional services; (2) products; (3) total solutions which consist of professional services and products; and (4) non professional services. In developing the recommendations, the Panel will, at a minimum, address these 5 questions for each of the 4 types of acquisitions envisioned above: (1) Where does competition take place?; (2) If competition takes place primarily at the task/delivery order level, does a fair and reasonable price determination at the MAS contract level really matter?; (3) If the Panel consensus is that competition is at the task order level, are the methods that GSA uses to determine fair and reasonable prices and maintain the price/discount relationship with the basis of award customer(s) adequate?; (4) If the current policy is not adequate, what are the recommendations to improve the policy/guidance; and (5) If fair and reasonable price determination at the MAS contract level is not beneficial and the fair and reasonable price determination is to be determined only at the task/delivery order level, then what is the GSA role? To that end, the Panel would like to hear from the many stakeholders of the MAS program. The MAS program stakeholders include, but are not limited to, ordering agency contracting officers, GSA contracting officers, schedule contract holders, Congress, program managers, the General Accountability Office, and Federal agency Inspector General Offices. The panel is particularly interested in stakeholder views as to how the issues discussed above may relate differently to the purchase of goods, services, or goods and services that are configured to propose an integrated solution to an agency's needs. Written comments may be submitted at any time in accordance with the guidance below. The meeting will be held at U.S. General Services Administration, Federal Acquisition Service, 2200 Crystal Drive, Room L1301, Arlington, VA 22202. The location is within walking distance of the Crystal City metro stop. The meeting start time is 9:00 a.m., and will adjourn no later than 5:00 p.m. For presentations before the Panel, the following guidance is provided: Oral comments: The Panel will no longer entertain oral presentations. Written Comments: Written comments must be received ten (10) business days prior to the meeting date so that the comments may be provided to the Panel for their consideration prior to the meeting. Comments should be supplied to Ms. Brooks at the address/contact information noted below in the following format: one hard copy with original signature and one electronic copy via email in Microsoft Word. Subsequent meeting dates, locations, and times will be published at least 15 days prior to the meeting date.

This bulletin cancels and replaces GSA Bulletin FPMR D-245, Protecting Federal Employees and the Public From Exposure to Tobacco Smoke in the Federal Workplace, which was published in the Federal Register on October 20, 1997 (62 FR 54461). This bulletin announces and provides details of a recent amendment to Federal Management Regulation, Part 102-74, Facility Management, revising the restrictions on the smoking of tobacco products in leased or owned space under the jurisdiction, custody or control of the Administrator of General Services. The revisions to the smoking policy also serve as a best practices model for other federal agencies.

The General Services Administration is amending the Federal Management Regulation (FMR) to revise the restrictions on the smoking of tobacco products in leased or owned space under the jurisdiction, custody, or control of the Administrator of General Services. This final rule cancels and replaces in its entirety 41 CFR Sec. Sec. 102- 74.315 through 102-74.350 including the insertion of a new Sec. 102- 74.351.

Under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35), the General Services Administration has submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) a request to review and approve an extension of a currently approved information collection requirement regarding contract administration, and quality assurance. A request for public comments was published at 73 FR 30618, May 28, 2008. No comments were received. This OMB clearance expires on January 31, 2009. 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.

Under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35), the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Secretariat 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 evaluation of export offers. The clearance currently expires on December 31, 2008. 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 U.S. General Services Administration's (GSA) Multiple Award Schedule Advisory Panel (MAS Panel), a Federal Advisory Committee, meeting scheduled for December 08, 2008 is cancelled.

Under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35), the General Services Administration has submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) a request to review and approve an extension of a currently approved information collection requirement regarding the Civilian Board of Contract Appeals (CBCA) Rules of Procedure. A request for public comments was published at 72 FR 65341, November 20, 2007. No comments were received. The clearance currently expires on October 31, 2008. 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.

Under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35), the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Secretariat 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 incentive contracts. The clearance currently expires on December 31, 2008. 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.

Under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35), the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Secretariat has submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) a request to review and approve a reinstatement of an information collection requirement concerning material and workmanship. 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.

Under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35), the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Secretariat has submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) a request to review and approve a reinstatement of an information collection requirement concerning overtime. 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 Civilian Agency Acquisition Council and the Defense Acquisition Regulations Council are issuing corrections to FAC 2005-29, FAR Case 2007-013, which was published in the Federal Register at 73 FR 67703 and 67704, November 14, 2008.