General Services Administration January 2008 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Civilian Agency Acquisition Council and the Defense Acquisition Regulations Council (Councils) are proposing to amend the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to limit the length of contracts awarded noncompetitively under unusual and compelling urgency circumstances to the minimum contract period necessary to meet the requirements, and no longer than one year, unless approved by the head of the contracting activity.

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 an extension of a currently approved information collection requirement concerning presolicitation notice. A request for public comments was published in the Federal Register at 72 FR 62444, on November 5, 2007. No comments were received. The clearance currently expires on April 30, 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 General Services Administration will be submitting to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) a request to review and approve a renewal of a currently approved information collection requirement regarding the qualifications of offerors. The clearance currently expires on April 30, 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 extraordinary contractual action requests. The clearance currently expires on April 30, 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.

GSA is amending the Federal Management Regulation (FMR) to update the legal citations and to incorporate additional policy guidance in accordance with Executive Order 13327. This final rule cancels and replaces in its entirety 41 CFR part 102-84, issued December 13, 2002.

The General Services Administration (GSA) recognizes that some persons with mobility impairments are utilizing the Segway[reg] Personal Transporter (Segway) and similar devices as their preferred means of locomotion. GSA is committed to making all reasonable efforts to make its facilities accessible to persons with disabilities. To that end, on December 3, 2007, GSA's Public Buildings Service issued the following interim policy to permit individuals with a mobility impairment to use these devices in Federal buildings under GSA's jurisdiction, custody or control, including those buildings delegated to other Federal agencies by the Administrator of General Services. This interim policy does not cover privately-owned leased buildings. GSA will issue a final policy once the effectiveness of the interim policy has been thoroughly reviewed and assessed.