[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 1 (Tuesday, January 3, 2012)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 182-183]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [http://www.gpo.gov/]
[FR Doc No: 2011-33405]
[[Page 181]]
Vol. 77
Tuesday,
No. 1
January 3, 2012
Part III
Department of Defense
General Services Administration
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
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48 CFR Chapter 1
Federal Acquisition Regulation; Final Rules
Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 1 / Tuesday, January 3, 2012 / Rules
and Regulations
[[Page 182]]
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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION
NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION
48 CFR Chapter 1
[Docket FAR 2011-0076; Sequence 7]
Federal Acquisition Regulation; Federal Acquisition Circular
2005-55; Introduction
AGENCIES: Department of Defense (DoD), General Services Administration
(GSA), and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
ACTION: Summary presentation of final and interim rules.
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SUMMARY: This document summarizes the Federal Acquisition Regulation
(FAR) rules agreed to by DoD, GSA, and NASA in this Federal Acquisition
Circular (FAC) 2005-55. A companion document, the Small Entity
Compliance Guide (SECG), follows this FAC. The FAC, including the SECG,
is available via the Internet at http://www.regulations.gov/.
DATES: For effective dates and comment dates, see separate documents,
which follow.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: The analyst whose name appears in the
table below in relation to each FAR case. Please cite FAC 2005-55 and
the specific FAR case numbers. For information pertaining to status or
publication schedules, contact the Regulatory Secretariat at (202) 501-
4755.
List of Rules in FAC 2005-55
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Item Subject FAR case Analyst
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I................ Preventing Abuse of 2008-032 Sakalos.
Interagency
Contracts.
II............... Transition to the 2011-021 Loeb.
System for Award
Management (SAM).
III.............. Brand-Name 2005-037 Clark.
Specifications.
IV............... Time-and-Materials 2009-043 Sakalos.
and Labor-Hour
Contracts for
Commercial Items.
V................ Public Access to the 2010-016 Loeb.
Federal Awardee
Performance and
Integrity
Information System.
VI............... Updated Financial 2010-005 Chambers.
Accounting Standards
Board Accounting
References.
VII.............. Technical Amendments.
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SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Summaries for each FAR rule follow. For the
actual revisions and/or amendments made by these FAR cases, refer to
the specific item numbers and subject set forth in the documents
following these item summaries. FAC 2005-55 amends the FAR as specified
below:
Item I--Preventing Abuse of Interagency Contracts (FAR Case 2008-032)
This rule adopts as final, with changes, an interim rule that
implemented section 865, Preventing Abuse of Interagency Contracts, of
the Duncan Hunter National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year
2009 (Pub. L. 110-417). This final rule further amends FAR subpart 17.5
to make it clear that this rule only applies to interagency
acquisitions when an agency needing supplies or services obtains them
using another agency's contract; or when an agency uses another agency
to provide acquisition assistance, such as awarding and administering a
contract, a task order, or delivery order. A business case analysis
must be developed for the establishment and renewal of governmentwide
acquisition contracts as well as for multi-agency contracts.
Additionally, FAR 35.017 clarifies determination requirements when
using a Federally Funded Research and Development Center. This rule
does not impose any information collection requirements on small
business. There is no significant impact on small businesses because
this rule is only applicable to internal operating procedures of the
Government.
Item II--Transition to the System for Award Management (SAM) (FAR Case
2011-021)
The Integrated Acquisition Environment (IAE) systems are being
transitioned to a new System for Award Management (SAM) architecture.
This effort will transition the Central Contractor Registration (CCR)
database, the Excluded Parties Listing System (EPLS), and the Online
Representations and Certifications Application (ORCA) to SAM. The FAR
change will indicate that these IAE systems and the Disaster Response
Registry will now be accessed through http://www.acquisition.gov/. This
rule will not significantly affect small business, as the only impact
on the public will be the Web site address that offerors/contractors
will need to use.
Item III--Brand-Name Specifications (FAR Case 2005-037)
This final rule adopts, with changes, the interim rule that amended
the FAR to fully implement Office of Management and Budget memoranda
and policies on the use of brand-name specifications. The final rule
clarifies that when applicable, the documentation or justification and
posting requirements for brand name items only apply to the portion of
the acquisition that requires the brand name item. The final rule also
adds a requirement to screen the brand name documentation or
justification for contractor proprietary data. Further, the final rule
requires the contracting officer to post the justifications for an
order peculiar to one manufacturer under indefinite-delivery contracts.
The rule will benefit small business entities by providing the
opportunity for review of brand-name justification and approval
documents for contracts and orders awarded noncompetitively, thereby
increasing the opportunity for competition for future awards.
Item IV--Time-and-Materials and Labor-Hour Contracts for Commercial
Items (FAR Case 2009-043)
This final rule amends the FAR to implement recommendations from
the Government Accountability Office to: (1) Ensure that time-and-
materials (T&M) and labor-hour (LH) contracts are used to acquire
commercial services only when no other contract type is suitable, and
(2) instill discipline in the determination of contract type with a
view toward managing the risk to the Government. The requirement for a
determination and findings when no other contract type is suitable is
added to FAR 8.404, Use of Federal Supply Schedules. FAR 8.404 has also
been
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amended to address increases in the order ceiling price of T&M and LH
contracts, to more closely conform to the language at FAR 12.207. In
addition, FAR 16.201 is modified and FAR 16.600 is added to clarify
that T&M and LH contracts are not types of fixed-price contracts. This
rule will not have a significant economic impact on a substantial
number of small entities.
Item V--Public Access to the Federal Awardee Performance and Integrity
Information System (FAR Case 2010-016)
This rule adopts as final, with changes, an interim rule. The
interim rule implemented section 3010 of the Supplemental
Appropriations Act, 2010 (Pub. L. 111-212), enacted July 29, 2010.
Section 3010 requires that the information in the Federal Awardee
Performance and Integrity Information System (FAPIIS), excluding past
performance reviews, shall be made publicly available. The interim rule
notified contractors of this new statutory requirement for public
access to FAPIIS.
In response to public comments, the final rule allows a 14-
calendar-day delay before making the data available to the public.
Contractors have 7 calendar days within those 14 calendar days to
assert a disclosure exemption under the Freedom of Information Act. In
addition, the FAPIIS system has been modified to allow more space for
contractor comments. The rule does not impose any new requirements on
small businesses.
Item VI--Updated Financial Accounting Standards Board Accounting
References (FAR Case 2010-005)
This final rule amends the FAR sections 31.205-11, 31.205-36,
52.204-10, 52.212-5, and 52.213-4 to update references to authoritative
accounting standards owing to the Financial Accounting Standards
Board's Accounting Standards Codification of Generally Accepted
Accounting Principles (``Codification of GAAP''). These revisions have
no effect other than to simply replace the superseded references with
updated references.
Item VII--Technical Amendments
Editorial changes are made at FAR 4.603, 8.402, 8.405-5, 8.703,
15.402, 15.403-1, 19.102, 19.402, 22.404-1, 22.1304, 22.1306, 23.205,
23.401, 28.203-3, 42.203, 52.202-1, 52.212-3, 52.219-22, and 52.228-11.
Dated: December 21, 2011.
Laura Auletta,
Director, Office of Governmentwide Acquisition Policy, Office of
Acquisition Policy, Office of Governmentwide Policy.
Federal Acquisition Circular (FAC) 2005-55 is issued under the
authority of the Secretary of Defense, the Administrator of General
Services, and the Administrator for the National Aeronautics and Space
Administration.
Unless otherwise specified, all Federal Acquisition Regulation
(FAR) and other directive material contained in FAC 2005-55 is
effective January 3, 2012, except for Items I, II, III, IV, and VI
which are effective February 2, 2012.
Dated: December 21, 2011.
Richard Ginman,
Director, Defense Procurement and Acquisition Policy.
Dated: December 22, 2011.
Mindy S. Connolly,
Chief Acquisition Officer, U.S. General Services Administration.
Dated: December 20, 2011.
William P. McNally,
Assistant Administrator for Procurement, National Aeronautics and Space
Administration.
[FR Doc. 2011-33405 Filed 12-30-11; 8:45 am]
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