[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 115 (Friday, June 13, 2008)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 33670-33671]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-12419]


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NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION

14 CFR Part 1260

RIN 2700-AD40


NASA Grant and Cooperative Agreement Handbook--C.A.S.E. Reporting 
and Property Delegations

AGENCY: National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

ACTION: Final Rule.

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[[Page 33671]]

SUMMARY: This final rule amends the NASA Grant and Cooperative 
Agreement Handbook regulations to remove NASA Form 1356, Committee on 
Academic Science and Engineering (C.A.S.E.) Report. This final rule 
also makes an amendment to clarify the general preference for internal 
administration of grants and cooperative agreements with no Government-
furnished property.

DATES: Effective Date: This final rule is effective June 13, 2008.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jamiel C. Commodore, NASA, Office of 
Procurement, Contract Management Division; (202) 358-0302; e-mail: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

A. Background

    The NASA Grant Handbook at Sec.  1260.75 requires grant officers to 
complete the NASA Form 1356, Committee on Academic Science and 
Engineering (C.A.S.E.) Report on College and University Projects. The 
C.A.S.E. reports had once been the basis for reporting to the National 
Science Foundation's Federal Science and Engineering Support Survey. 
The information obtained on the C.A.S.E. reports is available through 
other available systems and the NF 1356 has been eliminated. Therefore, 
the requirement for grant officers to complete the form is removed.
    The NASA Grant Handbook at Sec.  1260.70 requires that property 
administration, in most cases, be delegated to the Office of Naval 
Research (ONR) but it is not clear that the requirement applies to 
grants that are initially awarded with Government-furnished property. 
Consequently, many grants without property were unnecessarily being 
delegated to ONR for administration.

B. Regulatory Flexibility Act

    NASA certifies that this final rule will not have a significant 
economic impact on a substantial number of small entities within the 
meaning of the Regulatory Flexibility Act, 5 U.S.C. 601 et seq., 
because the change affects only the internal operating procedure within 
NASA.

C. Paperwork Reduction Act

    The Paperwork Reduction Act does not apply because this rule does 
not impose any new recordkeeping or information collection 
requirements, or collection of information from offerors, contractors, 
or members of the public that require the approval of the Office of 
Management and Budget under 44 U.S.C. 3501, et seq.

List of Subjects in 14 CFR Part 1260

    Grant programs--science and technology.

James A. Balinskas,
Acting Assistant Administrator for Procurement.

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Accordingly, 14 CFR part 1260 is amended as follows:

PART 1260--[AMENDED]

0
1. The authority citation for 14 CFR part 1260 continues to read as 
follows:

    Authority: 42 U.S.C. 2473(c)(1), Pub. L. 97-258, 96 Stat. 1003 
(31 U.S.C. 6301, et seq.), and OMB Circular A-110.


0
2. Amend Sec.  1260.3 by revising the definition for ``progress 
report'' in paragraph (b) to read as follows:


Sec.  1260.3  Definitions.

* * * * *
    (b) * * *
    Progress report means a concise statement of work accomplished 
during the report period (see Sec. Sec.  1260.22 and 1260.75(a)(3)).
* * * * *

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3. Amend Sec.  1260.70 by revising paragraphs (a) and (c) to read as 
follows:


Sec.  1260.70  Delegation of administration.

    (a) If a grant or a cooperative agreement is awarded with 
Government-furnished property, administration should be delegated to 
the Office of Naval Research (ONR). If a grant or cooperative agreement 
has no Government-furnished property, administration will normally be 
performed by the issuing Center or by the NASA Shared Service Center 
(NSSC). However, the grant officer or the NSSC grant administrator has 
the option to delegate administration to ONR and should do so when 
exceptional administrative issues are anticipated. Other administration 
duties may be assigned as listed on NF 1674. Exceptions to this policy 
are:
    (1) Training grants will not be delegated.
    (2) Grants of short duration (9 months or less) or low dollar value 
($50k or less) will normally not be delegated.
    (3) Grant officers may waive specific administration requirements 
(as listed on NF 1674) in exceptional circumstances for individual 
grants. Exceptions to administration duties that are normally delegated 
must be justified and approved in writing by the Grant Officer, and 
made part of the file.
    (4) Waiver of delegation of property administration duties that are 
to be instituted by a center as a standard practice constitutes a 
deviation to this handbook, and requires approval in accordance with 
Sec.  1260.7.
* * * * *
    (c) Upon acceptance of a delegation, ONR agrees to the following: 
ONR shall follow DoD property administration policies and procedures, 
plus the following NASA requirements:
    (1) The recipient shall maintain property records and manage 
nonexpendable personal property in accordance with 14 CFR 1260.134. 
During Property Control System Analyses (PCSA), ONR will check the 
recipient's understanding and test compliance of property management 
requirements, including the accuracy of recipient property reports. ONR 
will provide one copy of each PCSA Report to the appropriate NASA 
center industrial property officer.
    (2) ONR will investigate and notify NASA as appropriate for any 
unauthorized property acquisitions by the recipient. See the provision 
at Sec.  1260.27.
    (3) ONR will notify the cognizant grant officer and industrial 
policy officer when property is lost, damaged or destroyed.
    (4) Under no circumstances will Government property be disposed 
without instructions from NASA.
    (5) Prior to disposition, except when returned to NASA or 
reutilized on other NASA programs, ONR will ensure all NASA 
identifications are removed or obliterated from property, and hard 
drives of computers are cleared of sensitive or NASA owned/licensed 
software/data.


Sec.  1260.75  [Amended]

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4. Amend Sec.  1260.75 by removing paragraph (a) and redesignating 
paragraphs (b) through (d) as (a) through (c).

[FR Doc. E8-12419 Filed 6-12-08; 8:45 am]
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