[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 20 (Tuesday, January 31, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 4880-4881]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-1992]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Highway Administration

[FHWA Docket No. FHWA-2011-0122]


Revision of Form FHWA-1273

AGENCY: Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), DOT.

ACTION: Notice; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The FHWA is requesting comments on a proposed revision of form 
FHWA-1273--``Required Contract Provisions Federal-Aid Construction 
Contracts.'' This form includes certain contract provisions that are 
required on all Federal-aid construction projects. The revisions are 
necessary to provide consistency with the current policies of the FHWA 
and other Federal agencies.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before March 1, 2012.

ADDRESSES: Mail or hand deliver comments to the U.S. Department of 
Transportation, Dockets Management Facility, 1200 New Jersey Avenue 
SE., Washington, DC 20590, or submit electronically at 
www.regulations.gov or

[[Page 4881]]

fax comments to (202) 493-2251. All comments should include the docket 
number that appears in the heading of this document. All comments 
received will be available for examination and copying at the above 
address from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., e.t., Monday through Friday, except 
Federal holidays. Those desiring notification of receipt of comments 
must include a self-addressed, stamped postcard or may print the 
acknowledgment page that appears after submitting comments 
electronically. Anyone is able to search the electronic form of all 
comments received into any of our dockets by the name of the individual 
submitting the comment (or signing the comment, if submitted on behalf 
of an association, business, labor union, etc.). You may review DOT's 
complete Privacy Act Statement in the Federal Register published on 
April 11, 2000 (Volume 65, Number 70, Page 19477-78) or you may visit 
http://dms.dot.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Gerald Yakowenko, Office of Program 
Administration, (202) 366-1562, [email protected] or Michael 
Harkins, Office of the Chief Counsel, (202) 366-4928, 
[email protected]. Office hours for the FHWA are from 8 a.m. to 
4:30 p.m., e.t., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Electronic Access and Filing

    You may submit or retrieve comments online through the Federal 
eRulemaking portal at: www.regulations.gov. Electronic submission and 
retrieval help and guidelines are available under the help section of 
the Web site. It is available 24 hours each day, 365 days each year. 
Please follow the instructions. An electronic copy of this document may 
also be downloaded from the Office of the Federal Register's home page 
at: http://www.archives.gov and the Government Printing Office's Web 
page at: http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara.

Background

    As provided in 23 CFR 633.103, Form FHWA-1273 includes contract 
provisions and proposal notices that are required by regulations 
promulgated by the FHWA or other Federal agencies. The provisions 
include non-discrimination, prevailing wage rates, subcontracting, job-
site safety and other important requirements that must be included in 
every Federal-aid construction project. According to 23 CFR 633.104(a), 
the FHWA will update the form as regulatory revisions occur. Since the 
form was last revised on March 10, 1994, a number of regulatory 
revisions have occurred. The revisions that are being proposed by FHWA 
to form FHWA-1273 will bring the form up to date with current 
regulatory requirements.
    While the revisions proposed by the FHWA are not significant; 
several revisions are necessary to bring the provisions into 
conformance with the current policies of FHWA and other Federal 
agencies. For example, the Wage and Hour Division, Employment Standards 
Administration, U.S. Department of Labor, issued a final rule titled: 
``Protecting the Privacy of Workers: Labor Standards Provisions 
Applicable to Contracts Covering Federally Financed and Assisted 
Construction'' on December 19, 2008. This rule revised the Wage and 
Hour Division's regulatory policy to better protect the personal 
privacy of laborers and mechanics employed on covered construction 
contracts. The rule changed the reporting requirements concerning the 
use of full social security numbers and home addresses on weekly 
payroll statements. While the rule became effective on January 18, 
2009, the FHWA did not revise form FHWA-1273 at that time and Federal-
aid recipients were encouraged to implement the change through 
supplemental contract provisions.
    The proposed revision to form FHWA-1273 will incorporate the 
changes noted above as well as other important changes to the required 
contract provisions. A list of the proposed changes and a marked-up 
version of the changes are available at the following Web site: http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/programadmin/contracts/1273/. A marked-up version of 
the revised form is also available for download and public inspection 
under the docket number noted above at the Federal eRulemaking portal 
at: http://www.regulations.gov.
    The FHWA anticipates issuing a second notice responding to the 
comments received and requiring the use of the revised form no later 
than 45 days after the publication date of the second notice.

    Authority:  23 U.S.C. 112; 23 CFR 633

    Issued on: January 12, 2012.
Victor M. Mendez,
Administrator.
[FR Doc. 2012-1992 Filed 1-30-12; 8:45 am]
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