[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 42 (Friday, March 2, 2012)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 12947-12948]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-4502]


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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION

NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION

48 CFR Chapter 1

[Docket FAR 2011-0081, Sequence 1]


Federal Acquisition Regulation; Federal Acquisition Circular 
2005-56; Small Entity Compliance Guide

AGENCIES: Department of Defense (DoD), General Services Administration 
(GSA), and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

ACTION: Small Entity Compliance Guide.

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SUMMARY: This document is issued under the joint authority of DOD, GSA, 
and NASA. 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 the rule 
appearing in Federal Acquisition Circular (FAC) 2005-56, which amends 
the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR). An asterisk (*) next to a 
rule indicates that a regulatory flexibility analysis has been 
prepared. Interested parties may obtain further information regarding 
this rule by referring to FAC 2005-56, which precedes this document. 
These documents are also available via the Internet at http://www.regulations.gov.

DATES: March 2, 2012.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For clarification of content, contact 
the analyst whose name appears in the table below. Please cite FAC 
2005-56 and the FAR case number. For information pertaining to status 
or publication schedules, contact the Regulatory Secretariat at 202-
501-4755.

                                          List of Rules in FAC 2005-56
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                   Item                                 Subject                FAR Case          Analyst
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*I.......................................  Women-Owned Small Business (WOSB)   2010-015  Morgan.
                                            Program.
II.......................................  Proper Use and Management of Cost-  2008-030  Clark.
                                            Reimbursement Contracts.
III......................................  Requirements for Acquisitions       2007-012  Clark.
                                            Pursuant to Multiple-Award
                                            Contracts.
*IV......................................  Socioeconomic Program Parity.....   2011-004  Morgan.
V........................................  Trade Agreements Thresholds......   2012-002  Davis.
VI.......................................  New Designated Country (Armenia)    2011-030  Davis.
                                            and Other Trade Agreements
                                            Updates.
*VII.....................................  Government Property..............   2010-009  Glover.
VIII.....................................  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 2005-56 amends the FAR as specified 
below:

Item I--Women-Owned Small Business (WOSB) Program (FAR Case 2010-015)

    This rule adopts as final, with changes, an interim rule published 
in the Federal Register at 76 FR 18304 on April 1, 2011, which provides 
a tool to assist Federal agencies in achieving the 5 percent statutory 
goal for contracting with women-owned small businesses. This case is 
based on the Small Business Administration's (SBA) regulations 
establishing the Women-Owned Small Business (WOSB) Program, authorized 
under section 8(m) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 637(m)).
    Agencies may restrict competition to Economically Disadvantaged 
Women-Owned Small Business (EDWOSB) concerns, for contracts assigned a 
North American Industry Classification Systems (NAICS) code in an 
industry in which SBA has determined that WOSBs are underrepresented in 
Federal procurement. For NAICS code industries where WOSBs are not just

[[Page 12948]]

underrepresented, but substantially underrepresented, agencies may 
restrict competition to either EDWOSB concerns or to WOSB concerns 
eligible under the WOSB Program.
    EDWOSB concerns and WOSB concerns eligible under the WOSB Program 
must be owned and controlled by one or more women who are citizens of 
the United States. An EDWOSB concern is automatically a WOSB concern 
eligible under the WOSB Program.
    This rule may positively affect EDWOSBs that participate in Federal 
procurement in industries where SBA determines that WOSBs are 
underrepresented and may positively affect WOSBs that participate in 
Federal procurement in industries where SBA determines that WOSBs are 
substantially underrepresented.

Item II--Proper Use and Management of Cost-Reimbursement Contracts (FAR 
Case 2008-030)

    This final rule amends the FAR to implement section 864 of the 
Duncan Hunter National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2009 
(Pub. L. 110-417), enacted on October 14, 2008. This law aligns with 
the President's goal of reducing high-risk contracting as denoted in 
the March 4, 2009, Presidential Memorandum on Government Contracting. 
Section 864 of the law requires amending the FAR to address the use and 
management of cost-reimbursement contracts in the following three 
areas:
    1. Circumstances when cost-reimbursement contracts are appropriate.
    2. Acquisition plan findings to support the selection of a cost-
reimbursement contract.
    3. Acquisition resources necessary to award and manage a cost-
reimbursement contract.
    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 III--Requirements for Acquisitions Pursuant to Multiple-Award 
Contracts (FAR Case 2007-012)

    This final rule adopts, with changes, an interim rule published in 
the Federal Register at 76 FR 14548 on March 16, 2011, that amended the 
FAR to implement section 863 of the Duncan Hunter National Defense 
Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2009 (Pub. L. 110-417). Section 863 
requires the FAR to be amended to enhance competition in the purchase 
of property and services by all executive agencies pursuant to 
multiple-award contracts (including Federal Supply Schedules (FSS)). 
This final rule requires an FSS ordering activity to conduct 
appropriate analysis and document the file to determine price 
reasonableness when placing an order under a blanket purchase agreement 
(BPA) with hourly rate services. The final rule also removes the 
requirement for an ordering activity's competition advocate to approve 
a contracting officer's annual review of a single-award BPA prior to 
exercise of an option to extend the term of the BPA. This should 
benefit contractors because it removes a requirement that is considered 
to be a restriction on the use of FSS single-award BPAs.

Item IV--Socioeconomic Program Parity (FAR Case 2011-004)

    This rule adopts as final, with changes, an interim rule published 
in the Federal Register at 76 FR 14566 on March 16, 2011, which 
implemented section 1347 of the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010 (Pub. 
L. 111-240). Section 1347(b) clarifies that there is no order of 
precedence among the small business socioeconomic programs. The FAR 
interim rule clarified the existence of socioeconomic parity and that 
contracting officers may exercise discretion when determining whether 
an acquisition will be restricted to small businesses participating in 
the 8(a) Business Development Program (8(a)), Historically 
Underutilized Business Zones (HUBZone) Program, Service-Disabled 
Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) Program, or the Women-Owned Small 
Business (WOSB) Program. This final rule may have a positive impact on 
small businesses as it presents the maximum practicable opportunity for 
small business concerns qualified under the socioeconomic programs to 
participate in the performance of contracts, and assist Federal 
agencies in meeting each of the Government's small business contracting 
goals.

Item V--Trade Agreements Thresholds (FAR Case 2012-002)

    This final rule adjusts the thresholds for application of the World 
Trade Organization Government Procurement Agreement and the Free Trade 
Agreements as determined by the United States Trade Representative, 
according to a formula set forth in the agreements. The threshold 
changes do not have significant cost or administrative impact, because 
they maintain the status quo by keeping pace with inflation.

Item VI--New Designated Country (Armenia) and Other Trade Agreements 
Updates (FAR Case 2011-030)

    This final rule allows contracting officers to purchase the goods 
and services of Armenia without application of the Buy American Act if 
the acquisition is covered by the World Trade Organization Government 
Procurement Agreement. It also updates the lists of countries that are 
party to the Agreement on Trade in Civil Aircraft. This rule has no 
significant impact on small business concerns.

Item VII--Government Property (FAR Case 2010-009)

    This final rule amends the FAR to clarify reporting, reutilization, 
and disposal of Government property and the contractor requirements 
under the Government property clause. The proposed rule was published 
on April 4, 2011 (76 FR 18497).
    The rule specifically impacts contracting officers and contractors 
by clarifying disposal of Government property. The rule does not have a 
significant economic impact on small entities because the rule does not 
impose any additional requirements on small business.

Item VIII--Technical Amendments

    Editorial changes are made at FAR 19.812, 42.203, and 52.209-9.

    Dated: February 21, 2012.
Laura Auletta,
Director, Office of Governmentwide Acquisition Policy, Office of 
Acquisition Policy, Office of Governmentwide Policy.
[FR Doc. 2012-4502 Filed 3-1-12; 8:45 am]
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