[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 158 (Thursday, August 15, 2013)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 49697-49698]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-19855]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT

48 CFR Part 2409

[Docket No FR-5571-F-03]
RIN 2501-AD56


HUD Acquisition Regulations (HUDAR): Correcting Amendment

AGENCY: Office of the Chief Procurement Officer, HUD.

ACTION: Final rule; Correcting amendment.

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SUMMARY: On December 10, 2012, HUD published a final rule that amended 
the HUDAR to implement miscellaneous changes, which included, for 
example, removing obsolete and redundant provisions, updating 
provisions that address the organizational structure of HUD, and adding 
provisions on contractor record retention. In making the organizational 
changes specified in the preamble of the December 10, 2012, final rule 
and the March 16, 2012, proposed rule, HUD inadvertently omitted moving 
to the new regulatory structure the clause that clarifies that policies 
and procedures concerning debarment and suspension for nonprocurement 
contracts also apply to procurement contracts. This final rule corrects 
that amendment.

DATES: Effective: August 15, 2013, and is applicable beginning January 
9, 2013.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For information about this technical 
correction, please contact Camille E. Acevedo, Associate General 
Counsel for Legislation and Regulations, Office of General Counsel, 
Department of Housing and Urban Development, 451 7th Street SW., 
Washington, DC 20410; telephone number 202-708-1793 (this is not a 
toll-free number). Persons with hearing or speech impairments may 
access Mr. Blocker's telephone number via TTY by calling the toll-free 
Federal Relay Service at 800-877-8339.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background

    The uniform regulation for the procurement of supplies and services 
by federal departments and agencies, the Federal Acquisition Regulation 
(FAR), was promulgated on September 19, 1983 (48 FR 42102). The FAR is 
codified in title 48, chapter 1, of the Code of Federal Regulations. 
HUD promulgated its regulation to implement the FAR on March 1, 1984 
(49 FR 7696). The HUDAR (title 48, chapter 24 of the Code of Federal 
Regulations) is prescribed under section 7(d) of the Department of HUD 
Act (42 U.S.C. 3535(d)); section 205(c) of the Federal Property and 
Administrative Services Act of 1949 (40 U.S.C. 121(c)); and the general 
authorization in FAR 1.301.

II. 2012 HUD Amendments

    HUDAR was last revised by final rule published on December 10, 2012 
(77 FR 73524). The December 10, 2012, final rule was preceded by a 
March 16, 2012 (77 FR 15681), proposed rule that announced that the 
purpose of the 2012 rulemaking was to implement various miscellaneous 
and nonsubstantive amendments to the HUDAR. The preamble to the March 
16, 2012, proposed rule described amendments that would correct the 
location of various HUDAR provisions through redesignation and 
corrected citations.
    One of the amendments described in the March 16, 2012, proposed 
rule was to move 48 CFR 2409.7001 to its new location, 48 CFR 2409.470. 
Section 2409.7001, entitled ``HUD's Regulations on Debarment and 
Suspension, and Ineligibility'', read as follows: ``HUD's policies and 
procedures concerning debarment and suspension are contained in 2 CFR 
parts 180 and 2424 and, notwithstanding 2 CFR 180.220(a)(1), apply to 
procurement contracts.'' The preamble to the March 16, 2012, proposed 
rule stated that: ``The content of current 2409.7001 is proposed to be 
moved to the new 2409.470 with the same title, to more accurately 
correspond to the FAR and would be revised to correct the Code of 
Federal Regulations citation. Current subpart 2409.70 would be 
accordingly removed, as 2409.7001 was the only section in that 
subpart.'' (See 77 FR 15683.) The correction of the citation was to 
remove the references to 2 CFR part 180, which is now unnecessary as it 
is included by cross-reference in 2 CFR 2424.10 and elsewhere. Other 
than relocation and correction of the citation, no substantive change 
was proposed to section 2409.7001. However, in the published rule text, 
the portion after the legal citation to 2 CFR part 2424 was 
inadvertently dropped.
    The preamble to the December 10, 2012, final rule advised that it 
was implementing without change the amendments proposed by the March 
16, 2012, rule, and described a few nonsubstantive amendments made that 
were inadvertently omitted in the March 16, 2012, proposed rule. 
Unfortunately, the March 16, 2012 proposed rule also inadvertently 
omitted the full content of prior regulatory section 2409.7001 that was 
supposed to be moved, without substantive change, to 2409.470, and the 
December 10, 2012 final rule repeated that error.

III. This Correcting Amendment Rule

    This final rule corrects this error and restores the full content 
of Sec.  2409.7001 to new Sec.  2409.470 with a corrected legal 
citation. The 2012 rulemaking makes clear that no significant 
substantive changes were being made to the HUDAR. The error did not 
change the applicability of debarment and suspension rules to 
procurements. To remove the applicability of HUD's debarment and 
suspension policies and procedures to procurement contracts, which 
policies and procedures have been applied to procurement contracts to 
date and for many years previously, would have made the 2012 rulemaking 
a highly significant rule, and HUD would have been required to provide 
advance notice and solicit comment on this change. Additionally, 
however, and of equal or more importance is that HUD has no authority 
to exempt procurement contracts from debarment and suspension policies 
and procedures. The Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) requires 
debarment and suspension policies and procedures to be applied to 
procurement contracts. In the absence of an agency specifying its own 
debarment and suspension policies

[[Page 49698]]

and procedures, those of the FAR apply. (See 48 CFR 1.1 and 48 CFR part 
9, subpart 9.4). The language in HUD's HUDAR regulations previously in 
48 CFR 2409.7001 has always only been a clarification that HUD's 
debarment and suspension policies and procedures apply both to 
procurement and nonprocurement contracts. Indeed, HUD's 2007 debarment 
and suspension rule noted that Sec.  2409.7001 did not impose any 
additional requirements but was a regulatory clarification of 
longstanding HUD policy of many years (72 FR 61270, October 29, 2007).

List of Subjects in 48 CFR Part 2409

    Government procurement.

    Accordingly, for the reasons described in the preamble, 48 CFR part 
2409 is amended as follows:

PART 2409--CONTRACTOR QUALIFICATIONS

0
1. The authority citation for part 2409 continues to read as follows:

    Authority:  40 U.S.C. 121(c); 42 U.S.C. 3535(d).


0
2. Revise Sec.  2409.470 to read as follows:


Sec.  2409.470  HUD regulations on debarment, suspension, and 
ineligibility.

    HUD's policies and procedures concerning debarment and suspension 
are contained in 2 CFR part 2424, and, notwithstanding any language to 
the contrary, apply to procurement contracts.

    Dated: August 9, 2013.
Jemine A. Bryon,
Chief Procurement Officer.
[FR Doc. 2013-19855 Filed 8-14-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4210-67-P