[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 121 (Tuesday, June 24, 2014)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 35867-35868]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-14377]


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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION

NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION

48 CFR Chapter 1

[Docket No. FAR 2014-0052, Sequence No. 3]


Federal Acquisition Regulation; Federal Acquisition Circular 
2005-75; Small Entity Compliance Guide

AGENCY: 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 rules 
appearing in Federal Acquisition Circular (FAC) 2005-75, 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 
these rules by referring to FAC 2005-75, which precedes this document. 
These documents are also available via the Internet at http://www.regulations.gov.

DATES: June 24, 2014.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For clarification of content, contact 
the analyst whose name appears in the table below. Please cite FAC 
2005-75 and the FAR case number. For information pertaining to status 
or publication schedules, contact the Regulatory Secretariat at 202-
501-4755.

                                           Rules Listed in FAC 2005-75
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                Item                               Subject                 FAR Case              Analyst
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*I..................................  EPEAT Items (Interim)...........        2013-016  Chambers.
*II.................................   Contracting with Women-Owned           2013-010  Morgan.
                                       Small Business Concerns.
*III................................  Limitation on Allowable                 2014-012  Chambers.
                                       Government Contractor
                                       Compensation Costs (Interim).
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[[Page 35868]]


SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Summaries for each FAR rule follow. For the 
actual revisions and/or amendments made by these rules, refer to the 
specific item numbers and subjects set forth in the documents following 
these item summaries. FAC 2005-75 amends the FAR as specified below:

Item I--EPEAT Items (FAR Case 2013-016) (Interim)

    This interim rule implements changes in the Electronic Product 
Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT[supreg])-registry requirements at 
FAR subpart 23.7. The FAR requirement to procure EPEAT[supreg]-
registered products is revised to incorporate the revised standard 
applicable to personal computer products and to add the standards for 
imaging equipment and televisions.

Item II--Contracting with Women-Owned Small Business Concerns (FAR Case 
2013-010)

    This final rule adopts as final, without change, an interim rule 
that amended FAR 19.1505 to remove the dollar limitation for set-asides 
for economically disadvantaged women-owned small business (EDWOSB) 
concerns or women-owned small business (WOSB) concerns eligible under 
the Women-Owned Small Business (WOSB) Program. The interim rule 
implemented section 1697 of the National Defense Authorization Act for 
Fiscal Year 2013, Public Law 112-239, which amended section 8(m) of the 
Small Business Act, (15 U.S.C. 637(m)).
    As a result of this change, contracting officers may set aside 
acquisitions for competition restricted to EDWOSB concerns or WOSB 
concerns eligible under the WOSB Program at any dollar level above the 
micro-purchase threshold, provided the other requirements for a set-
aside under the WOSB Program are met.

Item III--Limitation on Allowable Government Contractor Compensation 
Costs (FAR Case 2014-012) (Interim)

    This interim rule amends the FAR to implement section 702 of the 
Bipartisan Budget Act of 2013. In accordance with section 702, this 
interim rule revises the allowable cost limit relative to the 
compensation of contractor and subcontractor employees. In the current 
FAR, this limitation on the allowability of compensation is an amount 
set annually by the Office of Federal Procurement Policy and covers all 
Federal agencies; it is currently $952,308. Under this interim rule, 
this limitation on a contractor's employee's compensation will be 
$487,000, adjusted annually to reflect the change in the Employment 
Cost Index for all workers as calculated by the Bureau of Labor 
Statistics. Also, in accordance with section 702, this interim rule 
implements the possible exception to this allowable cost limit for 
scientists, engineers, or other specialists upon an agency 
determination that such exceptions are needed to ensure that the 
executive agency has continued access to needed skills and 
capabilities. Because most contracts awarded to small businesses are 
awarded on a fixed-price basis, the impact of this compensation 
limitation on small businesses will be minimal.

    Dated: June 13, 2014.
William Clark,
Acting Director, Office of Government-Wide Acquisition Policy, Office 
of Acquisition Policy, Office of Government-Wide Policy.
[FR Doc. 2014-14377 Filed 6-23-14; 8:45 am]
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