[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 11 (Wednesday, January 18, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 5645-5646]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-00984]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Office of the Secretary
Contracting Initiative
AGENCY: Office of the Secretary (OST), Department of Transportation
(DOT).
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: The DOT is extending the contracting initiative pilot program
for a period of 5 years.
DATES: This pilot program became effective on March 6, 2015.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For technical information: Mr. Michael
Harkins, Deputy Assistant General Counsel for General Law, Office, U.S.
Department of Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington,
DC 20590, 202-366-0590 (telephone), [email protected] (email).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Electronic Access
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/federal_register and the Government Printing Office's Web page at
http://www.gpoaccess.gov.
Background
On March 6, 2015, DOT published a notice in the Federal Register
(80 FR 12257) establishing a contracting initiative pilot program under
which, Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and Federal Transit
Administration (FTA) recipients and subrecipients could utilize various
contracting requirements that generally have been disallowed due to
concerns about adverse impacts on competition. The purpose of the pilot
program is to determine whether the use of such requirements ``unduly
limit competition,'' as provided in an August 23, 2013, opinion from
the Department of Justice's Office of Legal Counsel (OLC). DOT
established the pilot program for a period of 1 year unless extended.
On March 17, 2016, DOT extended this pilot program for a period of 1
additional year, until March 6, 2017 (81 FR14524). To date, DOT has
received only limited data from the program. As a result, DOT has
decided to extend the pilot program until March
[[Page 5646]]
6, 2022, so that it can gather additional data from more projects to
better assess the effect of local hire preferences on competition. The
extension of this pilot program will provide FHWA and FTA recipients
and subrecipients flexibility to continue operating under the pilot
program while DOT conducts its evaluation as well as provide DOT with
additional projects to consider in evaluating the impacts on
competition.
Please note that Section 415 of the Consolidated Appropriations
Act, 2016, Public Law 114-113 (FY 2016 Appropriations Act), extended by
Public Law 114-223 and Public Law 114-254, continues the restriction on
the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) from using FY 2016 funds to
implement, administer or enforce 49 CFR 18.36(c)(2) for construction
hiring. Accordingly, FTA recipients and subrecipients do not need to
submit applications for participation in the pilot program for
contracts awarded or advertised on or before September 30, 2016.
Additionally, we note that Section 192 of the FY 2016
Appropriations Act (also extended by Public Law 114-223 and Public Law
114-254) expressly authorizes DOT assisted contracts under titles 49
and 23 of the United States Code utilizing geographic, economic, or
other hiring preferences not otherwise authorized by law if the grant
recipient certifies the following:
(1) That except with respect to apprentices or trainees, a pool of
readily available but unemployed individuals possessing the knowledge,
skill, and ability to perform the work that the contract requires
resides in the jurisdiction;
(2) That the grant recipient will include appropriate provisions in
its bid document ensuring that the contractor does not displace any of
its existing employees in order to satisfy such hiring preference; and
(3) That any increase in the cost of labor, training, or delays
resulting from the use of such hiring preference does not delay or
displace any transportation project in the applicable Statewide
Transportation Improvement Program or Transportation Improvement
Program.
Accordingly, recipients and subrecipients should follow the
application process described in the March 6, 2015, Federal Register
notice (80 FR 12257), except that recipients and subrecipients must
also include the required certifications from Section 192 of the FY
2016 Appropriations Act as discussed above.
Issued in Washington, DC, on December 28, 2016.
Anthony R. Foxx,
Secretary of Transportation.
[FR Doc. 2017-00984 Filed 1-17-17; 8:45 am]
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