[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 102 (Friday, May 25, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 24312-24313]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-11321]


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GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION

[OMB Control No. 3090-0317: Docket No. 2018-0001; Sequence No. 15]


Information Collection; Notarized Document Submittal for System 
for Award Management Registration

AGENCY: Office of Acquisition Policy, General Services Administration 
(GSA).

ACTION: Notice of request for comments regarding an extension to an 
existing OMB clearance.

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SUMMARY: Under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act, the 
Regulatory Secretariat Division will be submitting to the Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB) a request to review and approve an existing 
OMB clearance regarding a notarized document submittal for System for 
Award Management (SAM) Registration.

DATES: Submit comments on or before July 24, 2018.

ADDRESSES: Submit comments identified by Information Collection 3090-
0317; Notarized Document Submittal for System for Award Management 
Registration, by any of the following methods:
     Regulations.gov: http://www.regulations.gov. Submit 
comments via the Federal eRulemaking portal by searching for the OMB 
Control number 3090-0317. Select the link ``Comment Now'' that 
corresponds with ``Information Collection 3090-0317; Notarized Document 
Submittal for System for Award Management Registration''. Follow the 
instructions on the screen. Please include your name, company name (if 
any), and ``Information Collection 3090-0317; Notarized Document 
Submittal for System for Award Management Registration'' on your 
attached document.
     Mail: General Services Administration, Regulatory 
Secretariat Division (MVCB), 1800 F Street NW, Washington, DC 20405-
0001. ATTN: Ms. Mandell/IC 3090-0317; Notarized Document Submittal for 
System for Award Management Registration.
    Instructions: Please submit comments only and cite Information 
Collection 3090-0317; Notarized Document

[[Page 24313]]

Submittal for System for Award Management Registration, in all 
correspondence related to this collection. Comments received generally 
will be posted without change to http://www.regulations.gov, including 
any personal and/or business confidential information provided. To 
confirm receipt of your comment(s), please check www.regulations.gov, 
approximately two-to-three days after submission to verify posting 
(except allow 30 days for posting of comments submitted by mail).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Curtis E. Glover, Sr. Procurement 
Analyst, Federal Acquisition Policy Division, GSA, telephone number 
202-501-1448, or via email to [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: A. Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 
Subpart 4.11 prescribes policies and procedures for requiring 
contractor registration in the System for Award Management (SAM) 
database to: (1) Increase visibility of vendor sources (including their 
geographical locations) for specific supplies and services; and (2) 
establish a common source of vendor data for the Government.
    In the past, the GSA Office of Inspector General (OIG) conducted an 
investigation into fraudulent activities discovered within SAM. Certain 
bad actors have, through electronic means, used public information to 
impersonate legitimate entities and established new entity 
registrations for those entities in SAM. By establishing fraudulent 
entity registrations, bad actors submitted bids in certain U.S. 
Government procurement systems or shipped deficient or counterfeit 
goods to the U.S. Government. GSA established a new Information 
Collection Request (ICR) to collect additional information to support 
increased validation of entities registered and registering in the 
System for Award Management (SAM). This additional information is 
contained in a notarized letter in which an officer or other signatory 
authority of the entity formally appoints the Entity Administrator for 
the entity registering or recertifying in SAM. The original, signed 
letter is mailed to the Federal Service Desk for SAM prior to the 
registration's activation or re-registration.
    The new ICR expires September 30, 2018, without authority for an 
extension. GSA is actively pursuing technical alternatives to the 
collection of this information for all non-federal entities. GSA seeks 
to refine the requirement and adopt a risk-based approach. This notice 
for an extension of the ICR lays the groundwork for the authority to 
continue collection of the information provided GSA is still pursuing 
the technical alternative beyond the ICR expiration date. In the 
interim, the collection of the notarized letter information is 
essential to GSA's acquisition mission to meet the needs of all federal 
agencies, as well as the needs of the grant community. A key element of 
GSA's mission is to provide efficient and effective acquisition 
solutions across the Federal Government. SAM is essential to the 
accomplishment of that mission. In addition to federal contracts, 
federal assistance programs also rely upon the integrity and security 
of the information in SAM. Without assurances that the information in 
SAM is protected and, is at minimal risk of compromise, GSA would risk 
losing the confidence of the federal acquisition and assistance 
communities which is serves. As a result, some entities may prefer not 
to do business with the Federal Government.
B. Annual Reporting Burden.
    Respondents: 686,400.
    Responses per Respondent: 1.
    Total Annual Responses: 686,400.
    Hours per Response: 2.25.
    Total Burden Hours: 1,544,400.
    The information collection allows GSA to request the notarized 
letter, and apply this approach to new registrants (an average of 7,200 
per month) and to existing SAM registrants (an average of 50,000 re-
register per month).
    Entities registered and registering in SAM are provided the 
template for the requirements of the notarized letter. It is estimated 
that the Entity Administrator will take on average 0.5 hour to create 
the letter and 0.25 hour to mail the hard copy letter. GSA proposes 
that an Entity Administrator equivalent to a GS-5, Step 5 
Administrative Support person within the Government would perform these 
tasks. The estimated hourly rate of $24.70 (Base + Locality + Fringe) 
was used for the calculation.
    Based on historical data of the ratio of small entities to other 
than small entities registering in SAM, GSA approximates 32,200 of the 
57,200 new and existing entities (re-registrants) will have in-house 
resources to notarize documents. GSA proposes that the entities with 
in-house notaries will typically be large businesses where the 
projected salary of the executive or officer responsible for signing 
the notarized letter is on average approximately $150 per hour. The 
projected time for signature and notarizing the letter internally is 
0.5 hour.
    The other remaining 25,000 new and existing entities (re-
registrants) per month are estimated to be small entities where the 
projected salary of the executive or officer responsible signing the 
notarized letter is on average approximately $100 per hour. These 
entities will more than likely have to obtain notary services from an 
outside source. The projected time for signature and notarizing the 
letter externally is 1 hour. The estimate includes a nominal fee 
($5.00) usually charged by third- party notaries.
C. Public Comments.
    Public comments are particularly invited on: Whether this 
collection of information is necessary, whether it will have practical 
utility; whether our estimate of the public burden of this collection 
of information is accurate, and based on valid assumptions and 
methodology; ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the 
information to be collected; and ways in which we can minimize the 
burden of the collection of information on those who are to respond, 
through the use of appropriate technological collection techniques or 
other forms of information technology.
    Obtaining Copies of Proposals: Requesters may obtain a copy of the 
information collection documents from the General Services 
Administration, Regulatory Secretariat Division (MVCB), 1800 F Street 
NW, Washington, DC 20405. ATTN: Information Collection 3090-0317; 
Notarized Document Submittal for System for Award Management 
Registration. Please cite OMB Control No. 3090-0317; Notarized Document 
Submittal for System for Award Management Registration, in all 
correspondence.

    Dated: May 22, 2018.
David A. Shive,
Chief Information Officer.
[FR Doc. 2018-11321 Filed 5-24-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6820-EP-P