[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 91 (Monday, May 11, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 27792-27794]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-09964]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Transit Administration


Selection Announcement and Request for Expressions of Interest To 
Participate in Pilot Program for Nonprofit Procurements

AGENCY: Federal Transit Administration (FTA), DOT.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The FTA announces the selection of one nonprofit participant 
and solicits expressions of interest from additional eligible nonprofit 
entities to participate in the Pilot Program for Nonprofit Cooperative 
Procurements (Pilot Program). The Pilot Program, the establishment of 
which FTA announced on August 22, 2017, is aimed at increasing 
innovation, promoting efficiency, and demonstrating the effectiveness 
of cooperative procurement contracts for rolling stock and related 
equipment administered by eligible nonprofit entities.

DATES: Expressions of interest to become a nonprofit entity in the 
Pilot Program must be received by July 10, 2020.

ADDRESSES: Expressions of interest may be submitted via U.S. mail, 
electronic mail, or fax. Mail submissions must be addressed to the 
Office of Acquisition Management, Federal Transit Administration, 1200 
New Jersey Avenue SE, Room E42-332, Washington, DC 20590. Email 
submissions must be sent to [email protected]. Facsimile 
submissions must be submitted to the attention of Nonprofit Pilot 
Program at 817-978-0575. If there is an insufficient number of eligible 
nonprofit entities that meet the requirements of the Pilot Program, FTA 
may solicit additional interest in the future.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For program matters, James Harper, FTA 
Office of Acquisition Management, telephone (202) 366-1127 or email 
[email protected]. For legal matters, Christopher Hall, FTA Office 
of Chief Counsel, telephone (202) 366-5218 or email 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Table of Contents

I. Background
II. Pilot Program Description
III. Prior Solicitation
IV. Eligibility Information
V. Expression of Interest Submission Process
VI. Application Review
VII. Pilot Program Administration

I. Background

    Section 3019 of the Fixing America's Surface Transportation (FAST) 
Act, Public Law 114-94, permits FTA grantees--meaning a recipient or 
sub-recipient of assistance under chapter 53 of title 49, United States 
Code--to purchase rolling stock and related equipment from cooperative 
procurement contracts entered into by either a State government or an 
eligible nonprofit entity and one or more Transit Vehicle Manufacturer 
(TVM). Section 3019 was designed to address the high purchasing costs 
attributable to the relatively small size of procurements for rolling 
stock and related equipment, particularly for small and rural public 
transportation providers. Many States currently have authority to enter 
into cooperative purchasing contracts, also known as ``State 
schedules.'' However, such authority was not previously extended to 
nonprofit entities.

II. Pilot Program Description

    Section 3019(b)(3) authorizes a Pilot Program to demonstrate the 
effectiveness of cooperative procurement contracts administered by 
eligible nonprofit entities. A cooperative procurement contract in the 
Pilot Program means a contract between an eligible nonprofit entity and 
one or more TVM(s) under which the TVM(s) agree to provide an option to 
purchase rolling stock and related equipment to multiple grantee 
participants. Where permitted by State law, a grantee may participate 
in a cooperative

[[Page 27793]]

procurement contract under the Pilot Program without regard to whether 
the grantee is in the same State as the lead nonprofit entity. 
Participation by FTA grantees in a nonprofit cooperative procurement 
under the Pilot Program is voluntary. These contracts are intended to 
be separate from State cooperative purchasing contracts and provide 
another opportunity for public transportation systems of all sizes to 
enhance their purchasing options. The FTA will assess the benefits and 
effectiveness of the Pilot Program to assist grantees in developing 
more efficient and innovative approaches to acquiring rolling stock and 
related equipment.
    Nonprofit entities selected for the Pilot Program may enter a 
cooperative procurement contract for an initial term of not more than 2 
years. The contract may include not more than three optional extensions 
for terms of not more than 1 year each. Thus, the contract may be in 
effect for a total period of not more than 5 years, including each 
extension. A nonprofit entity selected for the Pilot Program must 
develop the terms of the contract and the contract must be solicited 
and awarded in accordance with all applicable FTA and other Federal 
statutes, regulations, and policies, including FTA's Buy America 
requirements (49 U.S.C. 5323 and 49 CFR part 661), 2 CFR parts 200 and 
1201, FTA Circular 4220.1F, and Disadvantaged Business Enterprise 
regulations (49 CFR part 26).

III. Prior Solicitation

    On August 22, 2017, FTA published in the Federal Register (82 FR 
39947), a notice announcing the establishment of the Pilot Program for 
Nonprofit Cooperative Procurements and solicited expressions of 
interest from eligible nonprofit entities to participate. Four non-
profits submitted expressions of interest on October 23, 2017 in 
response to FTA's Federal Register Notice (FRN).
    The FTA determined that only one applicant--Vermont Energy 
Investment Corporation (VEIC)--was an eligible nonprofit that satisfied 
all the requirements of Section 3019 and the FRN. The FTA and VEIC will 
execute a Memorandum of Agreement to designate VEIC under the Pilot 
Program.
    Section 3019 requires FTA to designate not less than three eligible 
nonprofit entities to enter cooperative procurement contracts. Since 
FTA determined that only one applicant met the requirements of Section 
3019 from the previous solicitation, this Notice is intended to solicit 
additional expressions of interest and to provide clarification 
regarding the eligibility of nonprofit entities.

IV. Eligibility Information

    Eligible nonprofit entities for the Pilot Program should either be 
a nonprofit cooperative purchasing organization that is not an FTA 
grantee or sub-grantee, or a consortium of eligible nonprofit 
cooperative purchasing organizations. See Section 3019(b)(1)(A)(ii). 
Successful entities are expected to develop and issue solicitations for 
a cooperative procurement contract within 60 days of their selection 
into the Pilot Program. The solicitation of a contract must be 
conducted through a competitive process that will comply with all 
applicable Federal procurement requirements and policies, including 
FTA's full and open competition requirement.
    To promote the fullest opportunity for grantees to participate in 
the Pilot Program, FTA anticipates that cooperative procurement 
contracts will be open and available to all FTA grantees. To address 
special circumstances, however, FTA may consider a cooperative 
procurement contract in the Pilot Program which may be limited only to 
recipients in one or more of FTA's grant programs.
    A lead nonprofit entity in the Pilot Program may charge 
participants in the contract for the cost of administering, planning, 
and providing technical assistance for the contract in an amount that 
is not more than one percent of the total value of the participant's 
order placed on the contract. The one percent charge may either be 
incorporated into the price of the rolling stock and related equipment 
offered under the cooperative procurement program or directly charge 
the grantee participants for the costs, but not both. If the nonprofit 
directly charges the grantee participants for the costs, it cannot 
charge any individual grantee more than one percent of the total value 
of the grantee's order.

V. Expression of Interest Submission Process

    Interested nonprofit entities for the Pilot Program must submit the 
required information by U.S. mail, email or facsimile by 60 days after 
publication, as specified in the DATES section of this notice, above. 
The FTA reserves the right to request additional clarifying information 
from all applicants before making selections to participate in the 
Pilot Program. Nonprofit entities wishing to participate in the Pilot 
Program must submit an expression of interest to FTA no longer than ten 
pages in length including any supporting documentation.
    Interested nonprofit entities must provide the following 
information to FTA in narrative format or as otherwise instructed:
    a. Description of the procurement experience held by the personnel 
in the applicant's organization, including sufficient information to 
demonstrate the ability to successfully carry out and administer a 
cooperative procurement contract or contracts;
    b. A description of the familiarity of the applicant's personnel 
with Federal and FTA procurement standards, requirements, and policies;
    c. A description to show how the applicant's program will be 
administered. This description should include, but not be limited to, 
the process by which vendors will be selected for the cooperative 
procurement contract, the process by which grantee participants will be 
registered in the program and the process for grantee participants to 
place orders on a cooperative procurement contract.
    d. The articles of incorporation of the applicant to demonstrate 
that the purpose of the nonprofit organization is consistent with the 
purpose of the Pilot Program;
    e. Evidence that the applicant possesses adequate financial 
capacity to successfully administer a cooperative procurement contract 
or contracts;
    f. Documentation that the applicant is a nonprofit entity in good 
standing in the State of incorporation; and,
    g. Certification that the applicant is not indebted to a Federal or 
State taxing authority.
    All information submitted as part of or in support of the Pilot 
Program application must be publicly available data or data that can be 
made public and methodologies that are accepted by industry practice 
and standards, to the extent possible. If the submission includes 
information the applicant considers to be a trade secret or 
confidential commercial or financial information, the applicant should 
do the following:
    (1) Note on the front cover that the submission ``Contains 
Confidential Business Information (CBI)'';
    (2) mark each affected page ``CBI'' and
    (3) highlight or otherwise denote the CBI portions.
    FTA protects such information from disclosure to the extent allowed 
under applicable law. If FTA receives a Freedom of Information Act 
(FOIA) request for the information, FTA will follow the procedures 
described in the U.S. DOT FOIA regulations at 49 CFR

[[Page 27794]]

7.17. Only information that is ultimately determined to be confidential 
under that procedure will be exempt from disclosure under FOIA. Should 
FTA receive an order from a court of competent jurisdiction ordering 
the release of the information, FTA will provide the applicant timely 
notice of such order to allow the applicant the opportunity to 
challenge such an order.
    FTA will not challenge a court order on behalf of an applicant.

VI. Application Review

    The FTA will evaluate the submissions to determine which applicants 
demonstrate that they have the capability to effectively enter and 
administer a cooperative procurement contract. The FTA will select at 
least two additional applicants from the submitted expressions of 
interest to be part of the Pilot Program, except that if there are less 
than two applicants able to meet the requirements of the Pilot Program, 
FTA may solicit additional interest in the future. The FTA will 
evaluate the experience, legal, technical, and financial capacity of 
interested nonprofit entities to implement the Pilot Program 
successfully.

VII. Pilot Program Administration

1. Notice

    After an announcement by the FTA Administrator or designee of the 
final selection(s) is posted on the FTA website, FTA will publish final 
selections for the Pilot Program in the Federal Register.

2. Pilot Program Administration and Reporting Requirements

    The Pilot Program is not funded with Federal funds; selected 
nonprofit entities may charge the grantee participants in the 
cooperative procurement contract for the cost of administering, 
planning, and providing technical assistance for the contract in an 
amount that is not more than one percent of the contract price. The 
selected nonprofit entity may incorporate the cost into the price of 
the contract or directly charge the grantee participants for the cost, 
but not both.
    To achieve a comprehensive understanding of the utility and 
effectiveness of the Pilot Program, FTA, or its designated independent 
evaluator, will require access to project data. Selected nonprofit 
entities should be prepared to collect and maintain data related to 
participating vendors, participating grantees, and the quantity and 
price of rolling stock and related equipment procured by grantees 
through the cooperative procurement.

    Issued in Washington, DC.
K. Jane Williams,
Acting Administrator.
[FR Doc. 2020-09964 Filed 5-8-20; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4910-57-P