[104th Congress Public Law 322]
[From the U.S. Government Printing Office]
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[DOCID: f:publ322.104]
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WASHINGTON METROPOLITAN AREA TRANSIT COMPACT
[[Page 110 STAT. 3884]]
Public Law 104-322
104th Congress
Joint Resolution
Granting the consent of the Congress to amendments made by Maryland,
Virginia, and the District of Columbia to the Washington Metropolitan
Area Transit Regulation Compact. <<NOTE: Oct. 19, 1996 - [H.J. Res.
194]>>
Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United
States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. CONSENT OF CONGRESS TO AMENDMENTS TO COMPACT.
The Congress consents to the amendments of the State of Maryland
(chapter 252, 1995 Acts of the Maryland General Assembly and chapter
489, 1996 Laws of Maryland), the amendments of the Commonwealth of
Virginia (chapter 150, 1995 Acts of Assembly of Virginia), and the
amendments of the District of Columbia (D.C. Law 11-138) of title III of
the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Regulation Compact. Such
amendments are substantially as follows:
(1) Section 3 is amended to read as follows:
``Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Zone
``3. <<NOTE: Establishment.>> There is hereby created the
Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Zone which shall embrace the
District of Columbia, the cities of Alexandria, Falls Church and Fairfax
and the counties of Arlington, Fairfax, and Loudoun and political
subdivisions of the Commonwealth of Virginia located within those
counties, and the counties of Montgomery and Prince George's in the
State of Maryland and political subdivisions of the State of Maryland
located in said counties.''.
(2) Subsection (a) of section 5 is amended to read as follows:
``(a) The Authority shall be governed by a Board of six Directors
consisting of two Directors for each signatory. For Virginia, the
Directors shall be appointed by the Northern Virginia Transportation
Commission; for the District of Columbia, by the Council of the District
of Columbia; and for Maryland, by the Washington Suburban Transit
Commission. For Virginia and Maryland, the Directors shall be appointed
from among the members of the appointing body, except as otherwise
provided herein, and shall serve for a term coincident with their term
on the appointing body. A Director may be removed or suspended from
office only as provided by the law of the signatory from which he was
appointed. The appointing authorities shall also appoint an alternate
for each Director, who may act only in the absence of the Director for
whom he has been appointed an alternate, except that, in the case of the
District of Columbia where only one Director and his alternate are
present, such alternate may act on behalf
[[Page 110 STAT. 3885]]
of the absent Director. Each alternate shall serve at the
pleasure of the appointing authority. In the event of a vacancy in the
Office of Director or alternate, it shall be filled in the same manner
as an original appointment.''.
(3) Subsection (a) of section 8 is amended to read as follows:
``(a) Four Directors or alternates consisting of at least one
Director or alternate appointed from each Signatory, shall constitute a
quorum and no action by the Board shall be effective unless a majority
of the Board present and voting, which majority shall include at least
one Director or alternate from each Signatory, concur therein; provided,
however, that a plan of financing may be adopted or a mass transit plan
adopted, altered, revised or amended by the unanimous vote of the
Directors representing any two Signatories.''.
(4) Subsection (b) of section 14 is amended to read as follows:
``(b) It shall be the duty and responsibility of each member of the
Board to serve as liaison between the Board and the body which appointed
him to the Board. To provide a framework for regional participation in
the planning process, the Board shall create technical committees
concerned with planning and collection and analyses of data relative to
decision-making in the transportation planning process and the Mayor and
Council of the District of Columbia, the component governments of the
Northern Virginia Transportation District and the Washington Suburban
Transit
District shall appoint representatives to such technical committees and
otherwise cooperate with the Board in the formulation of a mass transit
plan, or in revisions, alterations or amendments thereof.''.
(5)(A) Paragraph (1) of subsection (a) of section 15 is amended to
read as follows:
``(1) The Mayor and Council of the District of Columbia, the
Northern Virginia Transportation Commission and the Washington
Suburban Transit Commission;''.
(B) Paragraph (3) of subsection (a) of section 15 is amended to read
as follows:
``(3) the transportation agencies of the signatories;''.
(C) The last paragraph of section 15 is amended to read as follows:
``(b) <<NOTE: Public information.>> A copy of the proposed mass
transit plan, amendment or revision, shall be kept at the office of the
Board and shall be available for public inspection. Information with
respect thereto shall be released to the public. <<NOTE: Notice.>>
After thirty days' notice published once a week for two successive weeks
in one or more newspapers of general circulation within the zone, a
public hearing shall be held with respect to the proposed plan,
alteration, revision or amendment. The thirty days' notice shall begin
to run on the first day the notice appears in any such newspaper. The
Board shall consider the evidence submitted and statements and comments
made at such meeting and may make any changes in the proposed plan,
amendment or revision which it deems appropriate and such changes may be
made without further hearing.''.
(6) Subsection (a) of section 70 is amended to read as follows:
``(a) As soon as practical after the closing of the fiscal year, an
audit shall be made of the financial accounts of the Authority. The
audit shall be made by qualified certified public accountants selected
by the Board, who shall have no personal interest direct or indirect in
the financial affairs of the Authority or any of its
[[Page 110 STAT. 3886]]
officers or employees. The report of audit shall be prepared in
accordance with generally accepted auditing principles and shall be
filed with the Chairman and other officers as the Board shall direct.
Copies of the report shall be distributed to each Director, to the
Congress, to the Mayor and Council of the District of
Columbia, to the Governors of Virginia and Maryland, to the Washington
Suburban Transit Commission, to the Northern Virginia Transportation
Commission and to the governing bodies of the political subdivisions
located within the Zone which are parties to commitments for
participation in the financing of the Authority and shall be made
available for public distribution.''.
(7) Section 73 is amended to read as follows:
``Contracting and Purchasing
``73. (a)(1) Except as provided in subsections (b), (c), and (f) of
this section, and except in the case of procurement procedures otherwise
expressly authorized by statute, the Authority in conducting a
procurement of property, services, or construction shall:
``(A) obtain full and open competition through the use of
competitive procedures in accordance with the requirements of
this Section; and
``(B) use the competitive procedure or combination of
competitive procedures that is best suited under the
circumstances of the procurement.
``(2) In determining the competitive procedure appropriate under the
circumstances, the Authority shall:
``(A) solicit sealed bids if:
``(i) time permits the solicitation, submission, and
evaluation of sealed bids;
``(ii) the award will be made on the basis of price
and other price-related factors;
``(iii) it is not necessary to conduct discussions
with the responding sources about their bids; and
``(iv) there is a reasonable expectation of
receiving more than one sealed bid; or
``(B) request competitive proposals if sealed bids are not
appropriate under clause (A) of this paragraph.
``(b) The Authority may provide for the procurement of property,
services, or construction covered by this Section using competitive
procedures but excluding a particular source in order to establish or
maintain an alternative source or sources of supply for that property,
service, or construction if the Authority determines that excluding the
source would increase or maintain competition and would likely result in
reduced overall costs for procurement of property, services, or
construction.
``(c) The Authority may use procedures other than competitive
procedures if:
``(1) the property, services, or construction needed by the
Authority is available from only one responsible source and no
other type of property, services, or construction will satisfy
the needs of the Authority; or
``(2) the Authority's need for the property, services, or
construction is of such an unusual and compelling urgency that
the Authority would be seriously injured unless the Authority
limits the number of sources from which it solicits bids or
proposals; or
[[Page 110 STAT. 3887]]
``(3) the Authority determines that it is necessary in the
public interest to use procedures other than competitive
procedures in the particular procurement; or
``(4) the property or services can be obtained through
federal or other governmental sources at reasonable prices.
``(d) For the purpose of applying subsection (c)(1) of this section:
``(1) in the case of a contract for property, services, or
construction to be awarded on the basis of acceptance of an
unsolicited proposal, the property, services, or construction
shall be deemed to be available from only one responsible source
if the source has submitted an unsolicited proposal that
demonstrates a concept:
``(A) that is unique and innovative or, in the case
of a service, for which the source demonstrates a unique
capability to provide the service; and
``(B) the substance of which is not otherwise
available to the Authority and does not resemble the
substance of a pending competitive procurement.
``(2) in the case of a follow-on contract for the continued
development or production of a major system or highly
specialized equipment or the continued provision of highly
specialized services, the property, services, or construction
may be deemed to be available from only the original source and
may be procured through procedures other than competitive
procedures if it is likely that award to a source other than the
original source would result in:
``(A) substantial duplication of cost to the
Authority that is not expected to be recovered through
competition; or
``(B) unacceptable delays in fulfilling the
Authority's needs.
``(e) If the Authority uses procedures other than competitive
procedures to procure property, services, or construction under
subsection (c)(2) of this section, the Authority shall request offers
from as many potential sources as is practicable under the
circumstances.
``(f)(1) To promote efficiency and economy in contracting, the
Authority may use simplified acquisition procedures for purchases of
property, services and construction.
``(2) For the purposes of this subsection, simplified acquisition
procedures may be used for purchases for an amount that does not exceed
the simplified acquisition threshold adopted by the Federal Government.
``(3) A proposed purchase or contract for an amount above the
simplified acquisition threshold may not be divided into several
purchases or contracts for lesser amounts in order to use the procedures
under paragraph (1) of this subsection.
``(4) In using simplified acquisition procedures, the Authority
shall promote competition to the maximum extent practicable.
``(g) The Board shall adopt policies and procedures to implement
this Section. The policies and procedures shall provide for publication
of notice of procurements and other actions designed to secure
competition where competitive procedures are used.
``(h) The Authority in its discretion may reject any and all bids or
proposals received in response to a solicitation.''.
(8) Section 81 is amended to read as follows:
[[Page 110 STAT. 3888]]
``Jurisdiction of Courts
``81. The United States District Courts shall have original
jurisdiction, concurrent with the Courts of Maryland, Virginia and the
District of Columbia, of all actions brought by or against the Authority
and to enforce subpoenas issued under this Title. Any such action
initiated in a State or District of Columbia Court shall be removable to
the appropriate United States District Court in the manner provided by
Act of June 25, 1948, as amended (28 U.S.C. 1446).''.
(9) Section 84 is amended to read as follows:
``Amendments and Supplements
``84. Amendments and supplements to this Title to implement the
purposes thereof may be adopted by legislative action of any of the
signatory parties concurred in by all of the others. When one signatory
adopts an amendment or supplement to an existing section of the Compact.
that amendment shall not be immediately effective, and the previously
enacted provision(s) shall remain in effect in each jurisdiction until
the amendment or supplement is approved by the other signatories and is
consented to by Congress.''.
Approved October 19, 1996.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY--H.J. Res. 194:
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CONGRESSIONAL RECORD, Vol. 142 (1996):
Sept. 24, considered and passed House.
Oct. 3, considered and passed Senate.
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