2010-15906. Federal Acquisition Regulation; Federal Acquisition Circular 2005-43; Small Entity Compliance Guide

AGENCIES:

Department of Defense (DoD), General Services Administration (GSA), and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

ACTION:

Small Entity Compliance Guide.

SUMMARY:

This document is issued under the joint authority of the Secretary of Defense, the Administrator of General Services and the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. 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 rules appearing in Federal Acquisition Circular (FAC) 2005-43 which amend the 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 2005-31, which precedes this document. These documents are also available via the Internet at http://www.regulations.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

The analyst whose name appears in the table below. Please cite FAC 2005-43 and the specific FAR case number. For information pertaining to status or publication schedules, contact the FAR Secretariat at [phone].

List of Rules in FAC 2005-43

Item	Subject	FAR Case	Analyst
I	Government Property	2008-011	Parnell
II	Registry of Disaster Response Contractors	2008-035	Gary
III	Recovery Act Subcontract Reporting Procedures (Interim) *	2010-008	Morgan
IV	Clarification of Criteria for Sole Source Awards to Service-disabled Veteran-owned Small Business Concerns	2008-023	Cundiff
V	Trade Agreements Thresholds (Interim)	2009-040	Davis

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Summaries for each FAR rule follow. For the actual revisions and/or amendments made by these FAR cases, refer to the specific item number and subject set forth in the documents following these item summaries.

FAC 2005-43 amends the FAR as specified below:

Item I—Government Property (FAR Case 2008-011)

This final rule amends the FAR to revise FAR part 45 and its associated clauses. Changes are being made to FAR parts 2, 4, 15, 32, 42, 45, and 52. These changes are to clarify and correct the previous FAR rule for part 45, Government Property, published under Federal Acquisition Circular 2005-17, FAR case 2004-025, May 15, 2007, (72 FR 27364). Minor changes are made to the proposed rule published August 6, 2009 (74 FR 39262).

The rule specifically impacts contracting officers, property administrators, and contractors responsible for the management of Government property. The rule does not have a significant economic impact on small entities because the rule does not impose any additional requirements on small businesses. The rule does not affect the method of managing Government property. The rule merely clarifies and corrects the previous FAR rule.

Item II—Registry of Disaster Response Contractors (FAR Case 2008-035)

This final rule adopts, without change, the interim rule implementing Public Law 109-295, the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2007, section 697, which requires the establishment and maintenance of a registry of disaster response contractors. The Disaster Response Registry is located at http://www.ccr.gov. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (within the Department of Homeland Security) has a link to the registry for vendors on its Web site at http://www.fema.gov/​business/​contractor.shtm. The Registry covers domestic disaster and emergency relief activities.

Item III—Recovery Act Subcontract Reporting Procedures (FAR Case 2010-008) (Interim) *

This interim rule amends the FAR to revise the clause at FAR 52.204-11, American Recovery and Reinvestment Act—Reporting Requirements. The revised clause will require first-tier subcontractors with Recovery Act funded awards of $25,000 or more, to report jobs information to the prime contractor for reporting into FederalReporting.gov. It also will require the prime contractor to submit its first report on or before the 10th day after the end of the calendar quarter in which the prime contractor received the award, and quarterly thereafter.

The revised clause will be used for all new solicitations and awards issued on or after the effective date of this interim rule. This clause is not required for any existing contracts, or task and delivery orders issued under a contract, that contain the original clause FAR 52.204-11 (March 2009). Therefore, this interim rule does not require renegotiation of existing Recovery Act contracts that include the clause dated March 2009.

Item IV—Clarification of Criteria for Sole Source Awards to Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business Concerns (FAR Case 2008-023)

This final rule amends FAR 19.1406(a) to clarify the criteria that need to be met in order to conduct a sole source service-disabled veteran-owned small business (SDVOSB) concern acquisition. The FAR language is amended to be consistent with the Veterans Benefit Act of 2003 (15 U.S.C. 657f) and the Small Business Administration's regulation (13 CFR 125.20) that implements the Act. This final rule also amends FAR 19.1306(a) to clarify the criteria that need to be met in order to conduct a sole source for Historically Underutilized Business Zone (HUBZone) small business concern acquisitions. These amendments to the FAR alleviate confusion for contracting officers on the appropriate use of the criteria needed to conduct sole source HUBZONE small business and SDVOSB concern acquisitions.

Item V—Trade Agreements Thresholds (FAR Case 2009-040) (Interim)

This interim rule adjusts the thresholds for application of the World Trade Organization Government Procurement Agreement and the other Free Trade Agreements as determined by the United States Trade Representative, according to a pre-determined formula under the agreements.

Dated: June 25, 2010.

Edward Loeb,

Director, Acquisition Policy Division.