**80321 Federal Register** / Vol. 67, No. 251 / Tuesday, December 31,
2002 / Rules and Regulations

**DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE**

**GENERAL SERVICES**

**ADMINISTRATION**

**NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND**

**SPACE ADMINISTRATION**

**48 CFR Part 39**

**\[FAC 2001--11; FAR Case 2002--012;**

**Item II\] RIN 9000--AJ53**

**Federal Acquisition Regulation;**

**Section 508 Micro-Purchase Exception**

**Sunset Provision**

**AGENCIES:** Department of Defense (DoD),

General Services Administration (GSA),

and National Aeronautics and Space

Administration (NASA).

**ACTION:** Interim rule with request for comments.

**SUMMARY:** The Civilian Agency

Acquisition Council and the Defense

Acquisition Regulations Council

(Councils) have agreed on an interim

rule amending the Federal Acquisition

Regulation (FAR) to extend the

electronic and information technology

(Section 508) micro-purchase exception

to October 1, 2004.

**DATES:** *Effective Date:* January 1, 2003.

*Comment Date:* Interested parties

should submit comments to the FAR

Secretariat at the address shown below

on or before March 3, 2003 to be

considered in the formulation of a final

rule.

**ADDRESSES:** Submit written comments

to: General Services Administration,

FAR Secretariat (MVA), 1800 F Street,

NW., Room 4035, Attn: Ms. Laurie

Duarte, Washington, DC 20405.

Submit electronic comments via the

Internet to: *farcase.2002--012@gsa.go*v.

Please submit comments only and cite

FAC 2001--11, FAR case 2002--012, in

all correspondence related to this case.

**FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:** The

FAR Secretariat, Room 4035, GS

Building, Washington, DC 20405, (202)

501--4755, for information pertaining to

status or publication schedules. The

TTY Federal Relay Number for further

information is 1--800--877--8973. For

clarification of content, contact Ms.

Linda Nelson, Procurement Analyst, at

\(202\) 501--1900, or Ms. Angelena Moy,

Case Manager, at (703) 602--1302. Please

cite FAC 2001--11, FAR case 2002--012.

**SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:**

**A. Background**

This interim rule extends the

electronic and information technology

(EIT) micro-purchase exception until

October 1, 2004. Previously, in

incorporating the Access Board

standards, the FAR provided an

exception from the procurement

regulations for micro-purchases until

January 1, 2003. The Councils fully

expected that many products would

conform to the standards within that

timeframe and be marketed and labeled

by the manufacturer accordingly.

However, industry is providing

products at varying levels of

conformance to the standards, and

product packaging does not currently

provide Section 508 conformance

information, in most cases.

The Government is continuing to

make compliance a high priority, and

the award of many Federal EIT

procurements have hinged on

accessibility. While the ''Buy

Accessible'' information on the

*Section508.gov* Web site is helpful, not

all firms have templates completed for

their products making it especially

difficult for Government purchase

cardholders who are not contracting

officers to make informed EIT purchases

through reasonable effort.

Typically, Government personnel

who are not warranted contracting

officers use the purchase card to

purchase commercial-off-the-shelf

items. Use of the purchase card makes

it generally impractical to comply with

the EIT accessibility standards unless

commercial-off-the-shelf products are

labeled for Section 508 standards

compliance. The Councils recognize the

fact that almost all micro-purchases are

made using the Governmentwide

commercial purchase cards, but also

recognize that the Government

purchases \$52 billion per year for EIT

products and services, of which only a

very small percentage are acquired

through the micro-purchase process

with credit cards. Most Government

desktop personal computers and other

infrastructure are purchased and

controlled through large agency

acquisitions.

By October 1, 2004, we are hopeful

that vendors will provide statements

related to product conformance to the

Section 508 standards as part of their

marketing information and their outer

packaging labeling. As this occurs,

Federal Government cardholders can

make informed EIT purchases that

conform to the Access Board's

standards, and the micro-purchase

exception will no longer be needed.

Without the extension of the micro-purchase

exception, all micro-purchases

may have to go through a special

evaluation to ensure they comply with

EIT Standards. EIT micro-purchases

would be forwarded to contracting

offices for purchase. This would

significantly increase the workload in

procurement offices and the finance

offices, causing a reduction in efficiency

and delivery (increased procurement

lead-times). The potential costs to

industry cannot be measured.

The Councils realized there might be

some concern within the disability

advocacy groups and the Government

that extending the micro-purchase

exemption will signal that the

Government is relaxing the

implementation period. That is not the

case. It is only intended to deal with the

small portion of EIT that is acquired

with credit cards (micro-purchases) and

the practical reality that the lack of

package labeling, or other manufacturer

accessibility information, makes

informed decision making by

cardholders especially difficult. To help

in determining the appropriate next

steps for addressing the accessibility of

EIT micro-purchases, the Councils

invite respondents to address the

following questions in addition to

providing comments on the rule.

Any and all comments related to this

rule are welcomed. Note that public

comments provided in response to this

notice will be available in their entirety

to any requester, including any

requester under the Freedom of

Information Act (5 U.S.C. 552).

Therefore, we caution respondents not

to provide proprietary or other business

sensitive information. Under no

circumstances should respondents

provide any information unless they do

so with a clear understanding that it

will be made available to the public.

1\. For EIT industry respondents,

please include in your comments

responses to the following questions:

a\. What type of training is your

company employing to educate your

developers (hardware and software) and

salespersons regarding the section 508

requirements?

b\. What mechanisms or approaches

should the Government consider to

ensure EIT micro-purchases (products

and services) are accessible?

c\. Do you anticipate your company

will label its EIT products with buyer

information regarding the accessibility

aspects of the product being offered for

sale? If so, when?

d\. Do you offer a complete template

of accessibility information for each of

your EIT products and services on your

Web site? If no, why not?

e\. Currently, what process does your

company employ to provide information

to potential Government purchasers

regarding the accessibility features of

the products manufactured or sold?

2\. For other respondents, please

include in your comments responses to

the following questions:

a\. What mechanisms or approaches

should the Government consider to

ensure EIT micro-purchases (products

and services) are accessible?

b\. Currently, what type of training is

being employed by your organization to

educate purchasers and users regarding

the Section 508 requirements? Is any

training specifically geared towards

cardholders and micro-purchases? If so,

how do you explain and communicate

the Section 508 requirements?

This is not a significant regulatory

action and, therefore, was not subject to

review under Section 6(b) of Executive

Order 12866, Regulatory Planning and

Review, dated September 30, 1993. This

rule is not a major rule under 5 U.S.C.

804\.

**B. Regulatory Flexibility Act**

The interim rule is not expected to

have a significant economic impact on

a substantial number of small entities

within the meaning of the Regulatory

Flexibility Act, 5 U.S.C. 601, *et seq*.,

because for purchases under \$2,500 (a

''micro-purchase''), no competitive

quotations have to be obtained and

micro-purchases are no longer reserved

exclusively for small firms. Therefore,

an Initial Regulatory Flexibility

Analysis has not been performed. The

Councils will consider comments from

small entities concerning the affected

FAR Part in accordance with 5 U.S.C.

610\. Interested parties must submit such

comments separately and should cite 5

U.S.C. 601, *et seq.* (FAC 2001--11, FAR

case 2002--012), in correspondence.

**C. Paperwork Reduction Act**

The Paperwork Reduction Act does

not apply because the changes to the

FAR do not impose information

collection requirements that require the

approval of the Office of Management

and Budget under 44 U.S.C. 3501, *et*

*seq.*

**D. Determination To Issue an Interim**

**Rule**

A determination has been made under

the authority of the Secretary of Defense

(DoD), the Administrator of General

Services (GSA), and the Administrator

of the National Aeronautics and Space

Administration (NASA) that urgent and

compelling reasons exist to promulgate

this interim rule without prior

opportunity for public comment. This

action is necessary because the rule

extends an exception that would

otherwise impose burdens that the

Government and contractors are not

prepared to meet. However, pursuant to

Public Law 98--577 and FAR 1.501, the

Councils will consider public comments

received in response to this interim rule

in the formation of the final rule.

**List of Subjects in 48 CFR Part 39**

Government procurement.

Dated: December 20, 2002.

**Jeremy F. Olson,**

*Acting Director, Acquisition Policy Division.*

Therefore, DoD, GSA, and NASA

amend 48 CFR part 39 as set forth

below:

**PART 39---ACQUISITION OF**

**INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY**

1\. The authority citation for 48 CFR

part 39 continues to read as follows:

**Authority:** 40 U.S.C. 486(c); 10 U.S.C.

chapter 137; and 42 U.S.C. 2473(c).

**39.204 \[Amended\]**

2\. Amend section 39.204 in the first

sentence of paragraph (a) by removing

''January 1, 2003'' and adding ''October

1, 2004'' in its place.

\[FR Doc. 02--32743 Filed 12--30--02; 8:45 am\]

**BILLING CODE 6820--EP--P**