40466 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 153 / Tuesday, August 11, 2009 / Rules and Regulations 

operations’’ revising the introductory 

text of paragraph (2) to read as follows: 

25.702–1 Definitions. 

* * * * * 

Restricted business operations— * * * 

(2) Does not include business 

operations that the person (as that term 

is defined in Section 2 of the Sudan 

Accountability and Divestment Act of 

2007) conducting the business can 

demonstrate— 

* * * * * 

PART 52—SOLICITATION PROVISIONS 

AND CONTRACT CLAUSES 

■ 3. Amend section 52.212–3 by— 

■ a. Revising the date of the provision; 

■ b. Revising in paragraph (a), in the 

definition ‘‘Restricted business 

operations’’ the second sentence of the 

introductory text; and 

■ c. Removing from paragraph (m) ‘‘that 

it’’ and adding ‘‘that the offeror’’ in its 

place. 

■ The revised text reads as follows: 

52.212–3 Offeror Representations and 

Certifications—Commercial Items. 

* * * * * 

OFFEROR REPRESENTATIONS AND 

CERTIFICATIONS—COMMERCIAL ITEMS 

(Aug 2009) 

* * * * * 

(a) Definitions. * * * 

Restricted business operations * * * 

Restricted business operations do not 

include business operations that the 

person (as that term is defined in 

Section 2 of the Sudan Accountability 

and Divestment Act of 2007) conducting 

the business can demonstrate— 

* * * * * 

■ 4. Amend section 52.225–20 by— 

■ a. Revising the date of the provision; 

■ b. Removing from paragraph (a) the 

definition ‘‘Person’’, and revising the 

second sentence in the introductory text 

of the definition ‘‘Restricted business 

operations’’; and 

■ c. Removing from paragraph (b) ‘‘that 

it’’ and adding ‘‘that the offeror’’ in its 

place. 

■ The revised text reads as follows: 

52.225–20 Prohibition on Conducting 

Restricted Business Operations in Sudan— 

Certification. 

* * * * * 

PROHIBITION ON CONDUCTING 

RESTRICTED BUSINESS OPERATIONS IN 

SUDAN—CERTIFICATION (Aug 2009) 

(a) Definitions. * * * 

Restricted business operations * * * 

Restricted business operations do not 

include business operations that the 

person (as that term is defined in 

Section 2 of the Sudan Accountability 

and Divestment Act of 2007) conducting 

the business can demonstrate— 

* * * * * 

[FR Doc. E9–19165 Filed 8–10–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6820–EP–S 

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE 

GENERAL SERVICES 

ADMINISTRATION 

NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND 

SPACE ADMINISTRATION 

48 CFR Parts 28 and 52 

[FAC 2005–36; FAR Case 2006–013; Item 

V; Docket 2006–0033; Sequence 1] 

RIN 9000–AK71 

Federal Acquisition Regulation; FAR 

Case 2006–013, List of Approved 

Attorneys, Abstractors, and Title 

Companies 

AGENCIES: Department of Defense (DoD), 

General Services Administration (GSA), 

and National Aeronautics and Space 

Administration (NASA). 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: The Civilian Agency 

Acquisition Council and the Defense 

Acquisition Regulations Council 

(Councils) have agreed on a final rule 

amending the Federal Acquisition 

Regulation (FAR) to update the 

procedures for the acceptance of a bond 

with a security interest in real property. 

DATES: Effective Date: September 10, 

2009. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

clarification of content, contact Mr. 

Edward N. Chambers, Procurement 

Analyst, at (202) 501–3221. For 

information pertaining to status or 

publication schedules, contact the 

Regulatory Secretariat at (202) 501– 

4755. Please cite FAC 2005–36, FAR 

case 2006–013. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

A. Background 

FAR Subpart 28.2 requires agencies to 

obtain adequate security for bonds when 

bonds are used with a contract. A 

corporate or individual surety is an 

acceptable form of security for a bond. 

FAR Subpart 28.2 provides that when 

an individual surety secures a bond 

with an interest in real estate, the surety 

must provide evidence of title (i.e., 

ownership) in the form of a certificate 

of title prepared by a qualified title 

attorney or abstractor, or a title 

insurance policy issued by title 

insurance company that has been 

approved by the Department of Justice 

(DOJ). Since DOJ no longer maintains a 

list of approved title insurance 

companies, agency contracting officers 

must now take other steps to ensure the 

adequacy of the title evidence or ensure 

the surety obtains a title insurance 

policy for the full amount of the 

Government’s lien interest from a 

qualified title insurance company. 

This FAR rule revises the types of 

acceptable title evidence by individual 

sureties to include mortgagee title 

insurance or other evidence of title 

consistent with Section 2 of the DOJ 

Title Standards 2001, maintained on a 

DOJ website. FAR clause 52.228–11, 

Pledges of Assets, is also updated with 

this new reference. 

The rule also provides that 

contracting officers should request the 

assistance of agency legal counsel in 

determining if title evidence from 

individual sureties is consistent with 

the Justice Department Standards. 

PUBLIC COMMENTS 

DoD, GSA, and NASA published a 

proposed rule in the Federal Register at 

72 FR 12584 on March 16, 2007. The 

Councils received a single comment on 

the proposed rule. The Councils have 

partially adopted this comment and 

revised the final rule accordingly. 

Comment: For those cases where real 

property is pledged to secure a bond, 

the proposed rule provided that 

‘‘depending on the value of the 

property, contracting officers should 

consider requesting assistance from 

agency designated legal counsel to 

determine if the evidence of title is 

adequate.’’ The commenter believes this 

legal consultation should be mandatory. 

Response: Partially adopted. The final 

rule drops the qualifier ‘‘depending on 

the value of the property’’ on seeking 

legal counsel when real property is 

pledged to secure a bond. However, the 

term ‘‘should’’ has been retained to 

provide contracting officers with the 

discretion to use their business 

judgment. 

In considering the public comment, 

the Government revisited the proposed 

rule in total. In consultation with the 

Department of Justice, it was decided 

that when real property is pledged to 

secure a bond, instead of only allowing 

evidence of title that is consistent with 

DOJ standards as set forth in the 

proposed rule, that sureties could 

provide a mortgagee title insurance 

policy in an insurance amount equal to 

the amount of the lien. The Department 

of Justice observed that mortgagee title 

insurance is the most common form of 

title evidence in the commercial 

marketplace. 


srobinson on DSKHWCL6B1PROD with RULES5
Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 153 / Tuesday, August 11, 2009 / Rules and Regulations 40467 

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 Department of Defense, the 

General Services Administration, and 

the National Aeronautics and Space 

Administration certify that this final 

rule will not 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 the 

incidence of the use of bonds secured by 

interest in real property is very low. 

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. Chapter 35, 

et seq. 

List of Subjects in 48 CFR Parts 28 and 

52 

Government procurement. 

Dated: August 4, 2009. 

Al Matera, 

Director, Office of Acquisition Policy. 

■ Therefore, DoD, GSA, and NASA 

amend 48 CFR parts 28 and 52 as set 

forth below: 

■ 1. The authority citation for 48 CFR 

parts 28 and 52 continues to read as 

follows: 

Authority: 40 U.S.C. 121(c); 10 U.S.C. 

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

PART 28—BONDS AND INSURANCE 

■ 2. Amend section 28.203–3 by 

revising paragraph (a)(1) and removing 

from paragraph (d) ‘‘shall be’’ and 

adding ‘‘shall be signed by all owners of 

the property and’’ in its place. 

■ The revised text reads as follows. 

28.203–3 Acceptance of real property. 

(a) * * * 

(1) A mortgagee title insurance policy, 

in an insurance amount equal to the 

amount of the lien, or other evidence of 

title that is consistent with the 

requirements of Section 2 of the United 

States Department of Justice Title 

Standards at http://www.usdoj.gov/ 

enrd/2001lTitlelStandards.html. This 

title evidence must show fee simple title 

vested in the surety along with any 

concurrent owners; whether any real 

estate taxes are due and payable; and 

any recorded encumbrances against the 

property, including the lien filed in 

favor of the Government under 

paragraph (d) of this subsection. Agency 

contracting officers should request the 

assistance of their designated agency 

legal counsel in determining if the title 

evidence is consistent with the 

Department of Justice standards; 

* * * * * 

PART 52—SOLICITATION PROVISIONS 

AND CONTRACT CLAUSES 

■ 3. Amend section 52.228–11 by— 

■ a. Revising the date of the clause; 

■ b. Removing from paragraph (b)(1) 

‘‘and/or;’’ and adding ‘‘; and/or’’ in its 

place; and 

■ c. Revising paragraph (b)(2)(i). 

■ The revised text reads as follows: 

52.228–11 Pledges of Assets. 

* * * * * 

PLEDGES OF ASSETS (Sept 2009) 

* * * * * 

(b) * * * 

(2) * * * 

(i) A mortgagee title insurance policy, 

in an insurance amount equal to the 

amount of the lien, or other evidence of 

title that is consistent with the 

requirements of Section 2 of the United 

States Department of Justice Title 

Standards at http://www.usdoj.gov/ 

enrd/2001lTitlelStandards.html. This 

title evidence must show fee simple title 

vested in the surety along with any 

concurrent owners; whether any real 

estate taxes are due and payable; and 

any recorded encumbrances against the 

property, including the lien filed in 

favor of the Government as required by 

FAR 28.203–3(d); 

* * * * * 

[FR Doc. E9–19166 Filed 8–10–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6820–EP–S 

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE 

GENERAL SERVICES 

ADMINISTRATION 

NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND 

SPACE ADMINISTRATION 

48 CFR Parts 30 and 52 

[FAC 2005–36; FAR Case 2007–002; Item 

VI; Docket 2008–0001, Sequence 22] 

RIN 9000–AL09 

Federal Acquisition Regulation; FAR 

Case 2007–002, Cost Accounting 

Standards (CAS) Administration and 

Associated Federal Acquisition 

Regulation Clauses 

AGENCIES: Department of Defense (DoD), 

General Services Administration (GSA), 

and National Aeronautics and Space 

Administration (NASA). 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: The Civilian Agency 

Acquisition Council and the Defense 

Acquisition Regulations Council 

(Councils) have agreed on a final rule 

amending the Federal Acquisition 

Regulation (FAR) to revise the contract 

clauses related to the administration of 

the Cost Accounting Standards (CAS) to 

maintain consistency between the FAR 

and CAS. 

DATES: Effective Date: August 11, 2009. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

clarification of content, contact Mr. 

Edward N. Chambers, Procurement 

Analyst, at (202) 501–3221. For 

information pertaining to status or 

publication schedules, contact the FAR 

Secretariat at (202) 501–4755. Please 

cite FAR Case 2007–002. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

A. Background 

The CAS Board published a final rule 

in the Federal Register at 72 FR 32809 

on June 14, 2007, revising the contract 

clauses for CAS administration. The 

final rule effected the following 

changes: 

• Amended the CAS applicability 

threshold to be the same as the 

threshold for compliance with the Truth 

in Negotiations Act (TINA) as required 

by section 822 of the 2006 National 

Defense Authorization Act (Pub. L. 109– 

163). The TINA threshold is currently 

$650,000. 

•Changed the effective dates of 48 

CFR 9903.201–3 and 48 CFR 9903.201– 

4(a), (c), and (e) from April 2000 and 

June 2000, respectively, to June 2007. 

The CAS Board published a final rule 

in the Federal Register at 65 FR 37470 

on June 14, 2000, revising the contract 

clauses for CAS administration. The 

final rule specified that the interest rate 

for overpayments by the Government 

under 48 CFR 9903.201–4(a), (c), and (e) 

shall be computed at the annual rate 

established under section 6621(a)(2) of 

the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (26 

U.S.C. 6621(a)(2)). 

In order to maintain consistency 

between CAS and FAR, the Councils 

issued an interim rule revising 30.201– 

4 and 50.230–1 through 50.230–5. 

This final rule adopts, without 

change, the interim rule published in 

the Federal Register at 73 FR 54011 on 

September 17, 2008. No public 

comments were received in response to 

the interim rule. 

This is not a significant regulatory 

action and, therefore, was not subject to 

review under Section 6(b) of Executive 


srobinson on DSKHWCL6B1PROD with RULES5