[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 51 (Friday, March 16, 2007)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 12584-12585]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 07-1182]


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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION

NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION

48 CFR Parts 28 and 52

[FAR Case 2006-013; Docket 2007-0001; Sequence 3]
RIN 9000-AK71


Federal Acquisition Regulation; FAR Case 2006-013, List of 
Approved Attorneys, Abstracters, and Title Companies

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

ACTION: Proposed rule with request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The Civilian Agency Acquisition Council and the Defense 
Acquisition Regulations Council (Councils) are proposing to amend the 
Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to update the procedures for the 
acceptance of a bond with a security interest in real property.

DATES: Interested parties should submit written comments to the FAR 
Secretariat on or before May 15, 2007 to be considered in the 
formulation of a final rule.

ADDRESSES: Submit comments identified by FAR case 2006-013 by any of 
the following methods:
    <bullet> Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. 
Search for any document by first selecting the proper document types 
and selecting ``Federal Acquisition Regulation'' as the agency of 
choice. At the ``Keyword'' prompt, type in the FAR case number (for 
example, FAR Case 2006-001) and click on the ``Submit'' button. Please 
include any personal and/or business information inside the 
document.You may also search for any document by clicking on the 
``Advanced search/document search''tab at the top of the screen, 
selecting from the agency field ``Federal Acquisition Regulation'', and 
typing the FAR case number in the keyword field. Select the ``Submit'' 
button.
    <bullet> Fax: 202-501-4067.
    <bullet> Mail: General Services Administration, Regulatory 
Secretariat (VIR), 1800 F Street, NW, Room 4035, ATTN: Laurieann 
Duarte, Washington, DC 20405.
    Instructions: Please submit comments only and cite FAR case 2006-
013 in all correspondence related to this case. All comments received 
will be posted without change to http://www.regulations.gov, including 
any personal and/or business confidential information provided.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jerry Olson, Procurement Analyst, at 
(202) 501-3221 for clarification of content. For information pertaining 
to status or publication schedules, contact the FAR Secretariat at 
(202) 501-4755. Please cite FAR case 2006-013.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

A. Background

    FAR Subpart 28.2, Sureties and other Security for Bonds, includes 
policies which require agencies to obtain adequate security for bonds 
when bonds are used with a contract for supplies or services (including 
construction). A corporate or individual surety is an acceptable form 
of security for a bond. Whenever a surety secures a bond with interest 
in real property, FAR 28.203-3 requires that the surety provide 
evidence of title in the form of a certificate of title prepared by a 
title insurance company that has been approved by the Department of 
Justice (DOJ).DOJ maintained a list of the approved title companies 
that could prepare the certificate of title on the ``List of Approved 
Attorneys, Abstracters, and Title Companies.'' DOJ has revised its 
procedures and no longer maintains a list of approved title insurance 
companies. Instead, DOJ has developed a guide for the preparation of 
evidence of title, Title Standards 2001 (Standards). The Standards 
address the various types of title evidence that may be acceptable 
considering local practice, reliability, security, economy and other 
factors. The Standards also address the qualification requirements for 
preparers of title evidence.
    The FAR rule proposes to revise the types of acceptable title 
evidence and the qualification requirements for preparers of title 
evidence consistent with the Standards. The types of acceptable title 
evidence and the required qualifications are located in Section 2 of 
the Standards.
    In addition, FAR 28.203-3(d) requires sureties to execute a lien if 
a surety pledges real estate on Standard Form 28, Affidavit of 
Individual Surety. The lien must be recorded in the local recorder's 
office. When multiple parties jointly own the real estate, the lien 
must be signed by each owner of the property to be valid. The FAR 
currently does not clearly specify that all owners of the property must 
sign the lien. The proposed rule clarifies that all property owners are 
required to sign the lien when a surety pledges real estate as 
collateral.
    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 Councils do not expect this proposed rule 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 the incidence of use of bonds secured by interest in real 
property is very low. An Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis has, 
therefore, not been performed. We invite comments from small businesses 
and other interested parties. The Councils will consider comments from 
small entities concerning the affected FAR Parts 28 and 52 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. (FAR case 
2006-013), in correspondence.

[[Page 12585]]

C. Paperwork Reduction Act

    The Paperwork Reduction Act does not apply because the proposed 
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.

List of Subjects in 48 CFR Parts 28 and 52

    Government procurement.

    Dated: March 7, 2007
Ralph De Stefano
Director, Contract Policy Division.
    Therefore, DoD, GSA, and NASA propose amending 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 paragraphs (a)(1) and 
paragraph (d) introductory text to read as follows:


28.203-3  Acceptance of real property.

    (a) * * *
    (1) Evidence of title that is consistent with the requirements of 
Section 2 of the United States Department of Justice Title Standard 
2001 at http://www.fws.gov/realty/doj_2001.pdf. Depending on the value 
of the property, contracting officers should consider requesting 
assistance from the agency-designated legal counsel to determine if the 
evidence of title is adequate.
* * * * *
    (d) The following format, or any document substantially the same, 
shall be signed by all owners of the property and used by the surety 
and recorded in the local recorder`s office when a surety pledges real 
estate on Standard Form 28, Affidavit of Individual Surety.
* * * * *

PART 52--SOLICITATION PROVISIONS AND CONTRACT CLAUSES

    3. Amend section 52.228-11 by revising the date of the clause and 
the first sentence in paragraph (b)(2)(i) of the clause to read as 
follows:


52.228-11  Pledges of Assets.

* * * * *

PLEDGES OF ASSETS (DATE)

* * * * *
    (b) * * *
    (2) * * *
    (i) Evidence of title that is consistent with the requirements 
of Section 2 of the United States Department of Justice Title 
Standard 2001 at http://www.fws.gov/realty/doj_2001.pdf * * * .
* * * * *
[FR Doc. 07-1182 Filed 3-15-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6820-EP-S