44830 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 163 / Friday, August 22, 1997 / Rules and Regulations

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

GENERAL SERVICES

ADMINISTRATION

NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND

SPACE ADMINISTRATION

48 CFR Parts 39 and 52

[FAC 97–01; FAR Case 96–607; Item XVII]

RIN 9000–AG90

Federal Acquisition Regulation; Year

2000 Compliance

AGENCIES: Department of Defense (DoD),

General Services Administration (GSA),

and National Aeronautics and Space

Administration (NASA).

ACTION: Interim rule adopted as final

with changes.

SUMMARY: The Civilian Agency

Acquisition Council and the Defense

Acquisition Regulations Council have

agreed to adopt as final, with changes,

the interim rule published as Item XIV

of Federal Acquisition Circular 90–45.

The rule amends the Federal

Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to

increase awareness of Year 2000

procurement issues and to ensure that

solicitations and contracts address Year

2000 issues. This regulatory action was

not subject to Office of Management and

Budget review under Executive Order

12866, dated September 30, 1993, and is

not a major rule under 5 U.S.C. 804.

DATES: Effective October 21, 1997.

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. For

clarification of content, contact Ms.

Linda Nelson, Procurement Analyst, at

(202) 501–1900. Please cite FAC 97–01,

FAR case 96–607.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

A. Background

An interim rule was published on

January 2, 1997 (61 FR 273). The interim

rule is converted to a final rule with

revisions. Revisions were made to the

definition, ‘‘Year 2000 compliant’’, at

FAR 39.002 to better convey the intent

of the definition.

Twenty comments from five

respondents were received during the

public comment period. All comments

were considered in the development of

the final rule.

The final rule will provide needed

coverage to ensure that information

technology products to be acquired and

used by Federal agencies after December

31, 1999, will be able to process date

related data into the next century.

Solicitations and contracts should

require Year 2000 compliant

technology, or require that noncompliant information technology be

upgraded to be compliant in a timely

manner. The rule also recommends that

agency solicitations describe existing

information technology that will be

used with the information technology to

be acquired and identify whether the

existing information technology is Year

2000 compliant. If proper date/time data

is provided, the Year 2000 compliant

information technology must be able to

process the data accurately. If it cannot

process proper date/time data

accurately, its failure will not be

excused because of the noncompliance

of another information technology

product. Agencies are expected to test

for Year 2000 compliance. However,

lack of testing does not excuse failure of

the information technology to be Year

2000 compliant.

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 this

rule merely provides internal

Government guidance regarding the

development of contract requirements

for the acquisition of information

technology.

C. Paperwork Reduction Act

The Paperwork Reduction Act does

not apply because the changes to the

FAR do not impose recordkeeping or

information collection requirements, or

collections of information from offerors,

contractors, or members of the public

which 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 39 and

52

Government procurement.

Dated: August 7, 1997.

Edward C. Loeb,

Director, Federal Acquisition Policy Division.

Interim Rule Adopted as Final With

Changes

Accordingly, the interim rule

amending 48 CFR Parts 39 and 52,

which was published at 61 FR 273,

January 2, 1997, is hereby adopted as

final with the following change:

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).

2. Section 39.002 is amended by

revising the definition of ‘‘Year 2000

compliant’’ to read as follows:

39.002 Definitions.

* * * * *

Year 2000 compliant, as used in this

part, means, with respect to information

technology, that the information

technology accurately processes date/

time data (including, but not limited to,

calculating, comparing, and sequencing)

from, into, and between the twentieth

and twenty-first centuries, and the years

1999 and 2000 and leap year

calculations, to the extent that other

information technology, used in

combination with the information

technology being acquired, properly

exchanges date/time data with it.

[FR Doc. 97–21502 Filed 8–21–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6820–EP–U

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

GENERAL SERVICES

ADMINISTRATION

NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND

SPACE ADMINISTRATION

48 CFR Part 43

[FAC 97–01; FAR Case 96–606; Item XVIII]

RIN 9000–AH44

Federal Acquisition Regulation;

Modification of Existing Contracts

Under FASA and FARA

AGENCIES: Department of Defense (DoD),

General Services Administration (GSA),

and National Aeronautics and Space

Administration (NASA).

ACTION: Interim rule adopted as final.

SUMMARY: The Civilian Agency

Acquisition Council and the Defense

Acquisition Regulations Council have

agreed to adopt as final, the interim rule

published as Item VIII of Federal

Acquisition Circular 90–44 on

December 31, 1996. The rule amends

the Federal Acquisition Regulation

(FAR) to implement subsection 10002(e)

of the Federal Acquisition Streamlining

Act of 1994 and subsections 4402 (d)

and (e) of the Clinger-Cohen Act of

1996. The rule authorizes, but does not

require, contracting officers, if requested

by the contractor, to modify existing