Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 36 / Thursday, February 23, 2012 / Rules and Regulations 10665 

Paperwork Reduction Act 

Although this document contains 

provisions constituting collections of 

information, at 38 CFR 59.20, under the 

provisions of the Paperwork Reduction 

Act (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), no new or 

revised collections of information are 

associated with this rule. The 

information collection requirements for 

§ 59.20 are currently approved by OMB 

and have been assigned OMB control 

number 2900–0661. 

Executive Orders 12866 and 13563 

Executive Orders 12866 and 13563 

direct agencies to assess the costs and 

benefits of available regulatory 

alternatives and, when regulation is 

necessary, to select regulatory 

approaches that maximize net benefits 

(including potential economic, 

environmental, public health and safety 

effects, and other advantages; 

distributive impacts; and equity). 

Executive Order 13563 (Improving 

Regulation and Regulatory Review) 

emphasizes the importance of 

quantifying both costs and benefits, 

reducing costs, harmonizing rules, and 

promoting flexibility. Executive Order 

12866 (Regulatory Planning and 

Review) defines a ‘‘significant 

regulatory action,’’ which requires 

review by the Office of Management and 

Budget (OMB), as ‘‘any regulatory action 

that is likely to result in a rule that may: 

(1) Have an annual effect on the 

economy of $100 million or more or 

adversely affect in a material way the 

economy, a sector of the economy, 

productivity, competition, jobs, the 

environment, public health or safety, or 

State, local, or tribal governments or 

communities; (2) Create a serious 

inconsistency or otherwise interfere 

with an action taken or planned by 

another agency; (3) Materially alter the 

budgetary impact of entitlements, 

grants, user fees, or loan programs or the 

rights and obligations of recipients 

thereof; or (4) Raise novel legal or policy 

issues arising out of legal mandates, the 

President’s priorities, or the principles 

set forth in this Executive Order.’’ 

The economic, interagency, 

budgetary, legal, and policy 

implications of this regulatory action 

have been examined and it has been 

determined to be a significant regulatory 

action under Executive Order 12866 

because it is likely to result in a rule that 

may raise novel legal or policy issues 

arising out of legal mandates, the 

President’s priorities, or the principles 

set forth in the Executive Order. 

Regulatory Flexibility Act 

The Secretary hereby certifies that 

this final rule would not have a 

significant economic impact on a 

substantial number of small entities as 

they are defined in the Regulatory 

Flexibility Act, 5 U.S.C. 601–612. The 

rule affects States and has no impact on 

any small entities. Therefore, pursuant 

to 5 U.S.C. 605(b), this amendment is 

exempt from the initial and final 

regulatory flexibility analysis 

requirements of sections 603 and 604. 

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance 

The Catalog of Federal Domestic 

Assistance program numbers and titles 

for this rule are as follows: 64.005, 

Grants to States for Construction of State 

Home Facilities; 64.007, Blind 

Rehabilitation Centers; 64.008, Veterans 

Domiciliary Care; 64.009, Veterans 

Medical Care Benefits; 64.010, Veterans 

Nursing Home Care; 64.014, Veterans 

State Domiciliary Care; 64.015, Veterans 

State Nursing Home Care; 64.018, 

Sharing Specialized Medical Resources; 

64.019, Veterans Rehabilitation Alcohol 

and Drug Dependence; 64.022, Veterans 

Home Based Primary Care; and 64.024, 

VA Homeless Providers Grant and Per 

Diem Program. 

Signing Authority 

The Secretary of Veterans Affairs, or 

designee, approved this document and 

authorized the undersigned to sign and 

submit the document to the Office of the 

Federal Register for publication 

electronically as an official document of 

the Department of Veterans Affairs. John 

R. Gingrich, Chief of Staff, Department 

of Veterans Affairs, approved this 

document on November 14, 2011, for 

publication. 

List of Subjects in 38 CFR Part 59 

Administrative practice and 

procedure; Alcohol abuse; Alcoholism; 

Claims; Day care; Dental health; Drug 

abuse; Government contracts; Grant 

programs—health; Grant programs— 

veterans; Health care; Health facilities; 

Health professions; Health records; 

Homeless; Mental health programs; 

Nursing homes; Philippines, Reporting 

and recordkeeping requirements; 

Veterans. 

Dated: February 17, 2012. 

Robert C. McFetridge, 

Director of Regulation Policy and 

Management, Office of the General Counsel, 

Department of Veterans Affairs. 

For the reasons set forth in the 

preamble, VA amends 38 CFR part 59 as 

follows: 

PART 59—GRANTS TO STATES FOR 

CONSTRUCTION OR ACQUISITION OF 

STATE HOMES 

■ 1. Revise the authority citation for part 

59 to read as follows: 

Authority: 38 U.S.C. 101, 501, 1710, 1742, 

8105, 8131–8137. 

■ 2. Amend § 59.20 by: 

■ a. Revising paragraph (c). 

■ b. Removing ‘‘August’’ from paragraph 

(d) and adding, in its place, ‘‘April’’. 

■ c. Adding an information collection 

approval parenthetical after the 

authority citation at the end of the 

section. 

The revision and addition read as 

follows: 

§ 59.20 Initial application requirements. 

* * * * * 

(c) The items requested under 

paragraph (a) of this section must be 

received by VA no later than April 15 

in order for VA to include the 

application on the priority list for the 

award of grants during the next fiscal 

year. See § 59.50, Priority List. 

* * * * * 

(The Office of Management and Budget 

has approved the information collection 

requirements in this section under 

control number 2900–0661) 

■ 3. Amend § 59.50 by removing 

‘‘August’’ from the introductory text of 

paragraph (a) and adding, in its place, 

‘‘April’’. 

■ 4. Amend § 59.70 by removing 

‘‘August 15’’ from paragraph (b) and 

adding, in its place, ‘‘August 1’’. 

[FR Doc. 2012–4234 Filed 2–22–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8320–01–P 

GENERAL SERVICES 

ADMINISTRATION 

48 CFR Parts 519 and 552 

[GSAR Amendment 2012–02; GSAR Case 

2011–G502; (Change 54) Docket 2012–0003, 

Sequence 1] 

RIN 3090–AJ24 

General Services Administration 

Acquisition Regulation; AcquisitionRelated Thresholds 

AGENCIES: Office of Acquisition Policy, 

General Services Administration (GSA). 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: GSA is issuing a final rule 

amending the General Services 

Administration Acquisition Regulation 

(GSAR) to update the acquisition-related 

thresholds in two GSAR clauses. 

DATES: Effective Date: March 26, 2012. 


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10666 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 36 / Thursday, February 23, 2012 / Rules and Regulations 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. 

Karlos Morgan, Procurement Analyst, at 

(202) 501–2364, for clarification of 

content. For information pertaining to 

status or publication schedules, contact 

the Regulatory Secretariat at (202) 501– 

4755. Please cite GSAR Amendment 

2012–02, GSAR Case 2011–G502. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background 

The General Services Administration 

is amending the GSAR to comply with 

changes made to acquisition-related 

thresholds by Federal Acquisition 

Circular 2005–45 (Federal Acquisition 

Regulation (FAR) Case 2008–024), 

published in the Federal Register at 75 

FR 53129, August 30, 2010, with an 

effective date of October 1, 2010. FAR 

Case 2008–024 implements Section 807 

of the National Defense Authorization 

Act for Fiscal Year 2005 (Pub. L. 108– 

375). Section 807 provides for 

adjustment every 5 years of acquisitionrelated thresholds, except for DavisBacon Act, Service Contract Act, and 

trade agreements thresholds. 

As a result of changes made to the 

acquisition-related thresholds, the 

GSAR clause at 552.219–71, Notice to 

Offerors of Subcontracting Plan 

Requirements, is revised by removing 

‘‘$500,000’’ and ‘‘$1,000,000’’ and 

replacing the GSAR text with 

‘‘$650,000’’ and ‘‘$1,500,000’’, 

respectively. The GSAR clause at 

552.219–72, Preparation, Submission, 

and Negotiation of Subcontracting 

Plans, is revised by removing 

‘‘$500,000’’ and ‘‘$1,000,000’’ and 

replacing the GSAR text with 

‘‘$650,000’’ and ‘‘$1,500,000’’, 

respectively. 

II. Executive Orders 12866 and 13563 

Executive Orders (E.O.s) 12866 and 

13563 direct agencies to assess all costs 

and benefits of available regulatory 

alternatives and, if regulation is 

necessary, to select regulatory 

approaches that maximize net benefits 

(including potential economic, 

environmental, public health and safety 

effects, distributive impacts, and 

equity). E.O. 13563 emphasizes the 

importance of quantifying both costs 

and benefits, of reducing costs, of 

harmonizing rules, and of promoting 

flexibility. This is not a significant 

regulatory action and, therefore, was not 

subject to review under Section 6(b) of 

E.O. 12866, Regulatory Planning and 

Review, dated September 30, 1993. This 

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

804. 

III. Regulatory Flexibility Act 

The General Services 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 FAR Case 2008–024, which 

addresses the acquisition-related 

thresholds, was published in the 

Federal Register at 75 FR 53129, August 

30, 2010, with an effective date of 

October 1, 2010. Further, Acquisition 

Letter MV–11–01, Adjustment of GSAM 

Acquisition-Related Thresholds due to 

Federal Acquisition Circular 2005–45 

(Item I, Inflation Adjustment of 

Acquisition-Related Thresholds), was 

effective immediately upon the 

publishing of Acquisition Letter 

(October 8, 2010). All other revisions to 

the GSAM are non-regulatory. 

IV. Paperwork Reduction Act 

The rule does not contain any 

information collection requirements that 

require the approval of the Office of 

Management and Budget under the 

Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 

chapter 35). 

List of Subjects in 48 CFR Parts 519 and 

552 

Government procurement. 

Dated: February 16, 2011. 

Joseph A. Neurauter, 

Senior Procurement Executive, Office of 

Acquisition Policy, General Services 

Administration. 

Therefore, GSA amends 48 CFR parts 

519 and 552 as set forth below: 

PART 519—SMALL BUSINESS 

PROGRAMS 

■ 1. The authority citation for 48 CFR 

part 519 is revised to read as follows: 

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

■ 2. Amend section 519.870–8 by 

revising paragraph (a)(3) to read as 

follows: 

519.870–8 Contract clauses. 

(a) * * * 

(3) Insert the clause at FAR 52.219– 

18, Notification of Competition Limited 

to Eligible 8(a) Concerns. Substitute the 

following paragraph for paragraph (c) of 

the clause. Add the word ‘‘Deviation’’ at 

the end of the clause title. 

(c) Any award resulting from this 

solicitation will be made directly by the 

Contracting Officer to the successful 8(a) 

offeror selected through the evaluation 

criteria set forth in this solicitation. 

* * * * * 

PART 552—SOLICITATION 

PROVISIONS AND CONTRACT 

CLAUSES 

■ 3. The authority citation for 48 CFR 

part 552 continues to read as follows: 

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

■ 4. Amend section 552.219–71 by 

revising the date of the provision; and 

by removing from the introductory text 

‘‘$500,000 ($1,000,000’’ and adding 

‘‘$650,000 ($1,500,000’’ in its place. The 

revised text reads as follows: 

552.219–71 Notice to Offerors of 

Subcontracting Plan Requirements. 

* * * * * 

Notice to Offereors of Subcontracting 

Plan Requirements (MAR 2012) 

* * * * * 

■ 5. Amend section 552.219–72 by 

revising the date of the provision; and 

removing from the introductory text 

‘‘$500,000 ($1,000,000’’ and adding 

‘‘$650,000 ($1,500,000’’ in its place. The 

revised text reads as follows: 

552.219–72 Preparation, Submission, and 

Negotiation of Subcontracting Plans. 

* * * * * 

Preparation, Submission, and 

Negotiation of Subcontracting Plans 

(MAR 2012) 

* * * * * 

■ 6. Amend section 552.219–76 by 

revising the date of the clause; and 

removing from paragraph (f) 

‘‘519.7011(j)’’ and adding ‘‘519.7010(j)’’ 

in its place. The revised text reads as 

follows: 

552.219–76 Mentor Requirements and 

Evaluation. 

* * * * * 

Mentor Requirements and Evaluation 

(MAR 2012) 

* * * * * 

[FR Doc. 2012–4229 Filed 2–22–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6820–61–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Pipeline and Hazardous Materials 

Safety Administration 

49 CFR Part 199 

[Docket No. PHMSA–2011–0335] 

Pipeline Safety: Post Accident Drug 

and Alcohol Testing 

AGENCY: Pipeline and Hazardous 

Materials Safety Administration 

(PHMSA); DOT. 


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