44228 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 152 / Wednesday, August 11, 2021 / Rules and Regulations 

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE 

GENERAL SERVICES 

ADMINISTRATION 

NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND 

SPACE ADMINISTRATION 

48 CFR Chapter 1 

[Docket No. FAR–2021–0051, Sequence No. 

4] 

Federal Acquisition Regulation; 

Federal Acquisition Circular 2021–07; 

Introduction 

AGENCY: Department of Defense (DoD), 

General Services Administration (GSA), 

and National Aeronautics and Space 

Administration (NASA). 

ACTION: Summary presentation of final 

rules. 

SUMMARY: This document summarizes 

the Federal Acquisition Regulation 

(FAR) rules agreed to by the Civilian 

Agency Acquisition Council and the 

Defense Acquisition Regulations 

Council (Councils) in this Federal 

Acquisition Circular (FAC) 2021–07. A 

companion document, the Small Entity 

Compliance Guide (SECG), follows this 

FAC. 

DATES: For effective dates see the 

separate documents which follow. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: The 

analyst whose name appears in the table 

below in relation to the FAR case. For 

information pertaining to status or 

publication schedules, contact the 

Regulatory Secretariat Division at 202– 

501–4755 or GSARegSec@gsa.gov. 

RULES LISTED IN FAC 2021–07 

Item Subject FAR Case Analyst 

I ......................... Section 508-Based Standards in Information and Communication Technology ..................... 2017–011 Jackson. 

II ........................ Revision of Limitations on Subcontracting ............................................................................... 2016–011 Uddowla. 

III ....................... Scope of Review by Procurement Center Representatives .................................................... 2020–012 Jones. 

IV ...................... Good Faith in Small Business Subcontracting ........................................................................ 2019–004 Bowman. 

V ....................... Technical Amendments.

ADDRESSES: The FAC, including the 

SECG, is available via the internet at 

https://www.regulations.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Summaries for each FAR rule follow. 

For the actual revisions and/or 

amendments made by these FAR rules, 

refer to the specific item numbers and 

subjects set forth in the documents 

following these item summaries. FAC 

2021–07 amends the FAR as follows: 

Item I—Section 508-Based Standards in 

Information and Communication 

Technology (FAR Case 2017–011) 

This final rule amends the FAR to 

implement the Access Board’s final rule 

published January 17, 2017. Section 508 

of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 

requires the FAR to incorporate revised 

accessibility standards developed by the 

Access Board for information and 

communication technology (ICT). The 

Access Board is also known as the 

Architectural and Transportation 

Barriers Compliance Board. This rule 

ensures that Federal employees with 

disabilities have comparable access to, 

and use of, such information and data 

relative to other Federal employees. 

Section 508 also requires Federal 

agencies to ensure that members of the 

public with disabilities have 

comparable access to publicly available 

information and data. 

Item II—Revision of Limitations on 

Subcontracting (FAR Case 2016–011) 

This rule amends the FAR to 

implement regulatory changes made by 

the Small Business Administration 

(SBA) in its final rule published in the 

Federal Register at 81 FR 34243, on 

May 31, 2016. SBA’s final rule 

implements the statutory requirements 

of section 1651 of the National Defense 

Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2013. 

Section 1651 revised and standardized 

the limitations on subcontracting, 

including the nonmanufacturer rule, 

that apply to small business concerns 

under FAR part 19 procurements. 

Section 1651 shifts the limitations on 

subcontracting from the concept of a 

required percentage of work to be 

performed by a prime contractor to the 

concept of a limit on the percentage of 

the overall award amount to be spent by 

the prime on subcontractors. 

Significantly, section 1651 excludes 

from this calculation the percentage of 

the award amount that the prime 

contractor spends on subcontractors 

who are similarly situated entities. This 

rule implements the revised and 

standardized limitations on 

subcontracting through the use of a 

single FAR clause for every small 

business program, instead of continuing 

to implement through multiple FAR 

clauses that were specific to a particular 

small business program. This rule also 

revises the FAR clause implementing 

the nonmanufacturer rule to reflect the 

standardized requirements across all the 

small business programs. 

This rule may have a positive 

economic impact on small businesses. 

Through the ability to meet the 

limitations by means of subcontracts 

with similarly situated entities, this rule 

will make it possible for small 

businesses to compete for larger 

contracts than they could in the past. 

Item III—Scope of Review by 

Procurement Center Representatives 

(FAR Case 2020–012) 

This final rule amends the FAR to 

implement section 1811 of the National 

Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal 

Year 2017 (Pub. L. 114–328), as 

implemented in the Small Business 

Administration (SBA) final rule 

published at 84 FR 65647 on November 

29, 2019. Section 1811 allows SBA’s 

procurement center representatives to 

review any solicitation for a contract or 

task order, without regard to whether it 

is set aside for small business concerns, 

or reserved in the case of a multipleaward contract, or whether it would 

result in a bundled or consolidated 

contract or order. 

Item IV—Good Faith in Small Business 

Subcontracting (FAR Case 2019–004) 

This final rule amends the FAR to 

implement section 1821(c) of the 

National Defense Authorization Act 

(NDAA) for Fiscal Year (FY) 2017 (15 

U.S.C 637 note, Pub. L. 114–328), as 

implemented in the Small Business 


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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 152 / Wednesday, August 11, 2021 / Rules and Regulations 44229 

Administration (SBA) final rule 

published at 84 FR 65647, dated 

November 29, 2019. 

Specifically, the final FAR rule at 

FAR 19.705–7 includes examples of a 

good faith effort to comply with the 

subcontracting plan, and examples of a 

failure to make a good faith effort. 

Failure to make a good faith effort to 

comply with the plan may result in 

assessment of liquidated damages. 

Additionally, the final rule amends 

the FAR to require that prime 

contractors with a commercial 

subcontracting plan include indirect 

costs in their subcontracting goals. 

Previously, prime contractors were 

required to include indirect costs in the 

summary subcontract report (SSR) but 

not in their subcontracting goals, which 

led to inconsistencies when comparing 

the SSR to the goals in the commercial 

subcontracting plan. Including indirect 

costs in both the SSR and 

subcontracting goals established in the 

commercial subcontracting plan will 

allow for consistency. 

Item V—Technical Amendments 

Editorial changes are made at FAR 

42.709–1 through 42.709–7, 52.242–3, 

and 52.245–1. 

William F. Clark, 

Director, Office of Government-wide 

Acquisition Policy, Office of Acquisition 

Policy, Office of Government-wide Policy. 

Federal Acquisition Circular (FAC) 

2021–07 is issued under the authority of 

the Secretary of Defense, the 

Administrator of General Services, and 

the Administrator of National 

Aeronautics and Space Administration. 

Unless otherwise specified, all 

Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 

and other directive material contained 

in FAC 2021–07 is effective August 11, 

2021 except for Items I through V, 

which are effective September 10, 2021. 

John M. Tenaglia, 

Principal Director, Defense Pricing and 

Contracting, Department of Defense. 

Jeffrey A. Koses, 

Senior Procurement Executive/Deputy CAO, 

Office of Acquisition Policy, U.S. General 

Services Administration. 

Karla Smith Jackson, 

Assistant Administrator for Procurement, 

National Aeronautics and Space 

Administration. 

[FR Doc. 2021–16362 Filed 8–10–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6820–EP–P 

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE 

GENERAL SERVICES 

ADMINISTRATION 

NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND 

SPACE ADMINISTRATION 

48 CFR Parts 2, 7, 10, 11, 12 and 39 

[FAC 2021–07; FAR Case 2017–011; Item 

I; Docket No. FAR–2017–0011, Sequence 

No. 1] 

RIN 9000–AN46 

Federal Acquisition Regulation: 

Section 508-Based Standards in 

Information and Communication 

Technology 

AGENCY: Department of Defense (DoD), 

General Services Administration (GSA), 

and National Aeronautics and Space 

Administration (NASA). 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: DoD, GSA, and NASA are 

issuing a final rule amending the 

Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to 

incorporate recent revisions and 

updates to accessibility standards issued 

by the U.S. Access Board. 

DATES: Effective September 10, 2021. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. 

Michael O. Jackson, Procurement 

Analyst, at 202–208–4949, or by email 

at michaelo.jackson@gsa.gov for 

clarification of content. For information 

pertaining to status or publication 

schedules, contact the Regulatory 

Secretariat Division at 202–501–4755 or 

GSARegSec@gsa.gov. Please cite FAC 

2021–07, FAR Case 2017–011. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background 

DoD, GSA, and NASA published a 

proposed rule at 85 FR 17831 on March 

31, 2020, to implement the U.S. Access 

Board’s revisions by strengthening FAR 

requirements for accessibility to 

electronic and information technology 

(now generally referred to as 

‘‘information and communication 

technology’’ or ‘‘ICT’’) provided by the 

Federal Government. Among other 

things, section 508 of the Rehabilitation 

Act of 1973 mandates that Federal 

agencies ‘‘develop, procure, maintain, or 

use’’ ICT in a manner that ensures that 

Federal employees with disabilities 

have comparable access to, and use of, 

such information and data relative to 

Federal employees who are not 

individuals with disabilities. Section 

508 also requires Federal agencies to 

ensure that members of the public with 

disabilities have comparable access to, 

and use of, information and data relative 

to members of the public who are not 

individuals with disabilities. 

The Access Board, also known as the 

Architectural and Transportation 

Barriers Compliance Board, is tasked 

with issuing accessibility standards for 

ICT covered under section 508, and 

updating these standards periodically to 

reflect technological changes. The 

Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council, 

in turn, is required to revise the FAR to 

incorporate the Access Board’s 

accessibility standards or any 

amendments thereto. 

In December 2000, the Access Board 

published its initial set of accessibility 

standards at 65 FR 80500, (December 21, 

2000). Thereafter, a final FAR rule was 

published incorporating the Access 

Board’s accessibility standards at 66 FR 

20894 (April 25, 2001). 

The Access Board completed a 

multiyear effort to ‘‘refresh’’ its initial, 

existing set of accessibility standards 

under section 508 to address advances 

in ICT, harmonize with accessibility 

standards developed by standards 

organizations worldwide, and ensure 

consistency with the Access Board’s 

regulations that had been promulgated 

since the late 1990s. The revised section 

508 Accessibility Standards support the 

access needs of individuals with 

disabilities, while also considering the 

costs of procuring ICT that complies 

with section 508. 

The Access Board’s final rule was 

published in the Federal Register at 82 

FR 5790 on January 18, 2017. This final 

rule updates the FAR to ensure that the 

updated standards are appropriately 

considered in Federal ICT acquisitions. 

The final rule includes a ‘‘safe harbor’’ 

provision for existing (i.e., legacy) ICT, 

which considers legacy ICT in existence 

on or before January 18, 2018, to be 

compliant if it meets the earlier 

standard issued pursuant to section 508 

of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (see 

E202.2 of Revised Standards) and the 

legacy ICT is not altered after January 

18, 2018. In other words, such 

‘‘untouched’’ ICT need not be modified 

or upgraded to conform to the revised 

508 standards as long as it already 

conforms to the original 508 standards. 

However, ICT acquired on or before 

January 18, 2018, will need to be 

upgraded or modified to conform to the 

new standard if such ICT is altered after 

January 18, 2018, or does not comply 

with the original 508 standards. In 

addition, ICT acquired after January 18, 

2018, must be upgraded or modified to 

conform to the new standard. The 

upgrades and modifications would be 

included in requirements documents 

issued by the agency. 


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