63026 Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 215 / Wednesday, November 7, 2007 / Rules and Regulations 

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE 

GENERAL SERVICES 

ADMINISTRATION 

NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND 

SPACE ADMINISTRATION 

48 CFR Chapter 1 

[Docket FAR–2007–0002, Sequence 6] 

Federal Acquisition Regulation; 

Federal Acquisition Circular 2005–21; 

Introduction 

AGENCIES: Department of Defense (DoD), 

General Services Administration (GSA), 

and National Aeronautics and Space 

Administration (NASA). 

ACTION: Summary presentation of final 

and interim rules, and technical 

amendments. 

SUMMARY: This document summarizes 

the Federal Acquisition Regulation 

(FAR) rules agreed to by the Civilian 

Agency Acquisition Council and the 

Defense Acquisition Regulations 

Council in this Federal Acquisition 

Circular (FAC) 2005–21. A companion 

document, the Small Entity Compliance 

Guide (SECG), follows this FAC. The 

FAC, including the SECG, is available 

via the Internet at http:// 

www.regulations.gov. 

DATES: For effective dates and comment 

dates, see separate documents, which 

follow. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT The 

analyst whose name appears in the table 

below in relation to each FAR case. 

Please cite FAC 2005–21 and the 

specific FAR case number(s). For 

information pertaining to status or 

publication schedules, contact the FAR 

Secretariat at (202) 501–4755. 

LIST OF RULES IN FAC 2005–21 

Item Subject FAR case Analyst 

I ............ SAFETY Act: Implementation of DHS Regulations (Interim) .......................................................... 2006–023 Loeb. 

II ........... Biobased Products Preference Program ......................................................................................... 2004–032 Clark. 

III .......... FAR Part 27 Rewrite in Plain Language ......................................................................................... 1999–402 Woodson. 

IV .......... Federal Computer Network (FACNET) Architecture ....................................................................... 2006–015 Woodson. 

V ........... Exemption of Certain Service Contracts from the Service Contract Act (SCA) (interim) ............... 2001–004 Woodson. 

VI .......... Local Community Recovery Act of 2006 (Interim) .......................................................................... 2006–014 Clark. 

VII ......... Labor Standards for Contracts Containing Construction Requirements-Contract Pricing Method 

References.

2007–001 Woodson. 

VIII ........ Technical Amendments ...................................................................................................................

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Summaries for each FAR rule follow. 

For the actual revisions and/or 

amendments to these FAR cases, refer to 

the specific item number and subject set 

forth in the documents following these 

item summaries. 

FAC 2005–21 amends the FAR as 

specified below: 

Item I—SAFETY Act: Implementation 

of DHS Regulations (FAR Case 2006– 

023) (Interim) 

This interim rule implements the 

SAFETY Act in the FAR. The SAFETY 

Act provides incentives for the 

development and deployment of antiterrorism technologies by creating a 

system of ‘‘risk management’’ and a 

system of ‘‘litigation management.’’ The 

purpose of the SAFETY Act is to ensure 

that the threat of liability does not deter 

potential manufacturers or sellers of 

antiterrorism technologies from 

developing, deploying, and 

commercializing technologies that could 

save lives. Examples of Qualified AntiTerrorism Technologies (QATT) 

identified by DHS include— 

• Vulnerability assessment and 

countermeasure and counter-terrorism 

planning tools; 

• First responder interoperability 

solution; 

• Marine traffic management system; 

• Security services, guidelines, 

systems, and standards; 

• Vehicle and cargo inspection 

system; 

• X-ray inspection system; 

• Trace explosives detection systems 

and associated support services; 

• Maintenance and repair of 

screening equipment; 

• Risk assessment platform; 

• Explosive and weapon detection 

equipment and services; 

• Biological detection and filtration 

systems; 

• Passenger screening services; 

• Baggage screening services; 

• Chemical, biological, or radiological 

agent release detectors; 

• Vehicle barriers; 

• First responder equipment; and 

• Architectural and engineering 

‘‘hardening’’ products and services. 

Item II—Biobased Products Preference 

Program (FAR Case 2004–032) 

This final rule amends the Federal 

Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to 

implement 7 U.S.C. 8102 as enacted by 

section 9002 of the Farm Security and 

Rural Investment Act of 2002 (FSRIA), 

as amended by Sections 205 and 943 of 

the Energy Policy Act of 2005. Entitled 

Federal Procurement of Biobased 

Products, section 7 U.S.C. 8102 requires 

that a procurement preference be 

afforded biobased products within items 

designated by the Secretary of 

Agriculture. This program applies to 

acquisitions by Federal agencies using 

Federal funds for procurement, as well 

as Government contractors that use 

USDA-designated items in performance 

of a Government contract. It will 

provide increased opportunities for 

entities, both large and small, that 

manufacture or sell biobased products, 

while decreasing opportunities for 

businesses that manufacture or sell 

similar non-biobased products or 

provide components for the 

manufacturing of such products. A list 

of USDA-designated items is available at 

http://www.usda.gov/biopreferred. 

Item III—FAR Part 27 Rewrite in Plain 

Language (FAR Case 1999–402) 

This final rule clarifies, streamlines, 

and updates text and clauses on Patents, 

Data, and Copyrights (FAR Part 27). 

This effort focused on rewriting the 

current FAR language into ‘‘plain 

language,’’ with the ultimate goal of 

making the policies and procedures 

more understandable to the reader. This 

rewrite was not intended to include 

substantive changes to Part 27 policies 

or procedures, except where necessary 

to comply with current statutory or 

regulatory requirements, or to resolve 

internal inconsistencies within FAR 

Part 27 and its associated clauses. 

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Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 215 / Wednesday, November 7, 2007 / Rules and Regulations 63027 

Item IV—Federal Computer Network 

(FACNET) Architecture (FAR Case 

2006–015) 

This final rule amends the Federal 

Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to remove 

FACNET references and provide the 

opportunity to recognize the evolution 

of alternative technologies, processes, 

etc. that Federal agencies are using and 

will use to satisfy their acquisition 

needs without removing the use of 

FACNET for Federal agencies that may 

use the system. Where necessary in the 

FAR, the term has been replaced with a 

more appropriate term that incorporates 

various electronic data interchange 

systems. The proposed rule published 

February 1, 2007 is adopted as final 

without change. 

Item V—Exemption of Certain Service 

Contracts from the Service Contract Act 

(SCA) (2001–004) (Interim) 

This interim rule amends Federal 

Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Parts 4, 

15, 17, 22, and 52 to implement the U.S. 

Department of Labor’s (DoL) final rule 

issued January 18, 2001 (66 FR 5327) 

amending the regulations at 29 CFR part 

4 to exempt certain contracts for 

services meeting specific criteria from 

coverage under the Service Contract 

Act. This rule imposes the DoL criteria 

and does not utilize the term 

‘‘commercial services.’’ The rule 

incorporates slight revisions to the 

current exemption for consistency with 

the current DoL regulations and 

clarification of appropriate course of 

action for the contracting officer. 

Item VI—Local Community Recovery 

Act of 2006 (FAR Case 2006–014) 

(Interim) 

The Civilian Agency Acquisition 

Council and the Defense Acquisition 

Regulations Council (Councils) have 

agreed on a second interim rule 

amending the Federal Acquisition 

Regulation (FAR) to implement 

legislative amendments to the Stafford 

Act at 42 U.S.C. 5150. 

The first rule implemented The Local 

Community Recovery Act of 2006, 

Pub.L. 109–218, which addressed setasides for major disaster or emergency 

assistance acquisitions to businesses 

that reside or primarily do business in 

the geographic area affected by the 

disaster or emergency. This local area 

set-aside could be done along with a 

small business set-aside. 

After the first rule was published for 

comments in August, 2006, Congress 

further amended the same area of the 

Stafford Act in the Department of 

Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 

2007, Public Law 109–295. The 

amended statute contains requirements 

for transitioning work to local firms in 

the geographic area affected by the 

disaster or emergency and for 

justifications for expenditures to entities 

outside the major disaster or emergency 

area. This second interim rule 

encompasses all of these changes. 

Item VII—Labor Standards for 

Contracts Containing Construction 

Requirements-Contract Pricing Method 

References (FAR Case 2007–001) 

This final rule amends the Federal 

Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to revise 

references to published pricing sources 

available to the contracting officer in 

FAR 22.404–12(c)(2). The rule removes 

the reference to ‘‘R.S. Means Cost 

Estimating System’’ as a commercial 

source for pricing data. The revision 

will provide greater flexibilities for 

contracting officers when selecting 

sources of pricing data. 

Item VIII—Technical Amendments 

Editorial changes are made at FAR 

1.106, 25.003, 52.212–5, 52.219-9, 

52.225–5, 52.225–17, 53.213, 53.302–

347, and 53.302–348 in order to update 

references. 

Dated: October 31, 2007. 

Al Matera, 

Director, Office of Acquisition Policy. 

Federal Acquisition Circular 

Federal Acquisition Circular (FAC) 

2005–21 is issued under the authority of 

the Secretary of Defense, the 

Administrator of General Services, and 

the Administrator for the National 

Aeronautics and Space Administration. 

Unless otherwise specified, all 

Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 

and other directive material contained 

in FAC 2005–21 is effective November 

7, 2007, except for Items II, III, IV, and 

VII which are effective December 7, 

2007. 

Dated: October 26, 2007. 

Shay D. Assad, 

Director, Defense Procurement and 

Acquisition Policy. 

Dated: October 26, 2007. 

Molly A. Wilkinson, 

Chief Acquisition Officer, Office of Chief 

Acquisition Officer, General Services 

Administration. 

Dated: October 18, 2007. 

Harold V. Jefferson, 

Acting Assistant Administrator for 

Procurement, National Aeronautics and 

Space Administration. 

[FR Doc. 07–5476 Filed 11–6–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6820–EP–S 

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE 

GENERAL SERVICES 

ADMINISTRATION 

NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND 

SPACE ADMINISTRATION 

48 CFR Parts 1, 7, 18, 28, 32, 33, 43, 

50, and 52 

[FAC 2005–21; FAR Case 2006–023; Item 

I; Docket 2007–0001, Sequence 8] 

RIN 9000–AK75 

Federal Acquisition Regulation; FAR 

Case 2006–023, SAFETY Act: 

Implementation of DHS Regulations 

AGENCIES: Department of Defense (DoD), 

General Services Administration (GSA), 

and National Aeronautics and Space 

Administration (NASA). 

ACTION: Interim rule with request for 

comments. 

SUMMARY: The Civilian Agency 

Acquisition Council and the Defense 

Acquisition Regulations Council 

(Councils) have agreed on an interim 

rule amending the Federal Acquisition 

Regulation (FAR) to implement the 

Department of Homeland Security 

(DHS) regulations on the SAFETY Act. 

DATES: Effective Date: November 7, 

2007. 

Comment Date: Interested parties 

should submit written comments to the 

FAR Secretariat on or before January 7, 

2008 to be considered in the 

formulation of a final rule. 

ADDRESSES: Submit comments 

identified by FAC 2005–21, FAR case 

2006–023, by any of the following 

methods: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: http:// 

www.regulations.gov. To search for any 

document, first select under ‘‘Step 1,’’

‘‘Documents with an Open Comment 

Period’’ and select under ‘‘Optional Step 

2,’’ ‘‘Federal Acquisition Regulation’’ as 

the agency of choice. Under ‘‘Optional 

Step 3,’’ select ‘‘Rules’’. Under 

‘‘Optional Step 4,’’ from the drop down 

list, select ‘‘Document Title’’ and type 

the FAR case number ‘‘2006–023’’. Click 

the ‘‘Submit’’ button. Please include 

your name and company name (if any) 

inside the document. 

You may also search for any 

document by clicking on the ‘‘Search for 

Documents’’ tab at the top of the screen. 

Select from the agency field ‘‘Federal 

Acquisition Regulation’’, and type 

‘‘2006–023’’ in the ‘‘Document Title’’

field. Select the ‘‘Submit’’ button. 

• Fax: 202–501–4067. 

• Mail: General Services 

Administration, Regulatory Secretariat 

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