Source: https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/49/5325
Timestamp: 2019-04-24 08:08:30+00:00

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Recipients of assistance under this chapter shall conduct all procurement transactions in a manner that provides full and open competition as determined by the Secretary.
A contract or requirement for program management, architectural engineering, construction management, a feasibility study, and preliminary engineering, design, architectural, engineering, surveying, mapping, or related services for a project for which Federal assistance is provided under this chapter shall be awarded in the same way as a contract for architectural and engineering services is negotiated under chapter 11 of title 40 or an equivalent qualifications-based requirement of a State adopted before August 10, 2005.
Any contract or subcontract awarded under this chapter shall be performed and audited in compliance with cost principles contained in part 31 of the Federal Acquisition Regulation, or any successor thereto.
A recipient of funds under a contract or subcontract awarded under this chapter shall accept indirect cost rates established in accordance with the Federal Acquisition Regulation for 1-year applicable accounting periods by a cognizant Federal or State government agency, if such rates are not currently under dispute.
After a firm’s indirect cost rates are accepted under subparagraph (B), the recipient of the funds shall apply such rates for the purposes of contract estimation, negotiation, administration, reporting, and contract payment, and shall not be limited by administrative or de facto ceilings.
A recipient requesting or using the cost and rate data described in subparagraph (C) shall notify any affected firm before such request or use. Such data shall be confidential and shall not be accessible or provided by the group of agencies sharing cost data under this subparagraph, except by written permission of the audited firm. If prohibited by law, such cost and rate data shall not be disclosed under any circumstances.
A recipient may award a procurement contract under this chapter to other than the lowest bidder if the award furthers an objective consistent with the purposes of this chapter, including improved long-term operating efficiency and lower long-term costs.
may include an option to finance, or operate for a period of time, the system or segment or any combination of designing, building, operating, or maintaining such system or segment.
Federal financial assistance under this chapter may be provided for the capital costs of a design-build project after the recipient complies with Government requirements.
not more than 7 years after the date of the original contract for rail procurements, provided that such option does not allow for significant changes or alterations to the rolling stock.
The Secretary shall allow recipients to act on a cooperative basis to procure rolling stock in compliance with this subsection and other Government procurement requirements.
with a party selected through a competitive procurement process.
Upon request, the Secretary and the Comptroller General, or any of their representatives, shall have access to and the right to examine and inspect all records, documents, and papers, including contracts, related to a project for which a grant is made under this chapter.
A grant awarded under this chapter or the Federal Public Transportation Act of 2015 may not be used to support a procurement that uses an exclusionary or discriminatory specification.
No State law requiring buses to be purchased through in-State dealers shall apply to vehicles purchased with a grant under this chapter.
Federal financial assistance under this chapter may be provided for contracts only if a recipient awards such contracts to responsible contractors possessing the ability to successfully perform under the terms and conditions of a proposed procurement.
the contractor’s financial and technical resources.
Recipients and subrecipients of Federal financial assistance under this chapter shall ensure that contractors working on a capital project funded using such assistance give a hiring preference, to the extent practicable, to veterans (as defined in section 2108 of title 5) who have the requisite skills and abilities to perform the construction work required under the contract. This subsection shall not be understood, construed or enforced in any manner that would require an employer to give a preference to any veteran over any equally qualified applicant who is a member of any racial or ethnic minority, female, an individual with a disability, or a former employee.
July 9, 1964, Pub. L. 88–365, § 12(b)(1), 78 Stat. 306; Sept. 8, 1966, Pub. L. 89–562, § 2(a)(1), 80 Stat. 715; May 25, 1967, Pub. L. 90–19, § 20(a), 81 Stat. 25; Nov. 6, 1978, Pub. L. 95–599, § 308(a)(1), 92 Stat. 2745.
July 9, 1964, Pub. L. 88–365, 78 Stat. 302, § 12(b)(2); added Nov. 6, 1978, Pub. L. 95–599, § 308(a)(2), 92 Stat. 2745; restated Jan. 6, 1983, Pub. L. 97–424, § 308, 96 Stat. 2151.
July 9, 1964, Pub. L. 88–365, 78 Stat. 302, § 12(b)(3); added Apr. 2, 1987, Pub. L. 100–17, § 315(a), 101 Stat. 232.
July 9, 1964, Pub. L. 88–365, 78 Stat. 302, § 12(b)(4); added Apr. 2, 1987, Pub. L. 100–17, § 316, 101 Stat. 232.
In subsection (a), the words “reconstruction”, “in furtherance of the purposes”, “by applicants”, “procedures as defined by the Secretary”, “of the contracting parties”, and “the operations or activities under” are omitted as surplus. The words “shall be made available to” are substituted for “shall . . . have access to”, and the words “an officer or employee of the Secretary or Comptroller General” are substituted for “any of their duly authorized representatives”, for consistency in the revised title and with other titles of the United States Code.
Subsection (b) is substituted for 49 App.:1608(b)(2) for clarity. The text of 49 App.:1608(b)(2) (last sentence) is omitted as executed.
This amends the catchline for 49:5325(d) to make a clarifying amendment.
The Federal Public Transportation Act of 2015, referred to in subsec. (h), is title III of Pub. L. 114–94, Dec. 4, 2015, 129 Stat. 1446. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title of 2015 Amendment note set out under section 5101 of this title and Tables.
2015—Subsec. (e)(2). Pub. L. 114–94, § 3030(e)(1), struck out “at least two” after “allow”.
Subsec. (h). Pub. L. 114–94, § 3030(e)(2), substituted “Federal Public Transportation Act of 2015” for “Federal Public Transportation Act of 2012”.
2012—Subsec. (b)(2)(A). Pub. L. 112–141, § 20030(d), substituted “the Federal Acquisition Regulation, or any successor thereto” for “title 48, Code of Federal Regulations (commonly known as the Federal Acquisition Regulation)”.
Subsec. (h). Pub. L. 112–141, § 20018(2), substituted “Federal Public Transportation Act of 2012” for “Federal Public Transportation Act of 2005”.
Subsec. (j)(2)(C). Pub. L. 112–141, § 20018(3), struck out “, including the performance reported in the Contractor Performance Assessment Reports required under section 5309(l)(2)” after “past performance”.
Subsec. (k). Pub. L. 112–141, § 20018(4), added subsec. (k).
2008—Subsec. (b)(1). Pub. L. 110–244, § 201(k)(1), inserted “adopted before August 10, 2005” before period at end.
2005—Pub. L. 109–59 amended section generally. Prior to amendment, section consisted of subsecs. (a) to (c) relating to noncompetitive bidding in subsec. (a), procedures for award of architectural, engineering, and design contracts in subsec. (b), and efficient procurement in subsec. (c).
2002—Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 107–217 substituted “chapter 11 of title 40” for “title IX of the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949 (40 U.S.C. 541 et seq.)”.
1998—Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 105–178, § 3022(b), as added by Pub. L. 105–206, inserted “or requirement” after “A contract” and “When awarding such contracts, recipients of assistance under this chapter shall maximize efficiencies of administration by accepting nondisputed audits conducted by other governmental agencies, as provided in subparagraphs (C) through (F) of section 112(b)(2) of title 23, United States Code.” before “This subsection does not apply”.
Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 105–178, § 3022(a)(2), redesignated subsec. (d) as (b).
1996—Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 104–287 substituted “Architectural, Engineering, and Design Contracts” for “Management, Architectural, and Engineering Contracts” in heading.
In this section, the term ‘grantee’ means a recipient or subrecipient of assistance under chapter 53 of title 49, United States Code.
the term ‘participate’ means to purchase rolling stock and related equipment under a cooperative procurement contract using assistance provided under chapter 53 of title 49, United States Code.
A grantee may participate in a cooperative procurement contract without regard to whether the grantee is located in the same State as the parties to the contract.
Participation by grantees in a cooperative procurement contract shall be voluntary.
The lead procurement agency or lead nonprofit entity for a cooperative procurement contract shall develop the terms of the contract.
may be in effect for a total period of not more than 5 years, including each extension authorized under subclause (II).
with respect to the cost described in subclause (I), may incorporate the cost into the price of the contract or directly charge the participants for the cost, but not both.
the State government acts throughout the term of the contract as the lead procurement agency.
In procuring rolling stock and related equipment under a cooperative procurement contract under this subsection, a State government shall comply with the policies and procedures that apply to procurement by the State government when using non-Federal funds, to the extent that the policies and procedures are in conformance with applicable Federal law.
The Secretary [of Transportation] shall establish and carry out a pilot program to demonstrate the effectiveness of cooperative procurement contracts administered by eligible nonprofit entities.
In carrying out the program under this paragraph, the Secretary shall designate not less than 3 eligible nonprofit entities to enter into a cooperative procurement contract under which the eligible nonprofit entity acts throughout the term of the contract as the lead nonprofit entity.
At a time determined appropriate by the lead nonprofit entity, each participant in a cooperative procurement contract under this paragraph shall submit to the lead nonprofit entity a nonbinding notice of intent to participate.
The Secretary shall establish a clearinghouse for the purpose of allowing grantees to aggregate planned rolling stock purchases and identify joint procurement participants.
In establishing the clearinghouse under subparagraph (A), the Secretary may consult with nonprofit entities with expertise in public transportation or procurement, and other stakeholders as the Secretary determines appropriate.
The clearinghouse may include information on bus size, engine type, floor type, and any other attributes necessary to identify joint procurement participants.
The clearinghouse shall only be accessible to the Federal Transit Administration, a nonprofit entity coordinating for such clearinghouse with the Secretary, and grantees.
No grantee shall be required to submit procurement information to the database.
In this subsection, the term ‘capital lease’ means any agreement under which a grantee acquires the right to use rolling stock or related equipment for a specified period of time, in exchange for a periodic payment.
A capital lease may require that the lessor provide maintenance of the rolling stock or related equipment covered by the lease.
there is or will be no Federal interest in the rolling stock or related equipment covered under the lease as of the date on which the lease takes effect.
maintain on the accounting records of the grantee the liability of the grantee under the lease.
A grantee shall negotiate the terms of any lease agreement that the grantee enters into.
Part 639 of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations, or any successor regulation, and implementing guidance applicable to leasing shall not apply to a capital lease.
The requirements under section 5323(j) of title 49, United States Code, shall apply to a capital lease.
the term ‘zero emission vehicle’ has the meaning given the term in section 5339(c) of title 49, United States Code.
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, for purposes of this subsection, the cost of a removable power source that is necessary for the operation of a zero emission vehicle shall not be treated as part of the cost of the vehicle if the removable power source is acquired using a capital lease.
A grantee may acquire a removable power source by itself through a capital lease.
For purposes of this section, a removable power source shall be subject to section 200.88 of title 2, Code of Federal Regulations.
a comparison of the expected short-term and long-term maintenance costs of leasing versus buying rolling stock.
The Secretary shall make publicly available an annual report on this subsection for each fiscal year, not later than December 31 of the calendar year in which that fiscal year ends. The report shall include a detailed description of the activities carried out under this subsection, and evaluation of the program including the evaluation of the data reported in paragraph (4).

References: § 12
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