Source: https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2012/03/28/2012-7358/implementation-of-omb-guidance-on-nonprocurement-debarment-and-suspension
Timestamp: 2017-08-19 00:32:20
Document Index: 517264936

Matched Legal Cases: ['ART 85', 'art 180', 'art 85', 'art 3485', 'art 85', 'art 77', 'art 85', 'arts 668', 'arts 180', 'art 3485', '§\u20093485', 'art 180', 'art 85', 'art 3485', 'art 180', '§\u20093485', 'art 3485', 'art 180', 'arts 77', 'art 3485', '§\u2009180', '§\u20093485', 'art 3485', 'art 180', 'art 3485', '§\u2009180', '§\u20093485', '§\u2009180', '§\u2009180', 'art 180', 'art 180', '§\u20093485', '§\u20093485', '§\u2009180', '§\u20093485', 'art 180', '§\u20093485', '§\u20093485', '§\u20093485', '§\u2009180', '§\u20093485', '§\u2009180', '§\u20093485', '§\u20093485', '§\u2009180', '§\u20093485', '§\u20093485', 'art 180', '§\u20093485', '§\u20093485', '§\u20093485', '§\u20093485', 'art 180', '§\u20093485', '§\u20093485', '§\u2009180', '§\u2009180', 'art 668', 'art 682', 'art 668', 'art 682', '§\u2009180', '§\u2009180', '§\u2009180', 'art 668', 'art 682', 'art 668', 'art 682', '§\u2009180', '§\u20093485', '§\u20093485', '§\u20093485', '§\u20093485', 'art 668', 'art 682', '§\u20093485', '§\u20093485', '§\u20093485', '§\u20093485', '§\u20093485', '§\u20093485', '§\u20093485', '§\u20093485', '§\u20093485', 'art 668', '§\u2009668', 'art 682', '§\u2009682', '§\u2009682']

A Rule by the Education Department on 03/28/2012
18671-18679 (9 pages)
2 CFR 3485
Docket ID ED-2012-OS-0007
1890-AA17
Adoption of OMB Guidance
General Education Provisions Act Requirements
PART 85—[REMOVED]
https://www.federalregister.gov/d/2012-7358 https://www.federalregister.gov/d/2012-7358
The Secretary of the Department of Education (Department) establishes a new part in 2 CFR that adopts the Office of Management and Budget's (OMB's) guidance, as supplemented by this new part, as the Department's regulations for nonprocurement debarment and suspension. The Secretary removes regulations that contain the Department's current implementation of the Governmentwide common rule on nonprocurement debarment and suspension. The Secretary also amends regulations to correct citations as appropriate. The new part will serve the same purposes as, and is substantively identical to, the nonprocurement suspension and debarment common rule published in the Federal Register on November 26, 2003.
On August 31, 2005, OMB established interim final guidance that was substantively identical to the common rule and directed Federal agencies to adopt those guidelines as regulations. On November 15, 2006, OMB published final guidance.
These final regulations adopt the OMB guidance as regulations of the Department. In addition, the Department adds those requirements that describe how the Department implements suspension and debarment requirements in the context of Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended (HEA). This regulatory action is an administrative simplification that makes no substantive change in the Department's policy or procedures for nonprocurement debarment and suspension. We do not intend any substantive changes to the Department's debarment and suspension regulations. To be sure we achieved that objective, we ask for technical comments about whether the new regulations are substantively different than the existing regulations.
Submit your comments through the Federal eRulemaking Portal or via postal mail, commercial delivery, or hand delivery. We will not accept comments by fax or by email. To ensure that we do not receive duplicate copies, please submit your comments only one time. In addition, please include the Docket ID and the term “Nonprocurement Debarment and Suspension” at the top of your comments.
Postal Mail, Commercial Delivery, or Hand Delivery. If you mail or deliver your comments about the final regulations, address them to Alfreida Pettiford, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue SW., Room 7100, Potomac Center Plaza, Washington, DC 20202-2550.
Alfreida Pettiford, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue SW., Room 7100, Potomac Center Plaza, Washington, DC 20202-2550. Telephone: (202) 245-6110.
Invitation to Comment: We invite you to submit comments regarding these final regulations to assist us in complying with the specific requirements of Executive Order 12866 and Executive Order 13563 and their overall requirement of reducing regulatory burden that might result from these final regulations.
During and after the comment period, you may inspect all public comments about this regulatory action by accessing Regulations.gov. You may also inspect the public comments in person at the Department of Education, 550 12th Street SW., Room 7100, Washington, DC, between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 4 p.m., Washington, DC time, Monday through Friday of each week except Federal holidays.
Assistance to Individuals With Disabilities in Reviewing the Rulemaking Record: On request, we will provide an appropriate accommodation or auxiliary aid to an individual with a disability who needs assistance to review the comments or other documents in the public rulemaking record for these regulations. If you want to schedule an appointment for this type of accommodation or auxiliary aid, please contact the person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.
In 2003, the Department joined with 32 other agencies to revise the nonprocurement debarment and suspension regulations that these agencies had adopted jointly in 1998. See 68 FR 66534 (November 26, 2003). The regulations that the agencies adopted were referred to as “the common rule.”
On November 15, 2006, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued final guidance for Governmentwide nonprocurement suspension and debarment (71 FR 66431). This guidance, located in 2 CFR part 180, is substantively the same as the common rule, but is published in a form that each agency can adopt, thus eliminating the need for each agency to publish a separate version of the same rule. The guidance also makes it possible to update Governmentwide requirements without each agency having to re-promulgate its own rules.
The Department's current regulations on nonprocurement debarment and suspension are found in 34 CFR part 85. In accordance with OMB's guidance, these final regulations establish the Department's nonprocurement debarment and suspension regulations in subtitle B of title 2 of the CFR. The new 2 CFR part 3485 adopts the OMB guidelines with the same additions and clarifications that the Department made to the Governmentwide common rule on this subject issued on November 26, 2003 (68 FR 66609). The substance of the Department's nonprocurement debarment and suspension regulations is unchanged.
These final regulations remove 34 CFR part 85 from the CFR, which is the current location for the Department's nonprocurement debarment and suspension regulations. We also amend the definition of EDGAR in 34 CFR part 77 to remove the reference to part 85.
Finally, these final regulations amend 34 CFR parts 668 and 682 to update cross references to the debarment and suspension regulations in 2 CFR parts 180 and 3485.
Under the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) (5 U.S.C. 553), the Department is generally required to publish a notice of proposed rulemaking and provide the public with an opportunity to comment on proposed regulations prior to establishing a final rule.
However, we are waiving the notice-and-comment rulemaking requirements under the APA. Section 553(b) of the APA provides that an agency is not required to conduct notice-and-comment rulemaking when the agency for good cause finds that notice and public procedure thereon are impracticable, unnecessary, or contrary to the public interest. The Secretary has determined that it is unnecessary to conduct notice-and-comment rulemaking because these regulatory amendments to 2 CFR are an administrative simplification that do not make substantive changes to the Department's policy or procedures for nonprocurement debarment and suspension. The Department is therefore publishing the revisions as final regulations and not as proposed regulations.
Nonetheless, because we intend the new part to make no changes in current policies and procedures, we specifically invite comments on any unintended changes in substantive content that the new 2 CFR part 3485 would make relative to the November 2003 common rule published by the Department on November 26, 2003 (68 FR 66534, 66609-66615).
If the Department receives comments that result in any changes to the final regulation, we will make timely publication of those changes in the Federal Register.
We add § 3485.12 to adopt the OMB guidance on suspension and debarment. Section 3485.12(a) adopts subparts A through I of the guidance in 2 CFR part 180 as a regulation of the Department.
The Department's current debarment and suspension regulations in 34 CFR part 85 contain additional requirements that must be met to make debarment and suspension actions taken by the Department or other agencies apply to participants in the programs authorized under title IV of the HEA. These final regulations place those same modifications in 2 CFR part 3485 so that debarment and suspension actions can be applied to participants in title IV HEA programs. In each section of these final regulations that adopt a requirement in the OMB guidance that must be modified, the section restates the standard OMB guidance and adds one or more paragraphs that contain the needed changes.
Section 437(b) of the General Education Provisions Act (GEPA) requires that immediately following each substantive provision of the Department's regulations, the Department must provide the citations to the particular section or sections of statutory law or other legal authority on which that provision is based. The substantive provision in these final regulations that adopts the guidance in 2 CFR part 180 is 2 CFR 3485.12. Because the authority citations for all of the sections adopted by the Department are the same, the Department provides the authority citation for all of the adopted guidance in paragraph (d) of § 3485.12. Other sections in part 3485 that supplement the guidance in part 180 or relate to the effectiveness of debarment and suspension actions against participants in the title IV, HEA programs list the authority citations for those sections at the end of each of those sections.
OMB has determined these regulations to be a non-significant regulatory action for the purposes of Executive Order 12866. We have also determined that this regulatory action does not unduly interfere with State, local, and tribal governments in the exercise of their governmental functions. Finally, we have reviewed these regulations under Executive Order 13563, which supplements and explicitly reaffirms the principles, structures, and definitions governing regulatory review established in Executive Order 12866. In accordance with both Executive orders, the Department has assessed the potential costs and benefits of this regulatory action. As this regulatory action is a recodification of existing regulations without substantive change, the potential costs associated with this regulatory action are only those that result from existing statutory requirements and those we have determined as necessary for administering the Department's programs and activities.
The Secretary certifies that this regulatory action will not have a significant adverse impact on a substantial number of small entities. The Secretary makes this certification because the action recodifies existing regulations without substantive change.
This regulatory action will not impose any additional reporting or recordkeeping requirements under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.
In accordance with section 444 of the General Education Provisions Act (GEPA), 20 U.S.C. 1221e-4, when the Department published the notice of proposed rulemaking for the debarment and suspension common rule on January 23, 2002 (67 FR 3272 and 3328), we requested comments on whether those proposed regulations would require transmission of information that any other agency or authority of the United States gathers or makes available.
We did not receive any comments in response to that request and, based on our own review, have determined that these final regulations do not require such a transmission of information.
For the reasons discussed in the preamble, under the authority of 20 U.S.C. 1221e-3 and 3474, the Secretary amends Title 2, subtitle B, and Title 34, parts 77, 85, 668, and 682 of the Code of Federal Regulations as follows:
1. Add Chapter XXXIV, consisting of part 3485, to Subtitle B of Title 2 to read as follows:
3485.137
May the Department grant an exception to let an excluded person participate in a covered transaction?
3485.220
3485.310
3485.315
3485.330
3485.415
3485.437
What method do I use to communicate to a participant the requirements described in § 180.435 of this title?
Subpart E—[Reserved] Subpart F—General Principles Relating to Suspension and Debarment Actions
3485.611
What procedures do we use for a suspension or debarment action involving title IV, HEA transactions?
3485.612
When does an exclusion by another agency affect the ability of the excluded person to participate in a title IV, HEA transaction?
3485.711
When does a suspension affect title IV, HEA transactions?
3485.811
When does a debarment affect title IV, HEA transactions?
3485.937
ED Deciding Official.
3485.952
3485.995
3485.1016
Title IV, HEA participant.
3485.1017
Title IV, HEA program.
3485.1018
Title IV, HEA transaction.
§ 3485.12
(2) The table of contents for this part contains only those sections in part 3485 that include supplements to the guidance in part 180 and new sections needed to implement the guidance for the Department's programs. In those sections of the OMB guidance that are supplemented, the section in part 3485 includes both the text of the OMB guidance that is not affected by the change and any additional paragraphs that need to be added to the OMB guidance. For example, § 180.220 of this title contains only paragraphs (a) and (b). The text of § 3485.220, which supplements § 180.220 to extend lower-tier transactions to certain transactions below the primary tier, includes both the text of paragraph (a) and (b) of § 180.220 and the text of added paragraph (c).
(3) In those sections in part 180 that do not have paragraph designations and that the Department supplements, the section in this part implementing the OMB guidance designates the undesignated paragraph from part 180 as paragraph (a) and the first supplemental paragraph as paragraph (b). For example, 2 CFR 180.330 includes an undesignated lead in paragraph and two subparagraphs designated (a) and (b). In § 3485.330, the undesignated paragraph in 2 CFR 180.330 is designated paragraph (a) and the two subparagraphs are designated paragraphs (1) and (2). The added paragraphs are designated paragraph (b) and (c).
§ 3485.22
(a) A participant or principal in a “covered transaction” (see subpart B of this part and the definition of “nonprocurement transaction” in § 180.970 of this title).
§ 3485.32
The Department's policies and procedures that you must follow are the policies and procedures specified in this part and in Subparts A through I of 2 CFR part 180. The contracts that are covered transactions, for example, are specified in § 3485.220. Section 180.205 of this title does not require supplementation, so it is not included in the table of contents for this part and is not separately stated in this part.
§ 3485.137
§ 3485.220
(1) The contract is awarded by a participant in a nonprocurement transaction that is covered under § 180.210 of this title, and the amount of the contract is expected to equal or exceed $25,000.
§ 3485.310
(b) You may not renew or extend covered transactions (other than no-cost time extensions) with any excluded person, unless another Federal agency responsible for the transaction grants an exception under § 180.135 of this title or ED grants an exception under § 3485.137.
§ 3485.315
(b) You may not begin to use the services of an excluded person as a principal under a covered transaction unless another Federal agency responsible for the transaction grants an exception under § 180.135 of this title or, if ED took the action, an ED deciding official grants an exception under § 3485.137.
§ 3485.330
(b) To communicate the requirements in this part to a participant, you must include a term or condition in the transaction that requires the participant's compliance with part 180, subpart C, of this title, as adopted at § 3485.12, and requires the participant to include a similar term or condition in lower-tier covered transactions.
§ 3485.415
(b) You may not renew or extend covered transactions (other than no-cost time extensions) with any excluded person, or under which an excluded person is a principal, unless you obtain an exception under § 3485.137.
§ 3485.437
To communicate the requirements in this part to a participant, you must include a term or condition in the transaction that requires the participant's compliance with part 180, subpart C, of this title, as adopted at § 3485.12 and requires the participant to include a similar term or condition in lower-tier covered transactions.
§ 3485.611
What procedures do we use for a suspension or debarment action involving a title IV, HEA transaction?
(1) The notification procedures in § 180.715 of this title.
(2) Instead of the procedures in §§ 180.720 through 180.760 of this title, the procedures in 34 CFR part 668, subpart G, or 34 CFR part 682, subpart D or G, as applicable.
(3) In addition to the findings and conclusions required by 34 CFR part 668, subpart G, or 34 CFR part 682, subpart D or G, the suspending official, and, on appeal, the Secretary determines whether there is sufficient cause for suspension as explained in § 180.700 of this title.
(1) The notification procedures in §§ 180.805 and 180.870 of this title.
(2) Instead of the procedures in §§ 180.810 through 180.885 of this title, the procedures in 34 CFR part 668, subpart G, or 34 CFR part 682, subpart D or G, as applicable.
(4) In addition to the findings and conclusions required by 34 CFR part 668, subpart G, or 34 CFR part 682, subpart D or G, the debarring official, and, on appeal, the Secretary determines whether there is sufficient cause for debarment as explained in § 180.800 of this title.
§ 3485.612
(4) We use the procedures in § 3485.611 to exclude a title IV, HEA participant excluded by another Federal agency using procedures that did not meet the standards in paragraph (d) of this section.
§ 3485.711
(a) A suspension under § 3485.611(a) takes effect immediately if the Secretary takes an emergency action under 34 CFR part 668, subpart G, or 34 CFR part 682, subpart D or G, at the same time the Secretary issues the suspension.
(b)(1) Except as provided under paragraph (a) of this section, a suspension under § 3485.611(a) takes effect 20 days after those procedures are complete.
§ 3485.811
(a) A debarment under § 3485.611(b) takes effect 30 days after those procedures are complete.
§ 3485.937
§ 3485.952
§ 3485.995
§ 3485.1016
§ 3485.1017
§ 3485.1018
Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1221e-3, 2831(a), 2974(b), and 3474.
3. Section 77.1(c) is amended by revising the definition of “EDGAR” to read as follows:
5. The authority citation for part 668 continues to read as follows:
6. Section 668.16 is amended by revising paragraph (k) to read as follows:
Standards of administrative capability.
§ 668.82
7. Section 668.82 is amended by:
a. In paragraph (e)(1)(i)(B), removing the words “Cause exists under
b. In paragraph (f)(1) introductory text, removing the words “under procedures described in
c. In paragraph (f)(2)(i) introductory text, removing the words “under procedures described in
d. In paragraph (f)(2)(ii) introductory text, removing the words “under
8. The authority citation for part 682 continues to read as follows:
9. In § 682.200, paragraph (b), the definition of “Lender” is amended by:
a. In paragraph (6)(i), removing the words “(as those terms are defined in
b. In paragraph (6)(ii), removing the words “as defined in
10. Section 682.416(d)(1)(ii)(B) is amended by removing the words “cause under
§ 682.706
11. Section 682.706(b)(7) is amended by removing the words “meet the standards described in
[FR Doc. 2012-7358 Filed 3-27-12; 8:45 am]