[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 158 (Friday, August 15, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 48961-48962]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-20939]
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OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET
Performance of Commercial Activities
AGENCY: Office of Management and Budget, Executive Office of the
President.
ACTION: Technical correction to Office of Management and Budget
Circular No. A-76, ``Performance of Commercial Activities.''
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SUMMARY: The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is making a
technical correction to the coverage in Attachment A of Circular No. A-
76 addressing the submission of a challenge to an agency's inventory of
its commercial and inherently governmental activities. The technical
correction is intended to clarify that an interested party may
challenge the inclusion or exclusion of an activity in an inventory,
including the classification or reclassification of an activity. This
action makes no other changes to the revised Circular.
DATES: Effective Date: This technical correction to Circular A-76 is
effective August 15, 2003.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mathew Blum, Office of Federal
Procurement Policy, NEOB Room 9013, Office of Management and Budget,
725 17th Street, NW., Washington, DC 20503 (tel: (202) 395-4953).
Availability: Copies of OMB Circular A-76, as revised by this
notice, may be obtained at the OMB home page at http://www.whitehouse.gov/OMB/circulars/index.html#numerical. Paper copies of
the Circular may be obtained by calling OFPP (tel: (202) 395-7579).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Federal Activities Inventory Reform
(FAIR) Act of 1998, Public Law 105-270 (31 U.S.C. 501 note) requires
executive agencies to prepare annual inventories of activities
performed by their employees that, in the judgment of the head of the
agency, are not inherently governmental. Under section 3 of the FAIR
Act, an interested party may submit to an executive agency a challenge
of an omission of a particular activity from, or an inclusion of a
particular activity on, an agency's inventory. Consistent with section
3, the version of Circular A-76 that was in effect prior to May 29,
2003 authorized an interested party to submit a challenge to the
inclusion or exclusion of an activity from the agency's inventory.
On May 29, 2003, OMB issued revisions to Circular No. A-76. See 68
FR 32134 (preamble); http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/circulars/a076/a76
rev2003.pdf (text of Circular). Attachment A to the Circular provides
guidance regarding agencies' responsibility to prepare annual
inventories that categorize all activities performed by their
government personnel as either commercial or inherently governmental.
Paragraph D describes the processes that agencies must make available
to interested parties for challenging agency inventories of commercial
or inherently governmental activities. Paragraph D.2. of the May 29th
revision states, among other things, that an inventory challenge shall
be limited to ``(a) the reclassification of an activity as inherently
governmental or commercial, or (b) the application of reason codes.''
As OMB explained in the Federal Register notice announcing the
revisions to the Circular, the purpose of this change was to authorize
challenges (that had not previously been permitted) to an agency's
application of reason codes to commercial activities performed by the
government. 68 FR 32134, 32137-38 (May 29, 2003). OMB did not intend to
restrict the availability of challenges to an agency's classification
of an activity as inherently governmental or commercial.
The use of the term ``reclassification'' in clause (a) of paragraph
D.2. has created confusion in that it suggests that an interested party
may not challenge an agency's determination that an activity is
commercial or inherently governmental unless the determination has
changed from prior years. Notwithstanding the wording of clause (a),
OMB did not intend to impose such a limitation. Instead, OMB intended
to continue to provide that interested parties may submit challenges to
an activity's classification as commercial or as inherently
governmental, and such challenges would include the reasons for the
interested party's belief that an activity which the agency classified
as ``commercial'' should be reclassified as inherently governmental or
that an activity which the agency classified as ``inherently
governmental'' should be reclassified as commercial (see 64 FR 33927,
33930 (Appendix 2, Paragraph G.3) (June 24, 1999).
By this notice, OMB is issuing a technical correction to clause (a)
of Paragraph D.2. to avoid confusion and ensure the Circular's intent
is clear regarding the ability of interested parties to file challenges
to any classification of an activity as inherently governmental or
commercial. This technical correction is intended to make clear that
interested parties may challenge the inclusion or exclusion of an
activity on the inventory, regardless of whether the activity's
classification as commercial or inherently governmental has changed
from the prior year or has remained the same.
OMB believes that any confusion that may have been caused by clause
(a) of paragraph D.2, as published on May 29th, should have no impact
on interested parties in light of this correction. The time period for
interested parties to file challenges to the 2002 inventories expired
prior to the issuance of the May 29th revision and the time period for
filing challenges to the 2003 inventories has not yet commenced (as the
draft 2003 inventories have only been recently submitted to OMB for
review).
This technical correction notice makes no other changes to
Paragraph D.2 (or any other part of the Circular). Accordingly,
interested parties may challenge the application of reason codes, as
provided by the May 29th revision to the Circular, but they may not
challenge the application of function codes.
Joshua B. Bolten,
Director.
Memorandum for the Heads of Executive Departments and Agencies
From: Joshua B. Bolten, Director.
Subject: Technical Correction to OMB Circular No. A-76, ``Performance
of Commercial Activities.''
This memorandum is intended to advise you of a technical correction
to paragraph D.2. of Attachment A of
[[Page 48962]]
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circular No. A-76. This provision
addresses the submission of challenges by interested parties to
inventories of the commercial and inherently governmental activities
performed by agency personnel.
Paragraph D.2. of Attachment A states, among other things, that an
inventory challenge shall be limited to ``(a) the reclassification of
an activity as inherently governmental or commercial, or (b) the
application of reason codes.'' With respect to clause (a), OMB intends
to permit interested parties to challenge the inclusion of an activity
on, or exclusion of an activity from, an agency inventory, regardless
of whether the activity's classification as commercial or inherently
governmental has changed from the prior year or has remained the same.
Accordingly, as was the case under the Circular in effect prior to the
May 29th revisions, challenges may address classifications or
reclassifications of activities as either commercial or inherently
governmental.
The attached technical correction to Paragraph D.2. is meant to
avoid confusion and ensure OMB's intent is clear regarding the ability
of an interested party to challenge the inclusion or exclusion of an
activity. No other changes are made to Paragraph D.2 by this
memorandum.
Questions regarding this technical clarification may be addressed
to Mathew Blum of the Office of Federal Procurement Policy at (202)
395-4953.
Technical Correction to OMB Circular No. A-76 (Revised, May 29, 2003)
1. Paragraph D.2. of Attachment A to Circular No. A-76 is revised
to read as follows:
2. Submission of an Inventory Challenge. After publication of
OMB's Federal Register notice stating that an agency's inventories
are available, an interested party shall have 30 working days to
submit a written inventory challenge. The inventory challenge shall
be limited to (a) the classification of an activity as inherently
governmental or commercial, or (b) the application of reason codes.
Function codes shall not be subject to the inventory challenge
process. A written inventory challenge shall be submitted to agency
inventory challenge authorities and shall specify the agency, agency
component, agency organization, function(s), and location(s) for the
activities being challenged.
[FR Doc. 03-20939 Filed 8-14-03; 8:45 am]
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