Department of the Treasury, Bureau of the Public Debt, Franchise Services, P.O. Box 605, Parkersburg, WV 26106-0605

R -- REGULATORY ASSESSMENT REPORTING SERVICES POC Point of Contact, Rebecca Thompson, 304/480-5260, Contracting Officer, Timothy Wilson WEB: Department of the Treasury, Bureau of the Public Debt,, http://www.publicdebt.treas.gov/oa/oaprocr.htm. E-MAIL: Department of the Treasury, Bureau of the Public Debt,, FranchiseProcurement@bpd.treas.gov. The Bureau of the Public Debt, Access Board, intends to acquire through commercial item acquisition, on a sole source basis economic analyses and assessments from EOP Foundation Inc. as described in section II for proposed and final Board rules described in section III. Section II: Federal agencies are required to prepare the following economic analyses and assessments when issuing proposed and final rules: a)Executive Order 12866 -- Agencies must prepare an assessment of the potential benefits and costs of a rule if the rule is a significant regulatory action. For the past three years, Congress has required OMB to prepare an annual report on the costs and benefits of federal rules. In the reports, OMB has recommended that agencies improve the quality of the required assessment. b)Regulatory Flexibility Act -- Agencies must prepare a regulatory flexibility analysis describing the impact of the rule on small entities subject to the rule and significant alternatives which minimize any significant economic impact of the rule on small entities. Agency compliance with the Regulatory Flexibility Act requirements is subject to judicial review. c)Paperwork Reduction Act -- Agencies must establish a process to evaluate any proposed collection of information. Agencies must obtain approval from OMB for a proposed collection of information by submitting OMB Form 83-1 and a Supporting Statement. The Unfunded Mandates Reform Act also requires agencies to prepare a benefit-cost analysis and additional assessments of rules with Federal mandates which result in expenditures in excess of $100 million per year by state, local, and tribal governments, or the private sector. However, rules that enforce constitutional rights of individuals, or establish or enforce statutory rights that prohibit discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, handicap, or disability are exempt from the requirement. Board rules issued under the Americans with Disabilities Act, Architectural Barriers Act, and Rehabilitation Act are covered by the exemption. Economic analyses and assessments of a proposed rule and a proposed collection of information are subject to public comment when published in the Federal Register. Agencies must consider the public comments when preparing economic analyses and assessments for final rules. Agencies must submit final rules and supporting economic analyses and assessments to Congress and the General Accounting Office. Section III:The Board is working on the following rules: a)Electronic and Information Technology Accessibility Standards -- This rule is a top priority of the Board. There is a statutory deadline for issuing the final rule by February 7, 2000. An advisory committee is scheduled to present a report on recommended standards to the Board on May 12, 1999, and the Board is scheduled to approve a proposed rule on July 14, 1999. The Board's goal is to publish the proposed rule in the Federal Register by August 6, 1999. The proposed rule will require information to beavailable in alternate formats, which will trigger Paperwork Reduction Act requirements. Small entities will not be subject to the rule. b)Revision of Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Architectural Barriers Act (ABA) Accessibility Guidelines -- The Board approved a proposed rule on March 10, 1999. A subject matter expert is developing cost data for the proposed rule. The data will be available in June 1999. The Board's goal is to submit the proposed rule to OMB in July 1999. c)Play Areas Accessibility Guidelines -- The Board published a proposed rule on April 30, 1998. A subject matter expert and Board staff have developed additional cost and other data for the final rule. The Board is scheduled to vote on a final rule on September 15, 1999. The Board's goal is to submit the final rule to OMB in September 1999. d)Outdoor Developed Areas Accessibility Guidelines -- A regulatory negotiation committee is scheduled to report a proposed rule to the Board on July 14, 1999. A subject matter expertis developing cost data for the proposed rule. The data will be available in July 1999. The Board's goal is to submit the proposed rule to OMB in September 1999. e)Recreation Facilities Accessibility Guidelines -- The proposed rule was submitted to OMB on February 27, 1999. The proposed rule is expected to be published in June 1999, and there will be a 90-day public comment period. Additional cost data needs to be developed for the final rule. A schedule for the final rule will be developed after the public comment period ends. f)Passenger Vessel Accessibility Guidelines -- An advisory committee was convened in September 1998 to make recommendations to the Board for a proposed rule. The advisory committee is scheduled to complete its work in March 2000. The contractor shall perform the following tasks: a)Develop methodologies for improving the quality of economic analyses and assessments of Board rules. The contractor will meet with Board staff within15 days after award date of contract to present initial recommendations for improving methodologies. This task will be ongoing throughout the contract. b)Develop plan for preparing economic analyses and assessments required by Executive Order 12866 and Paperwork Reduction Act for proposed and final rules on electronic and information technology accessibility standards within 15 days after award date of contract. The plan will be consistent with the Board's goals as specified in section III and the statutory deadline of February 7, 2000 for issuing the final rule. Upon approval of the plan, the contractor will be responsible for preparing the economic analyses and assessments in accordance with the plan, including OMB Form 83-1 and a Supporting Statement for the Paperwork Reduction Act. c)Evaluate cost data developed for proposed rule on revision of ADA/ABA accessibility guidelines and prepare economic analyses and assessments required by Executive Order 12866 and Regulatory Flexibility Act for the proposed rule within 30 days after the subject matter expert submits the cost data. d)Review economic analyses and assessments for proposed rule on play areas accessibility guidelines, evaluate additional data developed for the final rule, and prepare economic analyses and assessments required by Executive Order 12866 and Regulatory Flexibility Act for the final rule by September 30, 1999. e) Evaluate cost data developed for proposed rule on outdoor developed areas accessibility guidelines and prepare economic analyses and assessments required by Executive Order 12866 and Regulatory Flexibility Act for the proposed rule within 60 days after subject matter expert submits the cost data. f) Develop plans for preparing economic analyses and assessments for final rule on recreation facilities accessibility guidelines, and for proposed rule on passenger vessels accessibility guidelines, including collection of cost data, by May 28, 1999. All affirmative responses must be in writing and must be accompanied by sufficient documentation to clearly show ability to comply with all the above requirements. If no affirmative written response is received within 10 days, to the effect that comparable services are available, and that it is more advantageous to the Government than obtaining these services through the proposed contractor, a sole-source award will be made. NO SOLICITATION DOCUMENT IS AVAILABLE. See Note 1. Posted 04/13/99 (W-SN318567). (0103)

Loren Data Corp. http://www.ld.com (SYN# 0150 19990415\R-0017.SOL)