Department of the Treasury, Bureau of the Public Debt (BPD), Procurement Office, 200 Third Street, Room 207, Parkersburg, WV, 26101

R -- REGULATORY ASSESSMENT SOL RFQ00-003 DUE 021800 POC Becky Thompson, Contract Specialist, Phone (304) 480-5260, Fax (304) 480-5271, Email franchiseprocurement@bpd.treas.gov -- Tim Wilson, Contract Specialist, Phone (304) 480-5261, Fax (304) 480-5271, Email WEB: Visit this URL for the latest information about this, http://www.eps.gov/cgi-bin/WebObjects/EPS?ACode=M&ProjID=RFQ00-003&Loc ID=1743. E-MAIL: Becky Thompson, franchiseprocurement@bpd.treas.gov. The Bureau of 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 follows. The Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board requires the services of a contractor to prepare economic and regulatory flexibility assessments as follows. Economic and Regulatory Assessments of the Rules Federal agencies are required to prepare the following economic and regulatory flexibility assessments when issuing proposed and final rules. a) Executive Order 12866 -- Agencies must prepare an economic assessment of the potential benefits and costs of a rule if the rule is a significant regulatory action. A more extensive benefit-cost analysis is required if a rule is considered _economically significant,_ as defined by one or more characteristics, such as an annual effect on the economy of $100 million or more or significant effects on productivity, competition, jobs, the environment, or public safety. Agencies must submit the rule and economic assessment to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). In January 2000, OMB plans to issue guidelines for agencies to standardize measures of costs and benefits and the format for accounting statements in preparing economic assessments of rules. The economic assessments must be prepared in accordance with the OMB guidelines. 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. If an agency determines that a rule will not have a significant economic impact on a significant number of small entities, the agency must prepare a statement providing a factual basis for the determination. The analysis, or a summary of the analysis, must be published with the rule in the Federal Register. The agency must also submit a copy of the analysis to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the Small Business Administration. Agency compliance with the Regulatory Flexibility Act requirements is subject to judicial review. The Unfunded Mandates Reform Act also requires agencies to prepare a benefit-cost analysis and additional assessments of rules with Federal mandates that 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 American with Disabilities Act, Architectural Barriers Act, and Rehabilitation Act are covered by the exemption. Board Rules-The Board has established advisory committees to recommend proposed accessibility guidelines in the following areas: a)Passenger Vessel Accessibility Guidelines -- The Board established a Passenger Vessel Access Advisory Committee (PVAAC) in August 1998 to recommend proposed accessibility guidelines for newly constructed and altered passenger vessels covered by the Americans with Disabilities Act. The PVAAC has met five times and future meetings are scheduled for February 9-11, April 26-28, and September 20-22, 2000. The PVAAC will present its report to the Board on November 17-18, 2000. b)Public Rights-of-Way Accessibility Guidelines -- The Board established a Public Rights-of-Way Access Advisory Committee (PROWAAC) in November 1999 to recommend proposed accessibility guidelines for newly constructed and altered sidewalks, street crossings, and related pedestrian facilities in the public right-of-way covered by the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Architectural Barriers Act. The PROWAAC has met once and future meeting are scheduled for February 9-11, May 18-19, August 17-18, and October 18-20, 2000. The PROWAAC will present its report to the Board on January 8, 2001.General Approach-The Board intends to fully utilize the PVAAC and PROWAAC in developing data for the economic and regulatory flexibility assessments of the proposed rules. The PVAAC and PROWAAC include designers, owners, and operators of passenger vessels and pedestrian facilities affected by the rules, as well as industry associations, who can provide relevant data for the economic and regulatory flexibility assessments. The contractor will be provided copies of the minutes of the PVAAC and PROWAAC meetings, drafts of proposed accessibility guidelines recommended by the PVAAC and PROWAAC, and other background information. The contractor will use the following general approach for each rule: a) Conceptual Outline -- The contractor will prepare a conceptual outline identifying data needs, analytical methods, and organizational framework for the economic and regulatory flexibility assessments. b) Collect and Analyze Data -- The contractor will collect and analyze data from the PVAAC, PROWAAC, and other appropriate sources. The contractor will obtain data from members of the PVAAC and PROWAAC primarily through electronic mail and telephone contacts. It is not necessary for the contractor to attend PVAAC and PROWAAC meetings for data collection purposes. c) Summarize Data Analyses in Tabular Format -- The contractor will summarize its data analyses in tabular format with a statement of key assumptions for review by the Board and the PVAAC and PROWAAC, and revise the data analyses as necessary based on their comments. The data analyses will be reviewed initially be the PVAAC and PROWAAC members who provided the data, and then by the entire PVAAC and PROWAAC, with necessary revisions made after each review. Depending on the comments received, a meeting may be scheduled with the contractor and the PVAAC or PROWAAC to discuss the data analyses. d) Prepare Report Containing Economic and Regulatory Flexibility Assessments -- After the PVAAC and PROWAAC present their reports to the Board and the Board drafts a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM), the contractor will make any adjustments to the data analyses necessary as a result of the Board_s action and prepare reports containing the economic and regulatory flexibility assessments for review by the Board, and revise the reports as necessary based on the Board_s comments. Schedules-The contractor will provide deliverables in an electronic format according to the following schedules: Deliverables Passenger Vessels Accessibility Guidelines Public Rights-of-Way Accessibility Guidelines Conceptual Outline March 31, 2000 April 30, 2000 Tabular Summaries of Data Analyses August 2, 2000 September 1, 2000 Reports Containing Economic and Regulatory Flexibility Assessments 45 days from receipt of draft NPRM from Board 45 days from receipt of draft NPRM from Board The Board and the contractor will mutually agree on dates for receiving comments on deliverables and making necessary revisions to deliverables based on the comments. 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 02/16/00 (D-SN425939). (0047)

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