Grants and Cooperative Agreements with State and Local Governments
AGENCY:Office of Management and Budget
ACTION: Final Revisions to OMB Circular A-102
SUMMARY: The Office of Management and Budget is revising Circular A-102 to include references to the requirements in three executive orders and four statutory provisions issued or enacted since the last issuance of the Circular in March 1988. The revisions relate to: use of the metric system of measurement, cash management, infrastructure investment, purchase of recycled products, and disclosure of the Federal contribution in procurement of goods and services.
DATE: The revisions to the Circular are effective immediately.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Thomas Cocozza, Financial Standards and Reporting Branch, Office of Federal Financial Management, Office of Management and Budget, (202) 395-3993.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
A. Background
On August 5, 1992, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) published a notice in the Federal Register (57 FR 34599) requesting comments on proposed revisions to OMB Circular A-102, "Grants and Cooperative Agreements with State and Local Governments." The proposed revisions referenced three statutory provisions and an executive order. These relate to: (a) a requirement that encourages recipients of federally-funded grants and cooperative agreements to use the metric system of measurement in their assistance programs; (b) a reference to the Department of the Treasury's regulations to implement the Cash Management Improvement Act of 1990; (c) a requirement that State and local governments comply with section 6002 of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), as amended; and (d) a requirement that Federal agencies comply with Executive Order 12803, "Infrastructure Privatization."
Interested parties were invited to submit comments on the revisions by October 5, 1992. Federal agencies submitted two comments.
B. Comments and Responses
Comment: One commenter said, in accordance with Section 6002(a) of RCRA, procurement items under $10,000 are not covered. The commenter recommended that the $10,000 ceiling be noted in the Circular. The same commenter said that RCRA provides that "each procuring agency shall procure items ... consistent with maintaining a satisfactory level of competition."
Response: The substance of these provisions in Section 6002 are included in the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) guidelines found at 40 C.F.R. [[section]][[section]] 247-253. Since EPA's guidelines are referenced in paragraph 2.h. of the Circular, it is not necessary to make a specific reference in the Circular to the particular provisions within Section 6002.
Comment: One commenter recommended that OMB add language to the Circular which states that the Metric Conversion Act requires each Federal agency to establish a date(s) when the metric system of measurement will be used in that agency's procurement, grants and other business-related activities.
Response: OMB has added language which cites to the requirement for each agency to establish dates showing when the metric system of measurement will be used. This paragraph was also expanded to explain procedures for obtaining exceptions from metric usage.
C. Additional Changes
In addition to revising the Circular to add references to the statutory provisions and executive orders described in the August 1992 Notice, OMB is also revising the Circular to add references to another statutory provision and to two other executive orders. OMB is not requesting additional comment on these changes before finalization because they merely reference new requirements without elaboration.
In Section 623 of the Treasury, Postal Service, and General Government Appropriations Act for fiscal year 1993, Congress provided that grantees must specify, in any announcement of the awarding of contracts with an aggregate value of $500,000 or more, the amount of Federal funds that will be used to finance the acquisitions. In the following year, Congress reenacted this provision (see Section 621 of the fiscal year 1994 Appropriations Act). Congress is likely to reenact this provision for fiscal year 1995 and for subsequent fiscal years. Accordingly, a paragraph has been added to this Circular that references this requirement.
In January 1994, the President issued Executive Order No. 12893 ("Principles for Federal Infrastructure Investment"). A reference to this Executive Order, and to OMB's guidance for implementing it, has been included in the paragraph that references Executive Order No. 12803 ("Infrastructure Privatization").
Finally, in the proposed paragraph that would reference the Metric Conversion Act of 1975, a reference should have also been made to Executive Order No. 12770 ("Metric Usage in Federal Government Programs"). A reference to the Executive Order has been included in this paragraph.
Locations of the added (or amended) paragraphs and the citations for the four statutory provisions and three executive orders are as follows:
Darrell A. Johnson
Deputy Assistant Director for Administration