49 U.S.C. § 5325 : US Code - Section 5325: Contract requirements

Search 49 U.S.C. § 5325 : US Code - Section 5325: Contract requirements

(a) Competition. - Recipients of assistance under this chapter
shall conduct all procurement transactions in a manner that
provides full and open competition as determined by the Secretary.
(b) Architectural, Engineering, and Design Contracts. -
(1) Procedures for awarding contract. - A contract or
requirement for program management, architectural engineering,
construction management, a feasibility study, and preliminary
engineering, design, architectural, engineering, surveying,
mapping, or related services for a project for which Federal
assistance is provided under this chapter shall be awarded in the
same way as a contract for architectural and engineering services
is negotiated under chapter 11 of title 40 or an equivalent
qualifications-based requirement of a State.
(2) Effect of state laws. - Paragraph (1) does not apply to the
extent a State has adopted by law, before the date of enactment
of the Federal Public Transportation Act of 2005, an equivalent
State qualifications-based requirement for contracting for
architectural, engineering, and design services.
(3) Additional requirements. - When awarding a contract
described in paragraph (1), recipients of assistance under this
chapter shall comply with the following requirements:
(A) Performance of audits. - Any contract or subcontract
awarded under this chapter shall be performed and audited in
compliance with cost principles contained in part 31 of title
48, Code of Federal Regulations (commonly known as the Federal
Acquisition Regulation).
(B) Indirect cost rates. - A recipient of funds under a
contract or subcontract awarded under this chapter shall accept
indirect cost rates established in accordance with the Federal
Acquisition Regulation for 1-year applicable accounting periods
by a cognizant Federal or State government agency, if such
rates are not currently under dispute.
(C) Application of rates. - After a firm's indirect cost
rates are accepted under subparagraph (B), the recipient of the
funds shall apply such rates for the purposes of contract
estimation, negotiation, administration, reporting, and
contract payment, and shall not be limited by administrative or
de facto ceilings.
(D) Prenotification; confidentiality of data. - A recipient
requesting or using the cost and rate data described in
subparagraph (C) shall notify any affected firm before such
request or use. Such data shall be confidential and shall not
be accessible or provided by the group of agencies sharing cost
data under this subparagraph, except by written permission of
the audited firm. If prohibited by law, such cost and rate data
shall not be disclosed under any circumstances.
(c) Efficient Procurement. - A recipient may award a procurement
contract under this chapter to other than the lowest bidder if the
award furthers an objective consistent with the purposes of this
chapter, including improved long-term operating efficiency and
lower long-term costs.
(d) Design-Build Projects. -
(1) Term defined. - In this subsection, the term "design-build
project" -
(A) means a project under which a recipient enters into a
contract with a seller, firm, or consortium of firms to design
and build a public transportation system, or an operable
segment of such system, that meets specific performance
criteria; and
(B) may include an option to finance, or operate for a period
of time, the system or segment or any combination of designing,
building, operating, or maintaining such system or segment.
(2) Financial assistance for capital costs. - Federal financial
assistance under this chapter may be provided for the capital
costs of a design-build project after the recipient complies with
Government requirements.
(e) Multiyear Rolling Stock. -
(1) Contracts. - A recipient procuring rolling stock with
Government financial assistance under this chapter may make a
multiyear contract to buy the rolling stock and replacement parts
under which the recipient has an option to buy additional rolling
stock or replacement parts for not more than 5 years after the
date of the original contract.
(2) Cooperation among recipients. - The Secretary shall allow
at least two recipients to act on a cooperative basis to procure
rolling stock in compliance with this subsection and other
Government procurement requirements.
(f) Acquiring Rolling Stock. - A recipient of financial
assistance under this chapter may enter into a contract to expend
that assistance to acquire rolling stock -
(1) based on -
(A) initial capital costs; or
(B) performance, standardization, life cycle costs, and other
factors; or
(2) with a party selected through a competitive procurement
process.
(g) Examination of Records. - Upon request, the Secretary and the
Comptroller General, or any of their representatives, shall have
access to and the right to examine and inspect all records,
documents, and papers, including contracts, related to a project
for which a grant is made under this chapter.
(h) Grant Prohibition. - A grant awarded under this chapter or
the Federal Public Transportation Act of 2005 may not be used to
support a procurement that uses an exclusionary or discriminatory
specification.
(i) Bus Dealer Requirements. - No State law requiring buses to be
purchased through in-State dealers shall apply to vehicles
purchased with a grant under this chapter.
(j) Awards to Responsible Contractors. -
(1) In general. - Federal financial assistance under this
chapter may be provided for contracts only if a recipient awards
such contracts to responsible contractors possessing the ability
to successfully perform under the terms and conditions of a
proposed procurement.
(2) Criteria. - Before making an award to a contractor under
paragraph (1), a recipient shall consider -
(A) the integrity of the contractor;
(B) the contractor's compliance with public policy;
(C) the contractor's past performance, including the
performance reported in the Contractor Performance Assessment
Reports required under section 5309(l)(2); and
(D) the contractor's financial and technical resources.