§1707 Publication of Proposed Regulations

Summary

Agencies must publish proposed procurement rules, procedures, or forms in the Federal Register and give the public time to comment. If the rule uses appropriated money and either affects more than the agency’s internal processes or has a big cost or paperwork impact on contractors, it cannot take effect until 60 days after it is published. The public comment period must be at least 30 days. The notice must include the full text or a summary and list who to contact for the full text and where to send comments. A rule can start sooner only for compelling reasons, but not less than 30 days after publication. If urgent conditions make the usual steps impractical, the official who issues the rule can waive the normal wait. In that case the rule can be published as temporary, the notice must say it is temporary and open a 30-day comment period starting on publication, and after reviewing comments the agency head may issue a final rule.