§1906 List of Laws Inapplicable to Procurements of Commercial Products and Commercial Services

Summary

Requires the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to have a list of laws that do not apply when the government buys commercial products or services, and a similar list for subcontracts. If a law is on the list, it does not apply to those purchases or subcontracts. If a law is not on the list, it still applies. Laws passed after October 13, 1994 that set rules for buying must go on the list unless the Council writes that it would not be in the government’s best interest to exempt them. Laws that create criminal or civil penalties, or that say they still apply despite this rule, are not put on the list. The rule does not allow waiving laws for a prime contractor who only resells or distributes another company’s commercial products or services without adding value. Council — the body named in section 1301. Subcontract — includes transfers of commercial products or services between a contractor’s divisions, subsidiaries, or affiliates, but does not include bulk commodity supply agreements used across many contracts and not tied to a specific one. Anyone can ask the Administrator to add a law to the list; the Administrator must add it unless the Council decides within 60 days not to.