50.205-1 SAFETY Act Considerations
Source: FAR 50.205-1 on acquisition.gov
Contracting officials must proactively assess and address SAFETY Act protections for anti-terrorism technologies early in the acquisition process, coordinating with DHS and informing offerors as required.
Overview
FAR 50.205-1 outlines procedures for considering SAFETY Act protections in federal acquisitions involving technologies that may prevent, detect, or mitigate acts of terrorism. It requires acquisition officials to review requirements for potential SAFETY Act applicability, consult with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) when necessary, and determine if block designations or certifications exist for the technology. If such designations exist, offerors must be notified; if not, further steps are required per FAR 50.205-2. The regulation emphasizes early consideration of SAFETY Act issues in the acquisition cycle and encourages including these considerations in industry outreach. It also clarifies that the government is not subject to reciprocal waiver of claims under 6 CFR 25.5(e).
(a) SAFETY Act applicability. Requiring activities should review requirements to identify potential technologies that prevent, detect, identify, or deter acts of terrorism or limit the harm such acts might cause, and may be appropriate for SAFETY Act protections. In questionable cases, the agency shall consult with DHS. For acquisitions involving such technologies, the requiring activity should ascertain through discussions with DHS whether a block designation or block certification exists for the technology being acquired.
(1) If one does exist, the requiring activity should request that the contracting officer notify offerors.
(2) If one does not exist, see 50.205-2, Pre-qualification designation notice.
(b) Early consideration of the SAFETY Act. Acquisition officials shall consider SAFETY Act issues as early in the acquisition cycle as possible (see 7.105(b)(20)(v)). Normally, this would be at the point where the required capabilities or performance characteristics are addressed. This is important because the processing times for issuing determinations on all types of SAFETY Act applications vary depending on many factors, including the influx of applications to DHS and the technical complexity of individual applications.
(c) Industry outreach. When applicable, acquisition officials should include SAFETY Act considerations in all industry outreach efforts including, but not limited to, requests for information, draft requests for proposal, and industry conferences.
(d) Reciprocal waiver of claims. For purposes of 6 CFR 25.5(e), the Government is not a customer from which a contractor must request a reciprocal waiver of claims.