Summary of Changes from Version 3.1 Contracting Handbook

Changed “June 2010” to “July 2011”

Changed “3.1” to “3.2.”

Under “A. (1), “Earned Value Training Requirement for Contracting Officers/Contract Specialists,” inserted “EVM” between “refresher” and “course” in the fourth sentence.

Under “A. (2), “Performance-Based Acquisition,” changed second sentence to “After completing the initial course, refresher training in PBA is required every four (4) years.”  inserted “the basic and refresher courses” between “eligible”  and “must” in the third sentence; inserted “each”  between “must” and “be,” and inserted “six (6)” between “be” and “hours” in the same sentence.

Under “A.(3), “Federal Appropriations Law Training,” changed “January 1, 2011,” to “January 1, 2012,” and inserted “a” between “complete” and “classroom-based” in the first sentence, and inserted “or” between “based” and “on-line” in the same sentence.  Changed “June 30, 2011,” to June 30, 2012,” in the first sentence.  Inserted new sentences, “To be eligible, the basic and refresher courses must each be 16 hours or more in length.  After completing the initial course, refresher training in Federal appropriations law is required every two (2) years.”

Inserted “suitability” between “course” and “shall” in the first full sentence on the top of the page.  Inserted the following sentence at the end of the paragraph:  “(NOTE:  Individuals who completed the appropriations law training (on or about June 30, 2011) required by the Secretary’s October 19, 2010, memorandum to OPDIV/STAFFDIV Heads, will need to take refresher training within two (2) years of the date they completed such training (e.g., if an individual completed it in April 2011, he or she would need to take refresher training by April 2013).”

Under “A.(4), “Green Purchasing Training,” revised the second sentence to begin, “After completing the initial course, two (2) hours of refresher training is required every two (2) years.”

Under “C. (4) and (5), “HHS Simplified Acquisition Certificate

(SAC-A), and HHS Simplified Acquisition Certificate B (SAC-B) deleted previous language and inserted new language as follows:

(4) HHS Simplified Acquisition Certificate A (SAC-A)

This certification level is sufficient for:

• Delegation of Contracting Officer authority up to and including $25,000 per Open Market transaction.
  
  
• Delegation of Contracting Officer authority to place Delivery Orders for supply-type products/items only (no services/task orders) against pre-negotiated instruments (e.g., FSS, GWACs, IDIQ and BPAs), up to the limits stated within the vehicle used or $500,000, whichever is less.
  
  
• Delegation of Contracting Officer authority to place task orders for services against the pre-negotiated instruments above, up to $25,000.
  
  

(5) HHS Simplified Acquisition Certificate B (SAC-B)

This certificate is sufficient for:

• Delegation of Contracting Officer authority to acquire supply-type products/items up to and including $25,000 per Open Market transaction.
  
  
• Delegation of Contracting Officer authority to acquire services up to and including the simplified acquisition threshold ($150,000) per Open Market transaction or pre-negotiated instrument.
  
  
• Delegation of Contracting Officer authority to place Delivery Orders for supply-type products/items only (no services/task orders) against pre-negotiated instruments (e.g., FSS, GWACs, IDIQs, and BPAs) up to the limits stated within the vehicle used or $500,000, whichever is less.