Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 124.djvu/3820

 124 STAT. 3794 PUBLIC LAW 111–350—JAN. 4, 2011 begins on the date of the determination or decision to which the finding relates. § 4702. Prohibition on release of contractor proposals (a) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘‘proposal’’ means a proposal, including a technical, management, or cost proposal, sub- mitted by a contractor in response to the requirements of a solicita- tion for a competitive proposal. (b) PROHIBITION.—A proposal in the possession or control of an executive agency may not be made available to any person under section 552 of title 5. (c) NONAPPLICATION.—Subsection (b) does not apply to a proposal that is set forth or incorporated by reference in a contract entered into between the agency and the contractor that submitted the proposal. § 4703. Validation of proprietary data restrictions (a) CONTRACT THAT PROVIDES FOR DELIVERY OF TECHNICAL DATA.—A contract for property or services entered into by an execu- tive agency that provides for the delivery of technical data shall provide that— (1) a contractor or subcontractor at any tier shall be prepared to furnish to the contracting officer a written justification for any restriction the contractor or subcontractor asserts on the right of the Federal Government to use the data; and (2) the contracting officer may review the validity of a restric- tion the contractor or subcontractor asserts under the contract on the right of the Federal Government to use technical data furnished to the Federal Government under the contract if the contracting officer determines that reasonable grounds exist to question the current validity of the asserted restriction and that the continued adherence to the asserted restriction by the Federal Government would make it impracticable to procure the item competitively at a later time. (b) CHALLENGE OF RESTRICTION.—If after a review the contracting officer determines that a challenge to the asserted restriction is warranted, the contracting officer shall provide written notice to the contractor or subcontractor asserting the restriction. The notice shall state— (1) the grounds for challenging the asserted restriction; and (2) the requirement for a response within 60 days justifying the current validity of the asserted restriction. (c) ADDITIONAL TIME FOR RESPONSES.—If a contractor or subcon- tractor asserting a restriction subject to this section submits to the contracting officer a written request showing the need for addi- tional time to comply with the requirement to justify the current validity of the asserted restriction, the contracting officer shall provide appropriate additional time to adequately permit the jus- tification to be submitted. (d) MULTIPLE CHALLENGES.—If a party asserting a restriction receives notices of challenges to restrictions on technical data from more than one contracting officer, and notifies each contracting officer of the existence of more than one challenge, the contracting officer initiating the earliest challenge, after consultation with the party asserting the restriction and the other contracting officers, shall formulate a schedule of responses to each of the challenges that will afford the party asserting the restriction with an equitable opportunity to respond to each challenge.