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H.R. 1209: Fair and Open Competition Act of 2023

This bill, known as the Fair and Open Competition Act of 2023, aims to ensure fair competition and neutrality regarding labor relations in federal construction projects. Below are the main components of the bill:

Objectives

Promote Open Competition: Encourage unbiased competition for federal and federally funded construction projects.
Neutrality in Labor Relations: Maintain the federal government’s impartial stance concerning labor union agreements for contractors on these projects.
Cost Reduction: Decrease construction expenses for the federal government and taxpayers.
Job Opportunities: Expand employment possibilities, particularly for small and underrepresented businesses.
Non-discriminatory Practices: Ensure that contractors and their employees are not discriminated against based on their labor affiliations, facilitating efficient project administration.

Key Provisions

The bill prohibits federal agencies from:

Requiring or forbidding bidders or contractors from engaging in labor organization agreements for the projects.
Discriminating against or providing preferential treatment to bidders or contractors based on their agreement or refusal to adhere to labor organization contracts.

Implementation Details

This prohibition applies to contracts awarded after the enactment of the bill, including any subcontracts.
Federal Acquisition Regulations must be updated within 60 days of the bill's enactment to reflect these provisions.

Requirements for Grant Recipients

For federal agencies providing grants or financial assistance for construction:

They must ensure that similar prohibitions against labor agreements are included in the bid specifications or project agreements.
A construction manager acting on behalf of grant recipients must also adhere to these stipulations.

Enforcement and Compliance

If an agency or grant recipient fails to comply with the mandates, the head of the relevant agency will take appropriate actions, following legal guidelines.

Exemptions

The head of an executive agency may exempt certain contracts or projects from these requirements if deemed necessary to address a public health/safety issue or national security need.
Exemptions cannot be based on the existence of labor disputes with contractors who do not have agreements with labor organizations.

Definitions

The bill includes specific definitions, such as:

Construction Contract: Contracts related to the construction, rehabilitation, or improvement of buildings and infrastructure.
Executive Agency: Refers to federal agencies excluding the Government Accountability Office.
Labor Organization: Defined as per civil rights law regarding labor relations.

Relevant Companies

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This is an AI-generated summary of the bill text. There may be mistakes.

Actions

6 actions

Date	Action
Dec. 18, 2024	Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 734.
Dec. 18, 2024	Reported (Amended) by the Committee on Oversight and Accountability. H. Rept. 118-899.
Jul. 12, 2023	Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held
Jul. 12, 2023	Ordered to be Reported in the Nature of a Substitute (Amended) by the Yeas and Nays: 22 - 20.
Feb. 27, 2023	Introduced in House
Feb. 27, 2023	Referred to the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability.

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