Contract appeals boards merge into one

Eight agencies’ contract appeals boards were combined into a single organization in January, and an interim rule issued today outlines the new board’s governing rules.The Civilian Board of Contract Appeals eliminates similar groups at the General Services Administration and the departments of Agriculture, Energy, Housing and Urban Development, Interior, Labor, Transportation, and Veterans Affairs. Cases at those agencies have been transferred to the new board for consideration, according to the July 5 issue of the Federal Register.Congress mandated creation of the new board in the fiscal 2006 National Defense Authorization Act, and the board was officially established Jan. 6. It will hear and decide contract disputes between government contractors and agencies.The Federal Register notice lists the interim rules that the new board will use to govern. It based its rules of procedure on the previous boards’ rules because they all had the same general intent, despite differences in wording, according to the notice.The board intends to issue final, revised rules after considering all comments on the interim rules. The comment period ends Sept. 28.