Revised Form FHWA-1273 Publication: Federal Register Agency: Federal Highway Administration Byline: Shailen P. Bhatt Date: 29 September 2023 Subjects: American Government , Roads & Highways

[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 188 (Friday, September 29, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Page 67424]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-21306]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Highway Administration


Revised Form FHWA-1273

AGENCY: Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), Department of 
Transportation (DOT).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: This notice announces the availability of revised Form FHWA-
1273 ``Required Contract Provisions Federal-Aid Construction 
Contracts'' (FHWA-1273). This form includes certain contract provisions 
that are required on all Federal-aid construction contracts. This form 
also includes proposal notices that Federal-aid recipients must 
incorporate or reference in all solicitation-for-bids or request-for-
proposals documents for Federal-aid construction projects. The changes 
to the form are those necessary to conform to the U.S. Department of 
Labor's (DOL) August 23, 2023, final rule amending the Davis-Bacon Act 
(DBA) and the Davis-Bacon Related Acts (DBRA) implementing regulations 
and are aligned with the effective date of those regulations.

DATES: The revised Form FHWA-1273 is effective October 23, 2023.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. James DeSanto, Office of 
Preconstruction, Construction and Pavements, (614) 357-8515, 
james.desanto@dot.gov or Mr. Silvio J. Morales, Office of Chief 
Counsel, (443) 835-8344, silvio.morales@dot.gov, Federal Highway 
Administration, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590. Office 
hours are from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., EST, Monday through Friday, 
except Federal holidays.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On March 18, 2022, the DOL published a 
notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM), 87 FR 15698, proposing to update 
and modernize the regulations at 29 CFR parts 1, 3, and 5, which 
implement the DBA and the DBRA. The DBA requires the payment of locally 
prevailing wages and fringe benefits on Federal contracts for 
construction. The DBA prevailing wage requirements were subsequently 
incorporated into Title 23 of the United States Code (U.S.C.) and are 
thus applicable to Federal-aid highway construction contracts. 23 
U.S.C. 113. In compliance with the latter FHWA requires that all 
Federal-aid highway construction contracts physically incorporate the 
DBA prevailing wage requirements via FHWA-1273. See 23 CFR 633.102.
    After considering public comments on the NPRM, the DOL on August 
23, 2023, published a final rule notice in the Federal Register at 88 
FR 57526, adopting, with some modifications, the NPRM's proposed 
changes to the DBA prevailing wage regulations at 29 CFR parts 1, 3, 
and 5. The modifications to the required contract provisions contained 
in 29 CFR 5.5 are applicable to the DBA prevailing wage requirements 
within FHWA-1273. Pursuant to 23 CFR 633.104(a), FHWA has updated Form 
FHWA-1273 to be consistent with the new regulatory requirements. As 
such, and in accordance with 23 CFR part 633, subpart A, the revised 
Form FHWA-1273, which can be found at https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/programadmin/contracts/1273/1273.pdf, must be used by recipients and 
contractors, including subcontractors at all tiers, as applicable under 
the regulations. As specified in DOL's final rule, the new regulations 
are applicable to all contracts awarded on or after October 23, 2023. 
Accordingly, States and other contracting agencies must use the revised 
Form FHWA-1273 in all prime construction contracts for Federal-aid 
construction projects awarded on or after October 23, 2023, as well as 
all subcontracts, including lower-tier subcontracts, that are awarded 
under such prime contracts.
    Authority: 23 U.S.C. 113; 23 CFR 633.104; 29 CFR 5.5.

Shailen P. Bhatt,
Administrator, Federal Highway Administration.
[FR Doc. 2023-21306 Filed 9-28-23; 8:45 am]
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