MINUTES OF MEETING
September 10, 2001

MEMORANDUM

                        The E-commerce Committee met on Monday, September 10, 2001 at the offices of Holland & Knight, McLean, Virginia. The list of those attending in person and by telephone is attached hereto. Following is a summary of items discussed.

A.             Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act

                        Chris Yukins provided various materials and a summary of recent efforts by the Section 508 governing counsel and the ITAA Section 508 task force to implement the access standards promulgated by the access board last December. The attendees discussed whether a FAR clause to implement the Section 508 access requirements for procurements should be recommended. Aaron Silberman agreed to coordinate with the PCLS Commercial Products and Services Committee, which previously submitted comments on FAR case 1999-607, addressing these issues.

B.             Services Acquisition Reform Act (SARA)

                        Reportedly, David Drabkin has indicated that a portion of the Acquisition Workforce training fund might be used for an e-government initiative to help improve “first gov.gov.”

C.            Uniform Computer Information Transaction Act (UCITA)

                        Kimberly Heifetz and Anthony Bedwell-Coll have agreed to prepare a background memorandum highlighting the issues that may be of concern to the Section in coordination with Scott Pickens, who is the Section’s liaison to the Tort and Insurance Practice Section, which has been designated as the ABA lead agency on this matter.

D.            Strategic Alliances Committee Program

                        Mike Love described the draft outline of the program the Strategic Alliances Committee has developed on implementation of electronic procurements within prime-subcontractor and other industry arrangements. Members of the E-commerce Committee expressed their interest in co-sponsoring and assisting with such a program. Members of both committees are in contact with the PCLS leadership and program chairs for the Federal Procurement Institute to assess interest in such a program for that seminar.

E.             E-Government Act of 2001 (S.803)

                        This bill would:

·      Establish a federal CIO, within the OMB, to promote E-government and implement government-wide information policy

·      Authorize $200 million per year for E-government funds to support inter-agency projects and innovative use of IT

·      Improve upon the centralized online portal

·      Institute an online national library

·      Require Federal courts to post opinions online

·      Fund a Federal training center for recruitment and to train information technology professionals

·      Promote the use of the internet in the regulatory process

·      Encourage compatibility of electronic signatures and provide new privacy protections

Reportedly, no action on the bill has occurred since the Senate Government Affairs Committee hearing on July 11, 2001. According to Liz Fleming, co-chair of the Legislative Coordinating Committee, it is probable that the legislation will be reported out of the Senate Government Affairs Committee because it is sponsored by Senator Lieberman and apparently part of the Senate Majority Leader’s legislative priorities. (Please note date of our committee meeting was September 10, 2001.)

F.             E-Sign Regulations

                        No one had information regarding the status of the FAR counsel’s review of the comments submitted by the Section last spring.

G.            District of Columbia Contract Appeals Board E-Filing Project

                        The Board is adopting an e-filing system through a partnership with CourtLink Corp., which will be similar to the procedures used by the D.C. Superior Court. See attached materials.

H.            State Use of E-Commerce for Prescription Drug Purchases

                        Craig Othmer has reported that the State of Minnesota has implemented a blanket purchase agreement type of contract which 38 states and the City of Chicago have joined under a joint power agreement for bulk purchases of pharmaceuticals.

I.               E-Commerce Committee Meeting Schedule

                        Our next meeting will be held on October 10, 2001 at noon, Eastern. [?]

September 10, 2001

E-Commerce Committee Meeting

ABA Section of Public Contract Law

Attendees: