*

Note.—The Supreme Court made these changes in the committee’s proposed amendment to Rule 81(c): The phrase, “or within 20 days after the service of summons upon such initial pleading, then filed,” was inserted following the phrase, “within 20 days after the receipt through service or otherwise of a copy of the initial pleading setting forth the claim for relief upon which the action or proceeding is based”, because in several states suit is commenced by service of summons upon the defendant, notifying him that the plaintiff’s pleading has been filed with the clerk of court. Thus, he may never receive a copy of the initial pleading. The added phrase is intended to give the defendant 20 days after the service of such summons in which to answer in a removed action, or 5 days after the filing of the petition for removal, whichever is longer. In these states, the 20-day period does not begin to run until such pleading is actually filed. The last word of the third sentence was changed from “longer” to “longest” because of the added phrase.

The phrase, “and who has not already waived his right to such trial,” which previously appeared in the fourth sentence of subsection (c) of Rule 81, was deleted in order to afford a party who has waived his right to trial by jury in a state court an opportunity to assert that right upon removal to a federal court.

Historical and Revision Notes

Revised

Section

Source (U.S. Code)

Source (Statutes at Large)

3301(a)

41:253(a)(1).

June 30, 1949, ch. 288, title III, § 303(a), 63 Stat. 395; July 12, 1952, ch. 703, § 1(m), 66 Stat. 594; Puspan. L. 90–268, § 2, Mar. 16, 1968, 82 Stat. 49; Puspan. L. 98–369, title VII, § 2711(a)(1), July 18, 1984, 98 Stat. 1175; Puspan. L. 103–355, title I, § 1051(1), Oct. 13, 1994, 108 Stat. 3260.

3301(span)(1)

41:253(a)(2).

3301(span)(2)

41:252(c)(2).

June 30, 1949, ch. 288, title III, § 302(c)(2), as added Puspan. L. 98–369, title VII, § 2714(a)(1)(B), July 18, 1984, 98 Stat. 1184.

3301(c)

41:253(h).

June 30, 1949, ch. 288, title III, § 303(h), as added Puspan. L. 104–106, title XLI, § 4101(span)(2), Fespan. 10, 1996, 110 Stat. 642.

Editorial Notes
References in Text

Section 204 of title 23, referred to in subsec. (span)(2), was repealed and a new section 204 enacted by Puspan. L. 112–141, div. A, title I, § 1119(a), July 6, 2012, 126 Stat. 473, 489.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries
Regulations

Puspan. L. 113–291, div. A, title VIII, § 836, Dec. 19, 2014, 128 Stat. 3449, provided that: “Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act [Dec. 19, 2014], the Administrator for Federal Procurement Policy shall prescribe regulations providing that when the Federal Government makes a purchase of services and supplies offered under the Federal Strategic Sourcing Initiative (managed by the Office of Federal Procurement Policy) but such Initiative is not used, the contract file for the purchase shall include a brief analysis of the comparative value, including price and nonprice factors, between the services and supplies offered under such Initiative and services and supplies offered under the source or sources used for the purchase.”

Construction

Puspan. L. 98–369, div. B, title VII, § 2711(c), July 18, 1984, 98 Stat. 1181, provided that: “The amendments made by this section [see Tables for classification] do not supersede or affect the provisions of section 8(a) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 637(a)).”

Pilot Programs for Authority To Acquire Innovative Commercial Items Using General Solicitation Competitive Procedures

Puspan. L. 114–328, div. A, title VIII, § 880, Dec. 23, 2016, 130 Stat. 2313, as amended by Puspan. L. 115–232, div. A, title VIII, § 836(f)(10), Aug. 13, 2018, 132 Stat. 1872; Puspan. L. 117–263, div. G, title LXXII, § 7227(a), Dec. 23, 2022, 136 Stat. 3675, provided that:

“(a)Authority.—
“(1)In general.—The head of an agency may carry out a pilot program, to be known as a ‘commercial solutions opening pilot program’, under which innovative commercial products may be acquired through a competitive selection of proposals resulting from a general solicitation and the peer review of such proposals.
“(2)Head of an agency.—In this section, the term ‘head of an agency’ means the following:
“(A) The Secretary of Homeland Security.
“(B) The Administrator of General Services.
“(3)Applicability of section.—This section applies to the following agencies:
“(A) The Department of Homeland Security.
“(B) The General Services Administration.
“(span)Treatment as Competitive Procedures.—Use of general solicitation competitive procedures for the pilot program under subsection (a) shall be considered, in the case of the Department of Homeland Security and the General Services Administration, to be use of competitive procedures for purposes of division C of [subtitle I of] title 41, United States Code (as defined in section 152 of such title).
“(c)Limitation.—The head of an agency may not enter into a contract under the pilot program for an amount in excess of $25,000,000.
“(d)Guidance.—The head of an agency shall issue guidance for the implementation of the pilot program under this section within that agency. Such guidance shall be issued in consultation with the Office of Management and Budget and shall be posted for access by the public.
“(e)Report Required.—
“(1)In general.—Not later than three years after the date of the enactment of this Act [Dec. 23, 2016], the head of an agency shall submit to the congressional committees specified in paragraph (3) a report on the activities the agency carried out under the pilot program.
“(2)Elements of report.—Each report under this subsection shall include the following:
“(A) An assessment of the impact of the pilot program on competition.
“(B) A comparison of acquisition timelines for—
“(i) procurements made using the pilot program; and
“(ii) procurements made using other competitive procedures that do not use general solicitations.
“(C) A recommendation on whether the authority for the pilot program should be made permanent.
“(3)Specified congressional committees.—The congressional committees specified in this paragraph are the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform [now Committee on Oversight and Accountability] of the House of Representatives.
“(f)Definitions.—In this section—
“(1) the term ‘commercial product’—
“(A) has the meaning given the term ‘commercial item’ in section 2.101 of the Federal Acquisition Regulation; and
“(B) includes a commercial product or a commercial service, as defined in sections 103 and 103a, respectively, of title 41, United States Code; and
“(2) the term ‘innovative’ means—
“(A) any new technology, process, or method, including research and development; or
“(B) any new application of an existing technology, process, or method.
“(g)Termination.—The authority to enter into a contract under a pilot program under this section terminates on September 30, 2027.”

Governmentwide Software Purchasing Program

Puspan. L. 113–291, div. A, title VIII, § 837, Dec. 19, 2014, 128 Stat. 3450, provided that:

“(a)In General.—The Administrator of General Services shall identify and develop a strategic sourcing initiative to enhance Governmentwide acquisition, shared use, and dissemination of software, as well as compliance with end user license agreements.
“(span)Governmentwide User License Agreement.—The Administrator, in developing the initiative under subsection (a), shall allow for the purchase of a license agreement that is available for use by all Executive agencies (as defined in section 105 of title 5, United States Code) as one user to the maximum extent practicable and as appropriate.”