While many industries have existed since time immemorial, new industries are created and old industries fade all the time. A mere twenty-five years ago, there was no such thing as social media and video rental stores were all the rage. Now the former is a multi-billion-dollar industry, and the latter is basically extinct. In recognition of the changes that we experience over time, the U.S. Office of Management and Budget routinely revises the North American Industry Classification Systems (NAICS), which the SBA in turn incorporates as the new applicable NAICS codes. More importantly for contractors, this includes a change in size standards for businesses. In early July 2022, the SBA proposed a rule doing just that which would apply effective October 1, 2022, which we will explore in this post.
Continue readingAuthor Archives: John Holtz
No Pay, No Need to Say: GAO Clarifies What Judgments and Settlements Require Disclosure under FAR 52.209-7
Representations and certifications are an integral part of the requirements for any solicitation. While each solicitation may require different representations and certifications, what precisely is required for a given representation or certification is generally governed by the FAR. One of the more common requirements is that an offeror provide information to the Federal Awardee Performance and Integrity Information System (FAPIIS) regarding its current federal awards and recent judgments against it concerning federal procurements that result in payment by the offeror, and this is governed by FAR 52.209-7. Recently, GAO addressed the question of just what recent judgments must be disclosed under that FAR rule. In this post, we will explore their decision.
Continue readingSetting the Standard: How the SBA Determines Size Standards for Small Businesses
In a recent post, we examined some proposed new size standards for manufacturing and other industries that utilize employee-based size standards. This probably got many of you wondering: How does the SBA determine what the size standards should be? It’s a good question, and today, we’re going to look at just that. Hopefully, this will provide some insight as to the SBA’s approach to setting size standards.
Continue readingIndustrial Expansion: Proposed New Size Standards for Manufacturing and Other Industries with Employee-Based Size Standards
The SBA’s regulations state it will examine monetary-based size standards (e.g., receipts, net income, assets) at least once every five years and determine if adjustments are needed to those standards at such time. 13 C.F.R. § 121.102. But what about employee-based size standards? In fact, the same rule applies for reviewing and adjusting those standards as a result of the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010. On April 26, 2022, the SBA published its proposed rule to change the size standards for a number of employee-based size standards for manufacturing and other industries. Let’s look at these changes.
Continue readingThe DFARS Approach to Data Rights
We have discussed data rights in the general federal government context, now it is finally time to look at the DFARS’ approach to this area of intellectual property. One thing: The DFARS (Defense Acquisition Regulation Systems) does not replace the FAR. It is a supplement, not a completely different set of rules. That said, there are certain nuances that the contractor needs to be aware of in order to navigate the DoD’s requirements.
Continue readingBack to Basics: Joint Ventures
Many of our readers are familiar with a number of the nuances of joint ventures. In fact, in the past few years, many of you have utilized this nifty little concept! That said, for those of you newer to the government contracting business (and as a refresher for those who have been in this for a while), here is a short rundown of the basics of joint ventures in government contracting.
Continue readingOther Transaction Authority? What Other Transaction Authority? – A Look at OTA
Ah, the Federal Acquisition Regulations, or FAR. Quite numerous and complex, yes, but they provide a standardized set of rules and procedures that govern federal government procurements. Regardless of what contract you’re dealing with (other than a few exceptions such as the FAA, which is not subject to the FAR), you can be sure that the rules of the FAR govern it.
Unfortunately, that last statement is not true.
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