The SBA published its annual Government Wide Small Business Procurement Scorecard for fiscal year 2022, and it appears that nearly every type of small business set-aside by the SBA, with the continued exception for Woman-Owned Small Businesses and HUBZone businesses, either met or exceeded their goal. Overall, agencies exceeded their goals for the year, earning an overall score of “A” due to meeting the small business contracting goals with 104.05% of the total goal.
Continue readingCategory Archives: HUBZone Program
Posts dealing with the HUBZone program, including HUBZone eligibility and certification, the “35%” and “primary office” rules, the HUBZone price preference, and related matters.
The Thaw: Dealing with the End of the HUBZone Map Freeze
Well, summer is certainly here. You only need to step outside to be able to tell. And with the arrival of summer, the long-awaited end to the HUBZone map freeze just occurred on June 30, 2023. The new map took effect the following day, July 1, 2023. If you’re in the HUBZone program, or are considering certification in the HUBZone program, you might have some questions as to what this means for you. In this post, we’ll explore what the changes will bring.
Continue readingSize Standards Applicable to SBA’s Socioeconomic Programs
If you are an avid SmallGovCon reader and a small business government contractor, you are probably no stranger to at least the basics of SBA’s size standards and its size and affiliation regulations (if not, check out some of our other blogs on the subject and keep an eye out for our upcoming new, second edition of the “SBA Small Business Size and Affiliation Rules” handbook). Additionally, most of our readers and most small business government contractors seem to understand at least the basics of SBA’s contract-based size requirements (i.e. that a small business–regardless of socioeconomic designation(s)–must be small under the size standard assigned to any set-aside contract it wants to bid). But did you know, if you are pursuing or participating in one of SBA’s other small business socioeconomic programs (8(a) Program, HUBZone, WOSB, SDVOSB, etc.), there may actually be some additional size requirements you must meet in order to be generally eligible for such small business socioeconomic statuses?
Continue readingBreaking: HUBZone Appeals Coming Soon!
SBA has released its proposed rule allowing for HUBZone appeals to go to the Office of Hearings and Appeals. Below are the key items from this proposed rule, and how it will affect potential and current HUBZone companies.
Continue readingThe HUBZone 35% Residency Requirement in Between Certifications
It is well established that, in order to be eligible for HUBZone certification or recertification, one of the requirements is that 35% of a company’s employees must reside in a HUBZone. That part is (relatively) straightforward. But, as we all know, employees might come and go at any time. This raises a few questions about what the requirement is when a company is preparing to bid on contracts as well as when performing them. We explore this question here.
Continue readingBack to Basics: Get in the Zone, The HUBZone
The SBA’s HUBZone Program, short for “Historically Underutilized Business Zone,” is likely the SBA program that we hear the least about. Tucked away in Title 13, Section 126 of the U.S. Code of Federal Regulations, the HUBZone Program gives HUBZone participants benefits in multiple federal government contracting situations in an effort to revitalize historically underutilized business zones through increased employment opportunities, investments, and economic development. So, what exactly makes an area a HUBZone, and how can your small business be designated as a HUBZone participant? Read on to find out.
Continue readingBreaking: SBA Proposed Rule Gives OHA Jurisdiction over HUBZone Status Protests
The Small Business Administration (SBA) has proposed to amend the rules of practice for its Office of Hearings and Appeals (OHA) and the Historically Underutilized Business Zone (HUBZone) Program to “implement procedures authorizing appeals to OHA” from adverse status determination protests for certified HUBZone small business concerns. Currently, HUBZone status protest determinations are decided by the Associate Administrator of Government Contracting and Business Development per 13 C.F.R. § 126.805. But those appeals, in our experience, are fairly limited and SBA does not publish the appeal decisions, meaning they provide little help for companies and attorneys wishing to understand how SBA interprets its HUBZone This is a big step for SBA and will certainly bring consistency and insights to the protest process and regulatory interpretation for HUBZone participants, bringing that program more in line with other SBA programs.