Posts dealing with the HUBZone program, including HUBZone eligibility and certification, the “35%” and “primary office” rules, the HUBZone price preference, and related matters.
As we discussed in a previous post, there are big changes on the horizon for the HUBZone program. On October 31, the SBA published a proposed rule that, if adopted, would overhaul the program.
Recently, the SBA extended the period for public comment to February 14, 2019.
Continue readingBig changes could be coming to the HUBZone program. On October 31, the SBA published a proposed rule that, if adopted, would bring clarity to the HUBZone regulations. Yesterday, we posted about proposed changes to the HUBZone certification, compliance, and protest processes.
In this post, we wanted to bring you up to speed on some of the more substantive revisions to the way HUBZone employees are defined and counted under the proposed rule.
Last week, the SBA released a proposal to overhaul the HUBZone Program. The proposed rule will make major changes to almost all aspects of the HUBZone Program, and my colleagues are covering those changes in a series of two posts on SmallGovCon.
But while the proposed HUBZone Program rule changes will garner most of the headlines, the SBA also has used the proposed rule as an opportunity to clear up a few very common HUBZone Program misconceptions–such as the notion that so-called “jobsite employees” don’t count toward the 35% HUBZone residency requirement.
Here are three of the most important clarifications SBA offered in the proposed HUBZone rule.
The SBA’s Historically Underutilized Business Zone program intends well—by directing awards to contractors in regions that have been passed by economically, the federal government has tried to lift these areas up. But the HUBZone program has exacting regulations, which (ironically) have helped cause it to be an underutilized tool for contracting officers. This could soon change.
On October 31, the SBA published a proposed rule that, if adopted, would bring clarity to the HUBZone regulations. In this post, we wanted to bring you up to speed on some of the more substantive proposed changes regarding certification requirements and the HUBZone protest process. Changes to employee definitions and requirements will be handled in another post.
While the SBA’s Office of Hearings and Appeals hears appeals for many of the SBA’s programs, there are certain decisions that remain outside of its purview.
As one protester was surprised to learn, among those items outside of OHA’s jurisdiction are appeals of the HUBZone status determinations.
HUBZone companies owned by U.S. citizens will no longer be required to demonstrate that the ownership is “direct.”
The SBA’s HUBZone program rules have long required that a HUBZone company owned by U.S. citizens be at least 51% directly owned by those citizens–as opposed to allowing the qualifying citizens to own those interests through legal vehicles like holding companies. But the SBA has had second thoughts, and effective May 25, 2018, the direct ownership requirement will be eliminated.
Editor’s Note: You can find our updated post on the HUBZone Basics here.
5 Things has previously discussed 8(a) Program basics and eligibility requirements. But the 8(a) Program isn’t the only socioeconomic program benefiting small businesses. In this post, we’ll begin exploring another crucial program for small businesses: the Historically Underutilized Business Zone—or HUBZone—program.
Here are five things you should know about the HUBZone program.