Posts dealing with the HUBZone program, including HUBZone eligibility and certification, the “35%” and “primary office” rules, the HUBZone price preference, and related matters.
Native Hawaiian Organizations soon will be able to own HUBZone companies under a new SBA direct final rule published yesterday in the Federal Register.
The new rule implements provisions of the 2016 National Defense Authorization Act, in which Congress instructed the SBA to open the HUBZone program to NHOs.
The SBA will not aggregate a HUBZone applicant’s employees with the employees of the applicant’s affiliates for purposes of determining compliance with the “35% rule,” but only if the SBA determines that there is a “clear line of fracture” between the HUBZone applicant and its affiliates.
A recent decision by the U.S. Court of Federal Claims highlights an important SBA policy, which isn’t codified in the SBA’s regulations but can have a tremendous impact on HUBZone Program eligibility.
A small business and its owner have agreed to pay $250,000 to resolve HUBZone fraud allegations, including a claim that the company’s HUBZone office was a “virtual” location where no employees actually worked.
According to a Department of Justice press release, Air Ideal, Inc. and its majority owner have also agreed to pay the government five percent of the company’s gross revenues over the next five years.
The SBA has proposed major changes to rules governing joint venturing for set-aside contracts.
As part of a proposed rule released last week, the SBA proposes to eliminate so-called “populated” joint ventures, and proposes additional changes regarding joint venture certifications, performance of work reports, and more.
The limitations on subcontracting would undergo sweeping changes under a recent SBA proposal.
On December 29, the SBA issued a proposed rule to enact the changes implemented by Congress in the National Defense Authorization Act of 2013–including a thorough re-write of the way that compliance with the subcontracting limits is calculated and enforced.
A HUBZone contractor has been accused of HUBZone program fraud for allegedly falsely claiming to be located in a HUBZone, when in fact the office in question was a “virtual office” where no employees worked.
According to a Department of Justice press release, the contractor not only misrepresented its principal office location, but submitted a fabricated lease to the SBA as part of its HUBZone application.
I am back in Lawrence after a trip to the Washington area, where I spoke at the National HUBZone Conference. My conference presentation focused on the special rules for joint venturing and teaming on HUBZone set-aside contracts.
Thank you to Mark Crowley and the HUBZone Council for inviting me to be a part of this year’s National HUBZone Conference. Thank you also to the clients, old friends, and new connections who made the conference especially worthwhile. And thank you, too, to all those who attended my seminar and asked so many great questions.
After speaking at four government contracts conferences since August, I am beginning to feel a bit like a road warrior. My next conference travels will take me to Wichita, Philadelphia, and New Mexico. If we haven’t connected at an event yet this year, I hope to see you there.