Rezoning (Part 2): Updates to the HUBZone Program

Very recently, we went through some more of the potential changes to the HUBZone Program from SBA’s proposed rule from August 23, 2024. In this post, we will look at the remaining proposed changes. SBA’s proposed rule would change HUBZone protests appeals, principal office requirements (which we did discuss a bit before here), HUBZone map concepts, and the HUBZone price evaluation preference (PEP).

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SmallGovCon Week in Review: September 9-13, 2024

Happy Friday the 13th! We hope you have a good week. This week has been busy in the federal government contracting world with multiple developments highlighting key areas of government procurement, spending transparency, and small business support. There are updates on a new federal spending bill, but also concerns about a shutdown, something contractors will be watching closely.

You can read more about these topics in the articles below. Have a great weekend and be careful out there today on Friday the 13th!

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Rezoning (Part 1): A Look at SBA’s Proposed Changes to the HUBZone Program

A few weeks ago, SBA released a proposed rule that would, among other things, modify the HUBZone program. We took a look at some of these changes when the proposals were released. As we promised in that post, we stated we were going to discuss some other aspects of the proposed rule in later posts. Today, we’ll be looking at some of the other changes that SBA is proposing for the HUBZone program, as there’s a lot. In this post, we’ll be focusing on other changes to how HUBZone employees are determined, new rules on certification and decertification, and changes to the “attempt to maintain” rule with regards to maintaining 35% HUBZone resident workforce. Some of these changes reflect a stricter approach from SBA that contractors should be on the lookout for.

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SBA Proposed Rule Clarifies Mentor-Protégé Misunderstandings

In August, the Small Business Administration issued a proposed rule that was packed to the brim with changes to many of the SBA’s small business contracting programs. We’ve mentioned a few of the changes in prior blog posts. Gregory Weber, discussed potential changes to the SBA’s 8(a) Business Development Program that may result in more relaxed requirements. While Shane McCall, recently took a deep dive into proposed changes to past performance requirements for joint ventures. Today, we will focus on two additional proposed changes to the SBA’s Small Business Mentor-Protégé Program.

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Govology Webinar: September 19, 2024 – The Buy Indian Act: Regulatory Updates and Their Implications for Native-Owned Businesses

The Buy Indian Act is a law that gives contracting preference to companies owned by Native American tribes and tribal members. This law has been on the books for a century and it seems to be finally getting some teeth through regulatory changes and updates. This webinar, presented by myself and Nicole Pottroff will discuss the Buy Indian Act, as well as other rules and regulations that provide advantages to tribal entities. Hope you can join us! Register here.

SmallGovCon Week in Review: September 2-6, 2024

It’s Friday and it’s time for our week in review. We hope you had a wonderful Labor Day and were able to enjoy some time with friends and family. Now it is time to transition into fall and football season which we are very excited about here at SmallGovCon! We hope you have a great weekend.

This week in federal government contracting news saw some interesting storis about IT and cyber security, the feds avoiding fraud payments, and a potential boost for WOSB contracts.

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SBA Proposed Rule: SBA Plans to Relax 8(a) Program Restrictions

The SBA recently dropped a large proposed rule that it grouped mainly under the HUBZone program, but actually touches on almost every SBA socioeconomic certification. So, it should come as no surprise that the SBA’s 8(a) Program is facing some potential changes based on this proposed rule. There are quite a few proposed updates to the 8(a) Program. We wanted cover just a few that really stood out to us here at SmallGovCon. Be sure to review the whole rule if you want to comment on any of these 8(a) changes.

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