Blog

Foreign direct investment (FDI) plays a crucial role in the global economy, and the United States has long been an attractive destination for international investors. To accurately gauge the impact and trends of FDI, the US government conducts the Benchmark Survey of Foreign Direct Investment every five years.

In general, any US company that had covered foreign ownership in 2022 is required to submit a survey response. The law requires a US company to respond if at least one foreign person held, directly or indirectly, a ten percent (10%) or more voting interest at the end of the ...

On June 2, the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council published an interim final rule ("IFR") to ban the use of a ByteDance Covered Application (i.e., TikTok) in government contracting. This rule is effective June 2, 2023 and "prohibits contractors from having or using a covered application on any information technology owned or managed by the Government, or on any information technology used or provided by the contractor under a contract, including equipment provided by the contractor's employees.”

On March 10, 2023, NASA’s Office of Technology, Policy, and Strategy (“OTPS”) released a report, Cost and Benefit Analysis of Orbital Debris Remediation. OTPS resides under NASA’s Office of the Administrator and provides strategic advice, research, and policy recommendations for NASA’s leadership and the space community. The report is NASA’s attempt to answer the question, is space debris worth cleaning up?

The report begins by saying that space debris includes, “abandoned vehicle stages, non-functional satellites, and fragments resulting from collisions ...

Every federal contractor knows how difficult it is to win a government contract. Indeed, contractors often start pursuing larger contracts or vehicles well over a year before the solicitation is even published. And, while each contractor’s business development and capture strategies vary, they typically share two characteristics: copious amounts of time and money. Given the financial burden and significant hurdles between contractors and a contract, it is exhilarating to receive a notice of award.

That sense of accomplishment, however, can be fleeting, particularly where ...

The Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) recently issued a proposed rule, which, if enacted as written, would ban essentially all non-compete agreements by private employers. The proposed rule is one of the broadest expansions of agency authority in the FTC’s history, raising a myriad of considerations for all employers.

Briefly, the proposed rule would prohibit employers from entering agreements with employees, regardless of what the agreements are called, if their substantive effect would prohibit or otherwise restrict employees from working for another company or ...

Recently, the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate overwhelmingly approved the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023 ("FY23 NDAA"). The legislation is welcome news for both the Department of Defense ("DoD") and defense contractors – the bill now heads to the President's desk for signature.

While the legislation is over 4,400 pages, covering a host of issues, one provision may have a profound impact on the defense industrial base ("DIB"): inflation relief under Section 822, Modification of Contracts to Provide Extraordinary Relief Due to Inflation ...

On November 17, 2022, the Small Business Administration (“SBA”) issued a final rule and several interim final rules effective December 19, 2022 that upwardly adjust some of SBA’s monetary thresholds for inflation. The changes are welcome news in this period of economic uncertainty because they will ultimately help more small businesses participate in federal set-aside opportunities. As summarized below, SBA’s new rules cover three inflationary adjustments: (1) receipts-based size standards; (2) economic disadvantage thresholds; and (3) the 8(a) sole source ...

Recently, the Department of Defense (“DoD”) issued a memorandum to launch a pilot program that will enable certain contractors owned under an employee stock ownership plan (“ESOP”) to receive sole source follow-on awards. ESOP-owned defense contractors should review DoD’s memorandum and move quickly to determine how this unique pilot program may be of benefit.

Section 874 of the National Defense Authorization Act for FY 2022 (“FY22 NDAA”) created a pilot program for noncompetitive awards for certain follow-on contracts to an ESOP-owned business that meets the ...

As many contractors have known for quite some time, the U.S. Small Business Administration (“SBA”) regulations provide detailed requirements for joint venture agreements, and failure to meet any of the regulatory requirements can disqualify a joint venture entirely. As for the practical ramifications for this failure, if a joint venture with a deficient joint venture agreement wins an award, but a protestor challenges its size or status, the joint venture can be stripped of its award. Given the burden that SBA’s regulations impose on joint venturers, it is imperative that ...

History

On December 14, 1819, Alabama was granted statehood after previously being part of the Mississippi and Alabama territories. The first Alabama constitution was drafted and passed at a convention in Huntsville, Alabama. Subsequently, four constitutions were adopted partly due to the Civil War and Reconstruction. The sixth version of the Alabama constitution was adopted in 1901 and remained the authoritative constitution of Alabama until 2022.

The 1901 Constitution was amended over 900 times and was comprised of eighteen sections. The 1901 Constitution was problematic ...