Blog
On Friday (10/25/24), the Small Business Administration issued a proposed rule that would expand the application of the "rule of two" (for small business) to orders under multiple award contracts. The proposed rule is welcome news for small businesses, particularly as the rule of two has been subject to competing interpretations in protest tribunals. Comments on the proposed rule must be received on or before December 24, 2024.
Generally, the small business "rule of two" requires agencies to set aside contracts for small business where the agency expects at least two small ...
In August, the Government Accountability Office ("GAO") provided a boost for small business joint ventures ("JV") that are pursuing defense contracts in holding that the plain language of the 2020 National Defense Authorization Act ("NDAA") prohibits the Department of Defense ("DoD") "from issuing solicitations that require a joint venture, rather than the members of the joint venture, hold the required facility clearance."
The decision is welcome news for small business JVs where each member holds the required facility security clearance ("FCL"), as the decision may result ...
Last week, the Federal Acquisition Regulation ("FAR") Council published a final rule amending the FAR to implement a portion of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017 ("2017 NDAA"), which requires examples of failure to make good faith efforts to comply with a small business subcontracting plan.
The final rule also provides that "failure to make a good faith effort to comply with the plan may result in the assessment of liquidated damages per FAR 52.219-16, Liquidated Damages—Subcontracting Plan," and requires that "all indirect costs, with certain ...
The SBA has proposed significant changes to the rules governing joint ventures as part of its overhaul of the SBA’s small business program regulations.
The 3-2 Rule: Currently, a joint venture may receive a maximum of three contract awards in a two-year period. The proposed rule eliminates the cap on contract awards, but continues the two year limitation period. Within that period, a joint venture may receive unlimited awards and still comply with SBA rules.
Member Substitution: A joint venture qualifies as a small business as long as each member qualifies individually. Joint ...
President Trump signed into law the Small Business Runway Extension Act of 2018 on December 17th, 2018. The Act modified how the SBA calculates a business’ size for revenue-based size standards. The Act also increased the period of time used in the calculation of a firm’s receipts from three years to five.
Regulations implementing the Act go into effect on January 6th, 2020. However, the final rule permits contractors to elect to use either the three-year or five-year period of measurement for certifications submitted on or before January 6th, 2022. The election period is ...