SmallGovCon
Small business federal contracting commentary.
OHA: Provisions in Operating Agreements for SBA Set-Aside Program Participants can Sink Eligibility
The organizational documents for a business seeking certification under a SBA socio-economic program can play an important part in a company demonstrating its eligibility under the SBA’s requirement for control by the company’s owners, such as a service-disabled veteran or disadv
Koprince Law LLC · Oct 5, 2021
SmallGovCon Week in Review: September 27-October 1, 2021
It’s already October! Can you believe it? The leaves on our trees are starting to turn beautiful shades of yellow, red and orange and the temperatures are finally starting to cool down after a very hot and humid summer. A lot has been happening this week in federal government con
Koprince Law LLC · Oct 1, 2021
House-Passed 2022 NDAA Raises Small Business Goal to 25% and Increases SDVOSB, HUBZone, SDB and WOSB Goals
The version of the 2022 National Defense Authorization Act passed by the House of Representatives on September 23 would increase the government’s small business prime contracting goal from 23% to 25%. The House-passed version of the 2022 NDAA would also increase the prime contrac
Koprince Law LLC · Sep 30, 2021
VA Contracting Officers May Now Use Veteran Employment Preferences in Competitive Acquisitions
Newcomers to the federal marketplace are often surprised when they learn that eligibility for the VA’s SDVOSB and VOSB preference programs are based on the status of the contractor’s owners–and have nothing to do with how many veterans the contractor employs. While the SDVOSB/VOS
Koprince Law LLC · Sep 29, 2021
SmallGovCon Week in Review: September 20-24, 2021
Happy Monday, Readers. We hope you had a wonderful weekend and are enjoying the start of fall. Here are some newsworthy articles from the federal government contracting world. Enjoy and have a great week! - Biden administration gives federal contractors until Dec. 8 to comply wit
Koprince Law LLC · Sep 27, 2021
HUBZone FAQ Update: Maps and Other Changes
The SBA’s HUBZone program can be a confusing program to understand and comply with. Keeping on top of the regulations requires keeping up on legislative and program changes on a revolving basis. The SBA has recently frozen the HUBZone maps and changed principal office rules. In a
Koprince Law LLC · Sep 23, 2021
GAO Affirms SBA Rule: Only Joint Venture Members, not the JV, Need Facility Clearance
For years, it had been difficult for joint ventures to get Facility Security Clearances to go after DoD contracts where a facility clearance was required. The DoD and many contracting officers had long required that the joint venture entity itself, rather than each individual joi
Koprince Law LLC · Sep 21, 2021
Event: The Ins & Outs of the Nonmanufacturer Rule
The nonmanufacturer rule is one that is commonly misunderstood in the federal government contracting realm. But it is also one we encounter quite often in our role assisting federal contractors. On September 21, please join my colleague, Steven Koprince, and me as we dive deep in
Koprince Law LLC · Sep 20, 2021
SmallGovCon Week in Review: September 13-17, 2021
Happy Friday, Readers. It’s sad that summer is coming to an end but the good news is that fall is upon us which means it is time for cool weather, falling leaves, and football! It seems everyone is filled with optimism at the start of the season. Here’s hoping your favorite team
Koprince Law LLC · Sep 17, 2021
From Eight Days to 105 Days: The Incredible Lengthening of the SBA’s Mentor-Protégé Program Timeline
In February 2017, the SBA announced that applications for its new All Small Mentor-Protégé Program were being processed, on average, in just eight days. Fast forward four-and-a-half years, and the SBA’s mentor-protégé application processing timeline has gotten just a wee bit long
Koprince Law LLC · Sep 15, 2021
Small Business Being Acquired by a Large Business? For Multiple Award Contracts, the 180-Day Rule Doesn’t Apply to Task Orders, says GAO
You may recall a post of ours back in April 2021, where we discussed a little-known change to SBA’s size determination rules that occurred in October 2020. SBA created an exception, at 13 C.F.R. § 121.404(g)(2)(iii), to the usual “size is determined at offer date” rule. Now, prio
Koprince Law LLC · Sep 13, 2021
SmallGovCon Week in Review: September 6-10, 2021
Welcome to Friday, SmallGovCon readers! Now that the weather is cooling off a little, we hope you’re able to enjoy the great outdoors a little more. However, before you head outside, maybe you’d like to take a few minutes to check out some articles we’ve selected for you about fe
Koprince Law LLC · Sep 10, 2021
Five Things You Should Know: NAICS Code Appeals
NAICS codes are limited in what they can challenge, but can have a powerful effect on a procurement. A NAICS code appeal can challenge the size limit attached to a specific government procurement. This can level the playing field by limiting to smaller businesses, or expand the s
Koprince Law LLC · Sep 8, 2021
Reminder: Joint Ventures Must Be Registered in SAM
Like any other offeror, a joint venture must be registered in the System for Award Management. And, as one joint venture recently learned the hard way, if a JV is not registered in SAM by the award date, the missing registration could prove costly. The GAO’s bid protest decision
Koprince Law LLC · Sep 7, 2021
SmallGovCon Week in Review: August 30-September 3, 2021
Happy Labor Day weekend, Readers! Here are 5 fun facts about Labor Day according to Google: \-The first Labor Day holiday was celebrated on Tuesday, September 5, 1882, in New York City, in accordance with the plans of the Central Labor Union. The Central Labor Union held its seco
Koprince Law LLC · Sep 2, 2021
FAR Update: Good Faith in Small Business Subcontracting
For many contracts, large businesses must establish and have the government approve a subcontracting plan that details the goals and efforts the large prime contractor will take to award subcontracts to various types of small businesses. Well, how does the government hold large b
Koprince Law LLC · Aug 30, 2021
SmallGovCon Week in Review: August 23-27, 2021
Hello and happy Friday to all of our readers. It’s an exciting and busy time in Lawrence, Kansas with all of the college students flowing back into our city. It was also another busy week in federal government contracting. Enjoy the articles that we have put together for you. Hav
Koprince Law LLC · Aug 27, 2021
SBA Suspends Bona Fide Place of Business Requirement for 8(a) Construction Contracts
SBA’s requirement that 8(a) participants maintain a bona fide place of business in the geographic location of any 8(a) construction contracts has been an encumbrance for many federal contractors–even prior to the global pandemic. But fortunately, SBA has recently recognized the a
Koprince Law LLC · Aug 26, 2021
House Subcommittee Proposes New SBIR/STTR Phase III Transition Pilot Program
Congress is at work on the 2022 National Defense Authorization Act–major annual legislation that often includes significant changes to the laws impacting government contractors. This year’s NDAA promises to be no different. Among potential changes: the House Subcommittee on Cyber
Koprince Law LLC · Aug 25, 2021
GAO: Meaningful Discussions Must Disclose Proposal Weaknesses Discovered After a Corrective Action
Given the amount of competition in most solicitations, the ability of a contractor to receive feedback on its proposal can provide valuable information to help the contractor hone its response to best address the key factors sought by the agency in its solicitation. On those rare
Koprince Law LLC · Aug 25, 2021
FAR Final Rule on Limitations on Subcontracting
It has been a long time coming, but the Department of Defense, in conjunction with the GSA and NASA, are finally issuing a final rule amending the FAR guidance regarding limitations on subcontracting. In this post, we are going to explore just what these changes are and what they
Koprince Law LLC · Aug 23, 2021
CIO-SP4 Amendment 11 Removes a Small Business Requirement
A quick update on CIO-SP4. NITAAC has issued amendment number 11 to CIO-SP4. It moves the deadline to August 27, and takes out some confusing language about small business teams. Specifically, it has removed the language saying: “The small business prime must demonstrate how they
Koprince Law LLC · Aug 20, 2021
SmallGovCon Week in Review: August 15-20, 2021
Happy Friday to all of our SmallGovCon readers and we hope you had a great week! This week saw some interesting federal contracting developments, such as several announcements from the SBA including an announcement to increase the amount of federal contracting dollars that go to
Koprince Law LLC · Aug 19, 2021
Number of Small Businesses Awarded Federal Government Contracts Has Dropped 12.7% in Four Years
The number of small businesses receiving government contracts dropped yet again in Fiscal Year 2020–and the four-year decline is 12.7%. In its FY 2020 goaling scorecard, the SBA reported that 45,661 distinct small businesses received contracts in the top 100 NAICS codes. The prev
Koprince Law LLC · Aug 19, 2021
CIO-SP4 Amendment 10: More Changes and No Delay
Amendment 10 clarifies obligated dollar values, how to have subcontracted federal work counted, restrictions to contractor participation in task areas, evaluation of contractor program manager(s), establishing a static date from which to calculate the three-year look-back for cor
Koprince Law LLC · Aug 17, 2021