In a welcome step towards regulatory conformity, on December 4, 2018, the FAR Council finally issued its proposed rule to bring the FAR into compliance with the statutory requirements of § 1651 of the NDAA for FY 2013, which governs limitations on subcontracting. The proposed rule will conform the FAR’s limitations on subcontracting clause, FAR 52.219-14, with how SBA performs the calculation, codified at 13 C.F.R. § 125.6. The proposed rule signals an end to two years of relative uncertainty for contractors . . . Read More
On December 4, 2018, DOD issued a proposed rule amending the DFARS to impose limits on the use of the lowest price technically acceptable (“LPTA”) source selection process. These changes are driven by the National Defense Authorization Acts (“NDAA”) for Fiscal Years 2017 and 2018. Notably, the 2018 NDAA directed similar changes to the FAR, but there is no proposed change to the FAR yet. DOD proposes adding a new DFARS section, 215.101-2-70, to address the limitations and prohibitions on the use . . . Read More
RULES AND REGULATIONS Proposed Rules The Small Business Administration (SBA) published a proposed rule amending its regulations and implementing provisions of the NDAAs of 2016 and 2017 as well as the Recovery Improvements for Small Entities After Disaster Act of 2015 (RISE Act). The proposed rule would (1) clarify that contracting officers have the authority to request information in connection with a contractor’s compliance with applicable limitations on subcontracting clauses; (2) provide exclusions for purposes of compliance with the limitations . . . Read More
Catherine Netter, a 19-year employee of the Guilford County, N.C., Sheriff’s Office, believed a disciplinary sanction she received in 2014, which impeded her ability to be promoted, was motivated by discrimination. Netter, who is African-American and Muslim, felt that other similarly situated officers who were neither African-American nor Muslim had not been disciplined in a similar manner, so she filed complaints with the Equal Opportunity Employment Commission (“EEOC”) and the Guilford County Human Resources Department. So far, so good. But, . . . Read More
Join Jon Williams on Monday, December 3, 2018, at the NCMA Government Contract Management Symposium “Ahead of the Curve: Cybersecurity and the Competitive Edge in Federal Procurements” Government contractors handling controlled unclassified information for DoD are expected to comply with new cybersecurity standards set forth in NIST SP 800-171. Learn about the new requirements and how getting ahead on cyber compliance can give you a competitive advantage for federal procurements. Date: December 3, 2018 Time: 1:30 – 2:45 . . . Read More
RULES AND REGULATIONS The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) issued a proposed rule on November 29, 2018 proposing to amend and update its VA Acquisition Regulation (VAAR) in phased increments to revise or remove any policy superseded by changes in the FAR. It will also remove procedural guidance that is internal to the VA, move it to the VA Acquisition Manual, and incorporate new agency-specific regulations or policies. The proposed rule would also add VAAR coverage concerning Environment, Energy and . . . Read More
With proposals costing hundreds of thousands of dollars and many IDIQs having 50 or more awardees, it can easily happen that some contractors who win a spot on a contract are unable to capitalize on it and simply stop trying to capture task orders. Whether it was because the initial win was based on sheer luck or perhaps because of a tragic, unforeseeable change in circumstances, making it impossible to bid or even keep the company doors open, a contractor . . . Read More
At a certain point in a company’s life cycle, founders are likely to be faced with the financial pinch of requiring outside sources of funding to finance further growth and expansion of the business. Previously, I posted an article that focused on one of the two most common paths that companies turn to for growth capital financing: traditional bank debt. In this post, I will focus on the second of the most common sources of financing—private equity investment. Private equity investments can . . . Read More
Published by Set-Aside Alert: The Small Business Administration published its long-awaited proposed rule overhauling the Historically Underutilized Business Zone (HUBZone) Program on Oct. 31. Comments to the proposed rule are due Dec. 31, making it likely a final rule will be published in 2019. This rulemaking represents the first comprehensive revision of the HUBZone program, explicitly intended to make program compliance easier for small businesses and make the program more attractive for procuring agencies to use.
