President Trump Signs Small Business Runway Extension Act of 2018 into Law
On December 17, 2018, President Trump signed the Small Business Runway Extension Act (H.R. 6330) into law . As we discussed in our previous blog , the Small Business Act previously measured a company’s size under the prescribed size standards on a basis of the company’s average annual receipts from the previous three years; the new law extends this time to the previous five years. The change was designed to reduce the impact of rapid-growth years and resulting spikes in revenue that could prematurely eject a . . . Read More
The Weekly Update for December 14, 2018
GOVERNMENT CONTRACTING A former National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Facility Chief pleaded guilty to receiving illegal gratuities. Steven Eric Kremer, a former Chief of the Range and Mission Management Office at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility (WFF) pleaded guilty to receiving gratuities in exchange for official acts performed in his capacity as a government official as well as stealing funds from a government contract. As Chief of the Range and Mission Management Office, Mr. Kremer administered the Range Operations Contract (ROC)—a multi-year . . . Read More
Key Considerations for Government Contractors Facing a Government Shutdown
A government shutdown is looming once again. Congress has already passed five of the twelve FY 2019 funding bills, which fund 70% of the government through September 2019, through two vehicles. H.R. 6157 includes funding for the Departments of Defense, Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and related agencies. H.R. 5895 provides funding for the Departments of Energy, the Interior (Bureau of Reclamation only), Veterans Affairs, and related and independent agencies, as well as the Army Corps of Engineers civil works projects, and the . . . Read More
Congress Passes New Receipts Calculation for Determining the Size of Small Businesses
On December 6, 2018, the Senate passed the Small Business Runway Extension Act (HR 6330) , which amends the Small Business Act by changing the time period for determining a company’s size based on average annual receipts. Initially, the Small Business Act required a company’s compliance with the size standards to be prescribed on the basis of the company’s average annual receipts from the previous three years; the Small Business Runway Extension Act extends this time to the previous five years. The House passed the bill on . . . Read More
SBA Proposes Significant Changes to Its Small Business Regulations
On December 4, 2018, the U.S. Small Business Administration (“SBA”) issued a proposed rule (“Rule”) to implement several provisions of the National Defense Authorization Acts (“NDAA”) of 2016 and 2017 and the Recovery Improvements for Small Entities After Disaster Act of 2015 (“RISE Act”), as well as other clarifying amendments. The Rule will likely garner a lot of attention in the coming weeks, as it proposes a number of sweeping amendments that could have a significant impact on small business government contracting. . . . Read More
Important Changes Governing Limitations on Subcontracting Immediately Affecting All DoD Procurements
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
Limitations on LPTA Coming to DFARS
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
The Weekly Update for December 7, 2018
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
Title VII’s Protections Don’t Extend That Far—4th Circuit Says Review and Copying of Confidential Files Not Protected Activity
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
Jon Williams to present at the NCMA GCMS on Cybersecurity in Federal Procurements
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