The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has published a long-awaited rule that made important changes to numerous small business contracting programs and the rules Federal agencies must follow when contracting with small businesses.
These changes went into effect on November 16, 2020. You can read a summary of the rule here and read the rule itself here.
Here, we take a closer look at changes in the way procuring agencies will have to consider the past performance, experience, security clearances, capabilities, and certifications of small businesses and small business joint ventures.
To understand why the new rule is important, it’s useful to consider the current state of affairs. When businesses compete for Government contracts, they often create joint ventures or put together subcontractor teams with different companies complementing each other’s capabilities and experience. In general, procuring agencies have had wide latitude in being able to specify on a procurement-by-procurement basis the extent to which the prime offeror itself must have certain capabilities and experience, and the extent to which the offeror may rely upon subcontractors or joint venture members to fill in any gaps.
There currently is one principal exception to that wide latitude. When an offeror is a small business joint venture, the procuring agency is required to consider the past performance and experience of the joint venture members (including of any large business mentor joint venture member) as the past performance and experience of the joint venture itself. 15 U.S.C. § 644(q)(1)(C); 13 C.F.R. § 125.8(e) (Dec. 27, 2016).
Keep reading this article at: https://www.mondaq.com/unitedstates/government-contracts-procurement-ppp/999586/new-small-business-rules-capabilities-of-small-business-joint-venture-members-and-first-tier-subcontractors
