Georgia Tech Procurement Assistance Center

New Year, New HubZone Program Regulations

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The Small Business Administration (SBA) just rolled out a series of significant changes to the Historically Underutilized Business Zone (HUBZone) Program.  The Final Rule is found here and is now in effect (and has been since December 26, 2019).

The aim of the HUBZone Program is to encourage small business participation in specific geographic areas identified by the Government.  In order to take advantage of the Program’s set-aside contracting opportunities, a business must not only be located in the underutilized area, but must also employ residents of the community (specifically, in order to qualify as a HUBZone, 35% of employees must live in a HUBZone designated area).

These requirements – and the employee residency requirement, in particular – previously made establishing and maintaining HUBZone compliance a challenge.  In fact, running a HUBZone certified company often felt like trying to hit a moving target.

The Final Rule aims to encourage greater use of the HUBZone Program and remove some of the uncertainty outlined above.  Many of the changes are also meant to maximize the benefit to the residents of underutilized communities.

You can continue reading the full article at:  Fox Rothschild LLP

What I wish I’d known before I became a government contractor (part 1)

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This month marks my 15th anniversary of being a government contractor, mostly for the Department of Defense.  I’ve learned and grown a lot as a government contractor and I have enough experiences to fill a book, or two.  There are some things I wish I would have known, so I will share them with you.

I had a decade of private sector experience before starting as a government contractor for DoD.  I found a challenging, often frustrating, but never boring introduction when I arrived at the Pentagon for my first assignment.

Although I had been married for more than a decade to an Army Reserve officer, I was completely unfamiliar with military culture in the workplace.  Here is a list of some of the most glaring differences:

TIME KEEPING RULES

Direct hire employees in the private sector have more flexibility when it comes to time keeping, schedules, and leave.  Federal contractors have very strict rules when it comes to reporting hours worked to the government.  Most private sector companies allow their direct hires to telework, something government contractors are often not allowed to do.  This reminds me of my experience with a former federal employee turned contractor who was astonished to realize that contractors are often held to different rules than their federal counterparts.  In her previous role she enjoyed the 59-minute rule, but as a contractor she was not entitled to leave before her scheduled time.  This was a difficult pill for her to swallow.  She quickly realized government contracting is not the same as being a federal employee.

Continue reading at:  Clearance Jobs

Preparing to bid in a new state

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If you’re expanding your business, you’ve got to put together a game plan — especially if you’re expending into other jurisdictions.

When a client is so pleased with your work on one project that they offer up more business, sometimes the invitation is sweeping, with the potential to dramatically expand your company’s footprint. No one wants to turn away work, particularly from a valued client.

But, if those projects are in jurisdictions that are new to the company, there will be some regulatory homework to do before making a commitment.

What licenses, paperwork, agreements, etc. will you need to do the work? Are exams required? Depending on the answers to these questions, and the processing times of the various jurisdictions, the licensing process can take anywhere from 1 to 6 months. So, how can you answer a client’s request confidently when opportunity comes knocking?

Consider using a business licensing provider with experience dealing with architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) firms. They can provide accurate time estimates for specific licenses and jurisdictions and have the knowledge to ensure timely file preparation, review and approval. Another option is to hit the books and research licensing requirements within the project’s jurisdiction(s).

Keep reading this article at: https://www.constructionbusinessowner.com/law/regulations/preparing-bid-new-state

Want to do business with the State of Georgia? You better know the rules!

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Click on image above to see Georgia Procurement Manual.

Every unit of government has rules about how it purchases goods and services.  As a vendor, your success in doing business with government agencies is dependent upon your knowledge of those rules.

The federal government follows the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR), and many federal agencies also issue FAR supplements.  Similarly, each state government has its own purchasing procedures.

In the State of Georgia, the Department of Administrative Services, through its State Purchasing Division (SPD), maintains the Georgia Procurement Manual (GPM).  The GPM governs how state government entities purchase needed goods and supplies.  It also provides information to suppliers about how to conduct business with the State of Georgia.  SPD periodically revises the GPM to incorporate legislative changes, new automated processes and best practices.

In May of this year, the GPM was updated in several important ways, including the supplier protest process as well as internal procedural updates, such as new automated processes for state procurement staff to submit certain reports and requests to SPD.  You can see a summary of the changes here.   A brief overview of the new supplier protest process follows.

What is the supplier protest process?

GPM Section 6.5 defines how suppliers may challenge certain purchasing actions by state entities, such as: solicitations, proposed sole source contracts, proposed purchases through consortia or cooperative purchasing agreements, the results of a Request for Qualified Contractors and the state’s proposed or actual award of a contract.

How has the supplier protest process changed?

SPD has updated the supplier protest process to:

  • Define general principles that govern SPD’s review of supplier protests;
  • Address review of a supplier’s protest that a system error prevented timely submission of an electronic bid or proposal;
  • Identify certain procurements that are exempt from SPD’s protest process;
  • Define how sole source protests will be reviewed, including the option for discussions between the state entity and the protesting supplier prior to SPD issuing a protest decision;
  • Require a supplier to file a protest within 10 calendar days of the date the supplier knows or should have known of the action which is being protested or the other applicable protest filing deadlines, whichever is sooner;
  • Update the submission process to remove the fax number (protests may continue to be either mailed or sent via email to the addresses noted in the GPM); and
  • Provide other clarifications.
When are these changes effective?

Changes became effective May 18, 2018.  You can listen to a recorded webinar on the changes to the Georgia Procurement Manual here: GPM changes.  (Presentation begins at the 9:55 mark.)

New DHS acquisition rules proposal could disrupt contracts, hurt small business

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President Donald Trump celebrated a new executive order designed to eliminate regulations on small businesses. But a series of new acquisition rules proposed weeks ago by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) have Federal contracting experts worried about future governmentwide disruptions and a decrease in competition.

DHS’s Office of the Chief Procurement Officer on Jan. 18 issued three proposed rules that would require privacy training and security awareness training for contractors, and would add five new categories of Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI)—unclassified information that is still sensitive—that contractors will need to secure and manage.

DHS’s proposed regulations are troubling to some Federal contracting experts because they disrupt the governmentwide standards that took years to set up, and may impose costs on small businesses that make it impossible for them to compete for DHS contracts.

Alan Chvotkin, executive vice president and counsel for the Professional Services Council (PSC), said the new CUI categories “don’t square” with the governmentwide rule that took six years to create.

Keep reading this article at: https://www.meritalk.com/articles/new-dhs-acquisition-rules-proposal-could-disrupt-contracts-hurt-small-business/

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