[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 219 (Tuesday, November 13, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 56803-56804]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-28408]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA)

[Docket No. 980901228-1253-02]
RIN 0640-ZA04


Identification of Currently Funded Projects Eligible To Be 
Extended for an Additional Year of Funding in Light of MBDA's Intent To 
Revise The Minority Business Opportunity Committee (MBOC) Program

AGENCY: Minority Business Development Agency, Commerce.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: This notice announces the Minority Business Development 
Agency's (MBDA) amendment of a prior Federal Register notice published 
by MBDA that established the total project award period for cooperative 
agreements under the Minority Business Opportunity Committee (MBOC) 
program as three (3) years. MBDA amends the award period to provide for 
an additional year of funding. This extension of time will permit MBDA 
needed time to develop a revision of the work requirements and 
performance measures for the MBOC program. This notice also identifies 
certain MBOCs currently funded through December 31, 2001, that will be 
eligible for an additional year of funding beyond the three (3) years 
normally allowed between competitions. It is MBDA's intent to revise 
the scope of the program to include use of state-of-the-art information 
technology to collect and disseminate information for and about 
minority businesses and markets, and to install Performance Measures 
that can be electronically validated and verified.

DATES: November 13, 2001.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Stephen Boykin (202) 482-1712.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under Executive Order 11625, MBDA provides 
business development services to persons who are members of groups 
determined by the U. S. Department of Commerce to be socially or 
economically disadvantaged, and to business concerns owned and 
controlled by such individuals. The MBOC program is one vehicle MBDA 
utilizes to accomplish this mission. The MBOC program creates 
conditions in the public and private sector marketplace that foster 
significant minority business and economic success. The MBOC is a 
locally based organization dedicated to the planning, coordination, 
creation, and delivery of resources to facilitate effective 
participation of the minority business sector in the community and 
globally. The principal functions of the MBOC are to serve as a focal 
point for the development of mutually beneficial approaches to insure 
minority business participation in the community; to identify and 
facilitate economic and business opportunities; to identify barriers to 
economic growth and to develop strategies for overcoming these 
barriers; to serve as community advocate for minority businesses; and 
to serve as a mentoring entity for ready to grow businesses.
    To ensure that the program objectives stated above are carried out 
more effectively, MBDA shall revise the work requirements to require 
the use of state-of-the-art technology to verify and validate 
performance and to collect and disseminate information for and about 
minority business and markets. MBDA intends to implement the new work 
requirements for the MBOC Program through competition to be published 
in the Federal Register and on MBDA's website (www.mbda.gov) in the 
summer/fall of 2002. The anticipated start date for new awards is 
January 1, 2003. Consequently, there will be no new competition for 
MBOCs during 2001.
    As part of the transition, MBDA intends to provide an additional 
year of funding, on a non-competitive basis, to current, eligible MBOCs 
that will be completing the third year of operation on 12/31/01. Such 
additional funding will be at the total discretion of MBDA, based on 
such factors as the MBOC's performance, the availability of funds and 
Agency priorities. Normally MBOCs would undergo a new competition after 
three years of operation. The additional year of funding, as announced 
in this Notice, will allow MBDA the necessary time to develop its 
revised program and to apply the new work requirements to all MBOCs 
effective 1/1/03. Therefore, MBDA's prior Federal Register notice (63 
FR 47480) is hereby amended to allow for the extension of the total 
project award period of cooperative agreements under the MBOC program 
to four (4) years. The following MBOCs are affected by this notice and 
will be eligible for an additional year (1/1/2002 through 12/31/2002) 
of funding on a non-competitive basis: Puerto Rico MBOC (Economic Bank 
of Puerto Rico); Brooklyn/Queens MBOC (Brooklyn Economic Development 
Corporation); Los Angeles MBOC (City of Los Angeles); South Texas MBOC 
(Rio Grande Valley Empowerment Zone Corporation); Kansas City MBOC (The 
City of Kansas City, Missouri); Birmingham MBOC (City of Birmingham, 
Alabama); and Austin MBOC (Texas Association of Minority Business 
Enterprises).
    The Department of Commerce Pre-Award Notification Requirements for 
Grants and Cooperative Agreements contained in the Federal Register 
notice of October 1, 2001 (66 FR 49917), are applicable to this notice.

Executive Order 12866

    This notice was determined to be not significant for purposes of 
E.O. 12866.

Administrative Procedure Act

    The provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act requiring notice 
of proposed rulemaking, the opportunity for public participation, and a 
delay in effective date, are inapplicable because this notice is a 
matter relating to public property, loans, grants, benefits, or 
contracts 5 U.S.C. 553(a)(2),

Regulatory Flexibility Act

    Because a notice of proposed rulemaking and opportunities for 
public comment are not required to be given for this notice by 5 U.S.C. 
553 or by any other law, the analytical requirements of the Regulatory 
Flexibility Act, 5 U.S.C. 601 are inapplicable.

[[Page 56804]]

Executive Order 13132

    This notice does not contain policies with Federalism implications 
as that term is defined in Executive Order 13132.

    Authority: 15 U.S.C. 1512 and Executive Order 11625.

    Dated: November 5, 2001.
Juanita E. Berry,
Federal Register Liaison Officer, Minority Business Development Agency.
Ronald N. Langston,
National Director, Minority Business Development Agency.
[FR Doc. 01-28408 Filed 11-9-01; 8:45 am]
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