[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 104 (Wednesday, May 30, 2018)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 24684-24686]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-11495]


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SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

13 CFR Parts 124 and 126

RIN 3245-AG38; 3245-AG94


Tribal Consultation for Small Business HUBZone Program and 
Government Contracting Programs and Consolidation of Mentor 
Prot[eacute]g[eacute] Programs and Other Government Contracting 
Amendments

AGENCY: U.S. Small Business Administration.

ACTION: Notification of tribal consultation meetings.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) announces that it 
is holding tribal consultation meetings in Albuquerque, New Mexico and 
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma concerning the regulations governing the 8(a) 
Business Development (BD) program and the HUBZone program. SBA seeks to 
reduce unnecessary or excessive regulatory burdens in those programs 
and to make them more attractive to procuring agencies and small 
businesses. Testimony presented at these tribal consultations will 
become part of the administrative record for SBA's consideration when 
the Agency deliberates on approaches to changes in the regulations 
pertaining to these programs.

DATES: The Tribal Consultation meeting dates are as follows:
    1. Thursday, June 7, 2018, 10:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. (MDT), 
Albuquerque, New Mexico. The pre-registration deadline date for this 
Tribal Consultation meeting is May 31, 2018.
    2. Friday, June 8, 2018, 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. (CDT), Oklahoma 
City, Oklahoma. The pre-registration deadline date for this Tribal 
Consultation meeting is June 1, 2018.

ADDRESSES: 
1. The Tribal Consultation meeting in Albuquerque will be held at the 
New Mexico Indian Pueblo Cultural Center, 2401 12th Street NW, 
Albuquerque, NM 87104. The Tribal Consultation meeting in Oklahoma City 
will be held at the Tinker Business & Industrial Park, 2601 Liberty 
Parkway, Oklahoma City, OK 73110.

[[Page 24685]]

2. Send pre-registration requests to attend and/or testify to Chequita 
Carter of SBA's Office of Native American Affairs, U.S. Small Business 
Administration, 409 3rd Street SW, Washington, DC 20416; 
[email protected]; or Facsimile to (202) 481-2177.
3. You may submit comments, identified by RIN 3245-AG38, for Small 
Business HUBZone Program and Government Contracting Programs and RIN 
3245-AG94, for Consolidation of Mentor Prot[eacute]g[eacute] Programs 
and Other Government Contracting Amendments, by any of the following 
methods:

     Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov and 
follow the instructions for submitting comments.
     Mail (for paper, disk, or CD-ROM submissions): to Kenneth 
Dodds, Director, Office of Procurement Policy and Liaison, U.S. Small 
Business Administration, 409 3rd Street SW, Washington, DC 20416; or 
[email protected]; or Facsimile to (202) 481-2950, 409 Third Street 
SW, Washington, DC 20416.
    Instructions: All submissions received must include the agency name 
and docket number or Regulatory Information Number (RIN) for this 
rulemaking. All comments received will be posted on http://www.regulations.gov. If you wish to submit confidential business 
information (CBI) as defined in the User Notice at http://www.regulations.gov, please submit the comments to Kenneth Dodds and 
highlight the information that you consider to be CBI and explain why 
you believe this information should be held confidential. SBA will make 
a final determination as to whether the comments will be published or 
not.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Chequita Carter, Program Assistant for 
SBA's Office of Native American Affairs, at [email protected] or 
(202) 205-6680 or by facsimile to (202) 481-2177.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    SBA is contemplating making substantive changes to the regulations 
governing both the 8(a) BD (13 CFR part 124) and HUBZone (13 CFR part 
126) programs, and requests comments and input on how best to reduce 
unnecessary or excessive regulatory burdens in those programs. 
Particularly, SBA is interested in comments related to two planned 
rulemakings: (1) Small Business HUBZone Program and Government 
Contracting Programs (RIN 3245-AG38); and (2) Consolidation of Mentor 
Prot[eacute]g[eacute] Programs and Other Government Contracting 
Amendments (RIN 3245-AG94). The first-mentioned planned rulemaking 
would constitute a comprehensive revision of part 126 of SBA's 
regulations to clarify current HUBZone program regulations, and 
implement various new procedures. The latter planned rulemaking 
contemplates consolidating the All Small Mentor Prot[eacute]g[eacute] 
Program and the 8(a) Mentor Prot[eacute]g[eacute] Program into one 
program and possibly eliminating SBA's role in approving joint venture 
agreements for 8(a) competitive contracts. In addition, it would revise 
SBA's process for approving management changes in entity-owned 8(a) 
firms. It is SBA's intent to implement changes that will make it easier 
for small business concerns to understand and comply with the programs' 
requirements. SBA is also seeking to make these programs more effective 
and improve the delivery of them to the small business community. SBA 
understands that some of its regulations have significantly adversely 
affected small business concerns owned and controlled by tribes and 
Alaska Native Corporations (ANCs), including 8(a) change of ownership 
requirements and the process for changing an 8(a) firm's primary NAICS 
code, and seeks tribal participation to ease these burdens. Lastly, SBA 
notes that the HUBZone program is often not being fully utilized by 
procuring agencies, and seeks input on what changes could be made to 
make the HUBZone program more attractive to both procuring agencies and 
small businesses.
    In addition to the above, the Agency is seeking comments on two 
recommended regulatory amendments that were proposed during a May 9, 
2018, tribal consultation meeting, in Anchorage, Alaska. One such 
amendment would require prospective 8(a) BD program applicants to 
complete a preparatory tutorial designed to help such concerns 
determine whether they are ready to fully benefit from the program's 
business development assistance. SBA requests input as to whether an 
8(a) preparatory tutorial would be helpful to the small business 
community, and whether any such tutorial should be optional or 
mandatory for firms seeking to obtain 8(a) certification. The other 
amendment would allow mentors participating in SBA's mentor 
prot[eacute]g[eacute] programs to have more than three 
prot[eacute]g[eacute]s at one time. SBA is concerned that allowing a 
large business mentor to have additional prot[eacute]g[eacute] firms at 
one time could permit them to unduly benefit from small business 
contracts, through joint ventures with their prot[eacute]g[eacute] 
firms, which they would otherwise not be eligible for. Nevertheless, 
SBA is seeking comments on whether lifting the current regulatory limit 
would benefit small businesses and further the programs' purpose.

II. Tribal Consultation Meetings

    The purpose of these tribal consultation meetings is to conform to 
the requirements of Executive Order 13175, Tribal Consultations; to 
provide interested parties with an opportunity to discuss their views 
on the issues; and for SBA to obtain the views of SBA's stakeholders on 
approaches to the 8(a) BD program and HUBZone program regulations. SBA 
considers tribal consultation meetings a valuable component of its 
deliberations and believes that these tribal consultation meetings will 
allow for constructive dialogue with the Tribal community, Tribal 
Leaders, Tribal Elders, elected members of Alaska Native Villages or 
their appointed representatives, and principals of tribally-owned and 
ANC-owned firms participating in the 8(a) BD and HUBZone programs.
    The format of these tribal consultation meetings will consist of a 
panel of SBA representatives who will preside over the session. The 
oral and written testimony as well as any comments SBA receives will 
become part of the administrative record for SBA's consideration. 
Written testimony may be submitted in lieu of oral testimony. SBA will 
analyze the testimony, both oral and written, along with any written 
comments received. SBA officials may ask questions of a presenter to 
clarify or further explain the testimony. The purpose of these tribal 
consultations is to assist SBA with gathering information to guide 
SBA's review process and to potentially develop new proposals. SBA 
requests that the comments focus on SBA's two planned rulemakings 
relating to the 8(a) BD and HUBZone programs, the two proposed 
regulatory revisions SBA received at the tribal consultation in 
Anchorage, Alaska, general issues as they pertain to the 8(a) BD and 
HUBZone regulations, input related to what changes could be made to 
make these programs more attractive to procuring agencies and small 
businesses, or the unique concerns of the Tribal communities. SBA 
requests that commenters do not raise issues pertaining to other SBA 
small business programs. Presenters are encouraged to provide a written 
copy of their testimony. SBA will accept written material that the 
presenter wishes to provide that further supplements his or

[[Page 24686]]

her testimony. Electronic or digitized copies are encouraged.
    Each tribal consultation meeting will be held for one day. The 
meeting in Albuquerque, NM will begin at 10:00 a.m. and end at 2:30 
p.m. (MDT) and the meeting in Oklahoma City, OK will begin at 10:00 
a.m. and end at 2:00 p.m. (CDT). SBA will adjourn early if all those 
scheduled have delivered their testimony.

III. Registration

    SBA respectfully requests that any elected or appointed 
representative of the tribal communities or principal of a tribally-
owned or ANC-owned 8(a) firm that is interested in attending please 
pre-register in advance and indicate whether you would like to testify 
at the hearing. Registration requests for the tribal consultation 
meetings in Albuquerque and Oklahoma City should be received by SBA by 
May 31, 2018 and June 1, 2018, respectively. Please contact Chequita 
Carter of SBA's Office of Native American Affairs in writing at 
[email protected] or by facsimile to (202) 481-2177. If you are 
interested in testifying please include the following information 
relating to the person testifying: Name, Organization affiliation, 
Address, Telephone number, Email address and Fax number. SBA will 
attempt to accommodate all interested parties that wish to present 
testimony. Based on the number of registrants it may be necessary to 
impose time limits to ensure that everyone who wishes to testify has 
the opportunity to do so. SBA will confirm in writing the registration 
of presenters and attendees.

IV. Information on Service for Individuals With Disabilities

    For information on facilities or services for individuals with 
disabilities or to request special assistance at the tribal 
consultation meeting, contact Chequita Carter at the telephone number 
or email address indicated under the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT 
section of this notice.

    Authority: 15 U.S.C. 634 and E.O. 13175, 65 FR 67249.

Allen Gutierrez,
Associate Administrator for the Office of Entrepreneurial Development.
[FR Doc. 2018-11495 Filed 5-29-18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8025-01-P