[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 234 (Thursday, December 5, 2019)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 66647-66648]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-26293]
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SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION
13 CFR Part 124
Tribal Consultations for Consolidation of Mentor
Prot[eacute]g[eacute] Programs and Other Government Contracting
Amendments (RIN 3245-AG94)
AGENCY: U.S. Small Business Administration.
ACTION: Notice 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 Minneapolis, Minnesota,
Anchorage, Alaska, Albuquerque, New Mexico, and Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
concerning the proposed revisions to the 8(a) Business Development (BD)
program regulations. 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 the 8(a) BD program.
DATES: The Tribal Consultation meeting dates are as follows:
1. Tuesday, December 10, 2019, 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. (CST),
Minneapolis, Minnesota. The pre-registration deadline for this Tribal
Consultation meeting is December 6, 2019.
2. Wednesday, January 8, 2020, 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. (AKST),
Anchorage, Alaska. The pre-registration deadline for this Tribal
Consultation meeting is January 2, 2020.
3. Tuesday, January 14, 2020, 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. (MST),
Albuquerque, New Mexico. The pre-registration deadline for this Tribal
Consultation meeting is January 7, 2020.
4. Thursday, January 16, 2020, 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. (CST),
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The pre-registration deadline for this Tribal
Consultation meeting is January 9, 2020.
ADDRESSES:
1. The Tribal Consultation meeting in Minneapolis, Minnesota will
be held at the SBA Minnesota District Office, Training Center, 330
Second Avenue South, Minneapolis, MN 55401.
2. The Tribal Consultation meeting in Anchorage, Alaska will be
held at the Z.J. Loussac Public Library, 3600 Denali Street, Anchorage,
AK 99503.
3. The Tribal Consultation meeting in Albuquerque, New Mexico will
be held at the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center, 2401 12th Street NW,
Albuquerque, New Mexico 87104.
4. The Tribal Consultation meeting in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma will
be held at the Francis Tuttle Technology Center, Corporate Training
Center Building, 12777 North Rockwell Avenue, Oklahoma City, OK 73142.
5. 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.
6. You may submit comments, identified by RIN 3245-AG94, 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 Brenda
Fernandez, Office of Procurement Policy and Liaison, U.S. Small
Business Administration, 409 3rd Street SW, Washington, DC 20416; or
[email protected].
Instructions: All submissions received must include the agency name
and docket number or Regulatory Information Number (RIN) for this
[[Page 66648]]
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 Brenda Fernandez 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
On November 8, 2019 (84 FR 60846), SBA issued a proposed rule
contemplating substantive changes to the regulations governing the 8(a)
BD program (13 CFR 124), publicly available at https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2019-11-08/pdf/2019-23141.pdf. The proposed rule would
consolidate the All Small Mentor Prot[eacute]g[eacute] Program and the
8(a) Mentor Prot[eacute]g[eacute] Program into one program to eliminate
confusion and remove duplicative functions within SBA. This proposed
rule would also eliminate the requirement that 8(a) Participants
seeking to be awarded a competitive 8(a) contract as a joint venture
must submit the joint venture agreement to SBA for review and approval
prior to contract award. Additionally, this rule proposes to make
several changes to the 8(a) BD program regulations to eliminate
confusion or reduce unnecessary or excessive burdens on 8(a) applicants
and Participants owned and controlled by tribes, Alaska Native
Corporations (ANCs), Native Hawaiian Organizations (NHOs), and
Community Development Corporations (CDCs). Among other things, such
changes would eliminate the prior approval requirement for changes of
ownership involving the insertion or removal of a wholly-owned business
entity between the tribe/ANC/CDC and the Participant, simplify the
rules pertaining to a tribe/ANC/NHO/CDC owning more than one
Participant in the 8(a) BD program, clarify the 8(a) BD program
admission requirements governing how a tribally-owned applicant may
demonstrate that it possesses the necessary potential for success,
revise the rules regarding excessive withdrawals in the context of pro-
rata distributions to non-disadvantaged minority owners of entity-owned
8(a) Participants, and authorize an appeal process under which a
Participant could challenge an SBA-initiated change to its primary
industry classification. SBA is seeking comments and input on the
various approaches and changes identified in the proposed rule.
II. Tribal Consultation Meeting
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
proposed approaches to the 8(a) BD 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 program.
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. Testimony received at these
tribal consultations will guide SBA's review process and may
potentially develop new proposals. SBA requests that the comments focus
on SBA's proposed rulemaking relating to the 8(a) BD program, general
issues as they pertain to the 8(a) BD regulations, or the unique
concerns of the Tribal or native 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 her testimony. Electronic or
digitized copies are encouraged.
Each tribal consultation meeting will be held for one day. The
meeting in Minneapolis, Minnesota will begin at 10:00 a.m. and end at
2:00 p.m. (CST); the meeting in Anchorage, Alaska will begin at 10:00
a.m. and end at 4:00 p.m. (AKST), with a break from 12:30 p.m. to 1:30
p.m.; the meeting in Albuquerque, New Mexico will begin at 10:00 a.m.
and end at 2:00 p.m. (MST); and the meeting in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
will begin at 10:00 a.m. and end at 2:00 p.m. (CST). 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 should be received by SBA no
later than: December 6, 2019 for the consultation meeting in
Minneapolis; January 2, 2020 for the consultation meeting in Anchorage;
January 7, 2020 for the consultation meeting in Albuquerque; and
January 9, 2020 for the consultation meeting in Oklahoma City. Please
submit registration requests in writing to Chequita Carter of SBA's
Office of Native American Affairs 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.
Shawn Pensoneau,
Assistant Administrator for the Office of Native American Affairs.
[FR Doc. 2019-26293 Filed 12-4-19; 8:45 am]
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