[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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