[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 173 (Friday, September 6, 2024)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 72763-72765]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-19859]


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SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

13 CFR Part 126


Tribal Consultation for HUBZone Program Updates and 
Clarifications and Potential Reforms

AGENCY: U.S. Small Business Administration.

ACTION: Notification of Tribal consultation meeting; request for 
comments.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA or Agency) 
announces that it is holding a Tribal consultation meeting in 
Washington, DC, concerning forthcoming proposed revisions to the 
Historically Underutilized Business Zone (HUBZone) program regulations. 
The proposed rule would amend the 8(a) Business Development (BD) and 
size regulations to clarify certain policies. Additionally, SBA 
requests comments and input on how best to implement the Executive 
order entitled ``Reforming Federal Funding and Support for Tribal 
Nations To Better Embrace Our Trust Responsibilities and Promote the 
Next Era of Tribal Self-Determination,'' which, among other things, 
calls on agencies to increase the accessibility, equity, flexibility, 
and utility of Federal funding and support programs for Tribal Nations. 
SBA is also seeking comments on prospective policy changes addressing 
joint venture participation in SBA's programs. Testimony presented at 
this Tribal consultation will become part of the administrative record 
for SBA's consideration when the Agency deliberates on approaches to 
changes in the HUBZone and 8(a) BD program regulations.

DATES: The meeting is Monday, September 23, 2024, 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. 
(Eastern Daylight Time (EDT). Pre-registration for this Tribal 
consultation meeting is requested by September 16, 2024.

ADDRESSES: 
    Meeting Locations:
    1. The in-person Tribal consultation meeting in Washington, DC will 
be held at SBA Headquarters, 409 Third Street SW, Washington, DC 20416.
    2. The virtual portion of the Tribal consultation meeting will be 
hosted on Microsoft Teams. A subscription to Microsoft Teams is not 
required to participate. SBA will provide further information, 
including a direct invitation link to the meeting, upon registration.
    Commenters and attendees may participate in-person or remotely at 
this consultation meeting.
    Pre-registration: 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.
    Comments: You may submit comments by any of the following methods:
     Email: to Jackson S. Brossy, Assistant Administrator, 
Office of Native American Affairs, U.S. Small Business Administration, 
at [email protected].
     Mail (for paper, disk, or CD-ROM submissions): to Jackson 
S. Brossy, Assistant Administrator, Office of Native American Affairs, 
U.S. Small Business Administration, 409 3rd Street SW, Washington, DC 
20416.
    Instructions: All submissions received will become part of the 
administrative record for any rulemaking resulting from these Tribal 
consultation meetings and listening session. As such, comments received 
may be posted on https://www.regulations.gov. If you wish to submit 
confidential business information (CBI) as defined in the User Notice 
at https://www.regulations.gov, please submit the comments to Jackson 
S. Brossy 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.

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. This phone number can 
also be reached by individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing, or who 
have speech disabilities, through the Federal Communications 
Commission's TTY-Based Telecommunications Relay Service teletype 
service at 711.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    SBA issued a proposed rule concerning the HUBZone program 
regulations under RIN 3245-AH68. 89 FR 68274 (Aug. 23, 2024). The 
proposed rule is intended to clarify and improve several regulatory 
provisions, including those governing HUBZone contract eligibility. The 
proposed rule would also make several changes to SBA's size and 8(a) 
Business Development (BD) program regulations. In particular, the 
rulemaking would consolidate and redesignate the separate 
recertification requirements for SBA's size, 8(a) BD, HUBZone, Woman-
Owned Small Business, and Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business 
programs to a new section to reduce confusion and to ensure consistent 
application of the size and status recertification requirements. SBA 
anticipates the proposed rule will be published prior to the Tribal 
consultation meeting announced in this document.
    In addition to the above referenced regulatory proposals, SBA is 
asking for input on how best to implement Executive Order (E.O.) 14112, 
Reforming Federal Funding and Support for Tribal Nations To Better 
Embrace Our Trust Responsibilities and Promote the Next Era of Tribal 
Self-Determination, which was signed by the President on December 6, 
2023. This E.O. directs agencies to identify and execute policy reforms 
designed to promote accessible, equitable, and flexible administration 
of Federal funding and support programs for Tribal Nations to better 
live up to the Federal Government's trust responsibilities and help 
address the needs of all Tribal Nations. SBA has identified several 
potential opportunities for improvement, including the current 
requirements for personal guarantees and a waiver of sovereign immunity 
for 7(a) loans to tribally-owned business concerns, as well as the 
match funding requirement applicable to grants awarded by Native-
serving entrepreneurship organizations, such as Small Business 
Development Centers and Community Development Financial Institutions. 
SBA is seeking comments on these and other potential reforms to reduce 
burdens and improve the accessibility of SBA's programs for Tribal 
stakeholders. Additionally, the Agency requests input on a change SBA 
has already made to address the

[[Page 72764]]

business and economic development needs of Tribal Nations. 
Specifically, SBA's Assistant Administrator for Native American Affairs 
(ONAA)--who previously reported to the Associate Administrator for the 
Office of Entrepreneurial Development--now reports directly to the SBA 
Administrator. SBA would like to better understand whether Tribal 
Nations wish to continue with this current organization and reporting 
structure.
    Lastly, SBA is requesting comments on other prospective policy 
changes addressing joint venture participation in SBA programs. Any 
such policy changes would be addressed in a separate proposed 
rulemaking action after considering comments and testimony from this 
tribal consultation meeting. Specifically, SBA is seeking input on the 
perception that mentor-prot[eacute]g[eacute] joint ventures are winning 
an inordinate number of orders issued under small business multiple 
award contracts and seeks suggestions on how to incentivize a more 
equitable marketplace for individual small businesses who compete 
against mentor-prot[eacute]g[eacute] joint ventures for multiple award, 
small business contracts. There is also a perception that small 
businesses often enter joint ventures to seek multiple award contract 
awards because procuring agency past performance and experience 
requirements make it difficult for many small businesses to qualify for 
the awards individually. SBA is considering whether to propose 
eliminating the exception to affiliation between an SBA-approved mentor 
and its prot[eacute]g[eacute] for multiple award contracts to address 
this concern. Such a change would continue to allow joint ventures to 
seek and be awarded single award small business contracts, but would 
make joint ventures ineligible for multiple award contracts. If that 
would occur, SBA would expect the past performance and experience 
required for award of future multiple award contracts to be adjusted to 
allow individual small businesses to more easily qualify for award.
    Another potential approach would be to allow an exclusion from 
affiliation for a joint venture between a prot[eacute]g[eacute] firm 
and its mentor only for contracts or orders that do not exceed five 
years. As SBA has previously stated, SBA believes that a joint venture 
should not be an on-going entity, but something with limited scope and 
limited duration. Thus, SBA has limited the duration that a joint 
venture can submit offers for the award of contracts to two years from 
the date of its first contract award. SBA is questioning whether a 
joint venture performing a contract or order that exceeds five years is 
truly a limited duration entity.
    Specific to qualified HUBZone prot[eacute]g[eacute] firms 
participating in the Mentor-Prot[eacute]g[eacute] Program, SBA is 
considering steps to clarify the applicability of the HUBZone price 
evaluation preference to HUBZone joint ventures formed under the 
Mentor-Prot[eacute]g[eacute] Program. Under the HUBZone price 
evaluation preference, where a procuring agency will award a contract 
on an unrestricted basis (i.e., full and open competition), the agency 
must deem the price offered by a certified HUBZone small business 
concern (including a HUBZone joint venture that complies with the 
requirements of Sec.  126.616) to be lower than the price offered by an 
apparent successful large business offeror if the price offered by the 
certified HUBZone small business concern is not more than 10% higher 
than the price offered by the large business. SBA is requesting 
comments and input on whether it is appropriate for a HUBZone mentor-
prot[eacute]g[eacute] joint venture to benefit from the HUBZone price 
evaluation preference when the joint venture is already benefitting 
from its large business mentor's lower cost structures and pricing. SBA 
is considering whether to propose eliminating the HUBZone price 
evaluation preference's applicability to all joint ventures formed 
under the Mentor-Prot[eacute]g[eacute] Program or, alternatively, to 
offers submitting by a HUBZone joint venture where the mentor exceeds 
the applicable size standard corresponding to the North American 
Industry Classification System (NAICS) code assigned to the contract.

II. Tribal Consultation Meeting

    The purpose of this Tribal consultation meeting is to conform to 
the requirements of E.O. 13175, Consultation and Coordination With 
Indian Tribal Governments (65 FR 67249), and SBA's Tribal Consultation 
Policy (https://www.sba.gov/document/support-sba-tribal-consultation-policy); 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 HUBZone and 8(a) BD regulations. SBA 
considers Tribal consultation meetings a valuable component of its 
deliberations and believes that this Tribal consultation meeting 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 
Alaska Native Corporation (ANC)-owned firms participating in the 8(a) 
BD program.
    The format of this 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 the Tribal 
consultation is to assist SBA with gathering information to guide SBA's 
review process and to potentially develop new proposals. SBA requests 
that the comments pertain to SBA's planned rulemaking concerning the 
HUBZone and 8(a) BD programs, general issues as they pertain to the 
HUBZone and 8(a) BD regulations, opportunities for reform under E.O. 
14112, or the unique concerns of the Tribal communities. 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.
    The hybrid meeting in Washington, DC will begin at 2 p.m. and end 
at 5 p.m. (EDT). All registered speakers will have an opportunity to 
provide testimony. SBA may 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, ANC-owned, or Native Hawaiian Organization (NHO)-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. Pre-
registration is not required for attendance at either the in-person or 
virtual portion of the consultation meeting and the Microsoft Teams 
invitation link for the virtual consultation meeting is a general link 
that may be shared with others. However, attendees of the virtual 
consultation meeting who would like to receive the link directly from 
SBA must pre-register. SBA requests that attendees register with SBA no 
later than: September 16, 2024. To register, 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

[[Page 72765]]

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 document.

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

Jackson S. Brossy,
Assistant Administrator, Office of Native American Affairs.
[FR Doc. 2024-19859 Filed 9-5-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8026-09-P