13 CFR Part 121, Subpart B - Other Applicable Provisions

The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) is correcting an interim final rule that appeared in the Federal Register on August 20, 2012 (75 FR 49991), effective October 1, 2012. The interim rule amended SBA's Small Business Size Regulations by incorporating the Office of Management and Budget's 2012 North American Industry Classification System update (NAICS 2012) into its table of small business size standards. The NAICS 2012 revised the definitions of some NAICS industries by deleting some and merging others with the new or other revised industries. This action corrects the small business size standard for NAICS 334419, Other Electronic Component Manufacturing, from 500 employees to 750 employees, effective immediately.

The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA or Agency) is adjusting the monetary based industry size standards ( i.e., receipts, assets, net worth, and net income) for inflation that has occurred since the last adjustment in 2008. These adjustments are in addition to the recent revisions to size standards as part of the current comprehensive size standards review, as mandated by the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010 (Jobs Act). Also adjusted for inflation are program based size standards, with the exception of the new alternative size standard for SBA's 7(a) and 504 loan programs that was established under the Jobs Act. The new alternative size standard will remain in effect until SBA establishes a permanent alternative size standard for the 7(a) and 504 loan programs. SBA is also deleting references to Surety Bond Guarantee size standards for contracts awarded in 2005 in the Presidentially declared disaster areas following Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, and Wilma. In addition, SBA is deleting the determination date for eligibility under the Agency's Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) Program in connection with the same 2005 hurricanes. Finally, SBA is clarifying that footnote 9 to its table of size standards is not limited to NAICS 531190, but rather applies to all industries in Industry Group 5311, Lessors of Real Estate.

The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA or Agency) is proposing to amend its regulations to implement provisions of the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010 and the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2013. Based on authorities provided in these two statutes, the proposed rule would establish a Government-wide mentor-protégé program for all small business concerns, consistent with SBA's mentor-protégé program for Participants in SBA's 8(a) Business Development (BD) program. The proposed rule would also make minor changes to the mentor-protégé provisions for the 8(a) Business Development program in order to make the mentor-protégé rules for each of the programs as consistent as possible. The proposed rule would amend the current joint venture provisions to clarify the conditions for creating and operating joint venture partnerships, including the effect of such partnerships on any mentor-protégé relationships. Finally, the proposed rule would make several additional changes to current size, 8(a) Office of Hearings and Appeals or HUBZone regulations, concerning among other things, ownership and control, changes in primary industry, standards of review and interested party status for some appeals.

The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA or Agency) is proposing to amend its regulations to implement provisions of the National Defense Authorization Act of 2013, which pertain to performance requirements applicable to small business and socioeconomic program set aside contracts and small business subcontracting. SBA is also proposing to make changes to its regulations concerning the nonmanufacturer rule and affiliation rules. Further, SBA is proposing to allow a joint venture to qualify as small for any government procurement as long as each partner to the joint venture qualifies individually as small under the size standard corresponding to the NAICS code assigned in the solicitation. Finally, SBA is requesting comments on the timeline and procedures for North American Industry Classification System code appeals.

The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) is correcting an interim final rule that appeared in the Federal Register on August 20, 2012 (75 FR 49991), effective October 1, 2012. The interim rule amended SBA's Small Business Size Regulations by incorporating the Office of Management and Budget's 2012 North American Industry Classification System update (NAICS 2012) into its table of small business size standards. The NAICS 2012 revised the definitions of some NAICS industries by deleting some and merging others with the new or other revised industries. This action corrects the small business size standard for NAICS 334419, Other Electronic Component Manufacturing, from 500 employees to 750 employees, effective immediately.

This notice makes corrections to the proposed rule that appeared in the Federal Register on September 10, 2014, entitled Small Business Size Standards; Industries with Employee Based Size Standards Not Part of Manufacturing, Wholesale Trade, or Retail Trade. This document corrects several incorrect figures in the preamble text.

This rule proposes to implement provisions of the National Defense Authorization Act of 2013 (NDAA) pertaining to small business size. Specifically, the rule proposes to amend the Small Business Administration's (SBA or Agency) program regulations to implement statutory provisions establishing a safe harbor from fraud penalties for individuals or firms that misrepresent business concerns as being small for purposes of Federal procurement opportunities if they acted in good faith reliance upon small business status advisory opinions received from Small Business Development Centers (SBDCs) or Procurement Technical Assistance Centers (PTACs). The rule also proposes to amend SBA's regulations to establish the criteria small business status advisory opinions must meet in order to be deemed adequate and specify the review process for such opinions. Finally, the proposed rule would amend SBA's regulations to update the circumstances under which SBA may initiate a formal size determination.

The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA or Agency) is adjusting the monetary based industry size standards ( i.e., receipts, assets, net worth, and net income) for inflation that has occurred since the last adjustment in 2008. These adjustments are in addition to the recent revisions to size standards as part of the current comprehensive size standards review, as mandated by the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010 (Jobs Act). Also adjusted for inflation are program based size standards, with the exception of the new alternative size standard for SBA's 7(a) and 504 loan programs that was established under the Jobs Act. The new alternative size standard will remain in effect until SBA establishes a permanent alternative size standard for the 7(a) and 504 loan programs. SBA is also deleting references to Surety Bond Guarantee size standards for contracts awarded in 2005 in the Presidentially declared disaster areas following Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, and Wilma. In addition, SBA is deleting the determination date for eligibility under the Agency's Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) Program in connection with the same 2005 hurricanes. Finally, SBA is clarifying that footnote 9 to its table of size standards is not limited to NAICS 531190, but rather applies to all industries in Industry Group 5311, Lessors of Real Estate.

The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) published a final rule in the Federal Register on July 16, 2013 (78 FR 42391), amending its regulations governing small business subcontracting. That document amended § 121.411 without incorporating the amendments made to that section by a final rule published on June 28, 2013 (78 FR 38811), which unintentionally resulted in duplicate paragraphs. This document corrects the final regulations by properly designating the paragraphs in § 121.411.