I’m in Anchorage, lucky enough to join my friends from the National 8(a) Association for their Regional Conference. It’s great to be back among people, especially in such gorgeous scenery.
But it’s not all networking and sightseeing—there’s still important discussions relating to federal government contracting. Among the most important was an update by the SBA relating to 8(a) construction companies.
In her keynote address, Bibi Hidalgo (SBA’s Associate Administrator for Government Contracting and Business Development) highlighted recent successes and continued efforts to increase small business participation in federal government contracts. She highlighted the Biden Administration’s “all of government approach” to increase contracting opportunities—including, given the audience, the planned increase of 8(a) contract goals, to 15% (or approximately $50 billion more in federal contract opportunities for 8(a) companies).
But that’s not all. Owing in part to the pandemic, SBA announced today that it is temporarily suspending the bona fide office requirement for 8(a) construction contracts. This suspension applies to 8(a) construction contracts issued on or after August 25, 2021, and will continue until at least September 2022.
This is tremendous news for 8(a) construction companies. The bona fide office rule—which generally requires an 8(a) company to have a staffed office in the geographic area of the job site—was very onerous, and often meant choosing between standing up an office in a new area or bypassing potentially lucrative construction awards. In the age of COVID, we’ve seen that teleworking is possible, and even helps small businesses avoid costly overhead expenses. Suspending this rule promises to be a benefit to 8(a) companies.
This suspension applies only to 8(a) construction companies. Keep in mind that, for socioeconomic eligibility, the company’s owner often must live within a certain distance from the company’s office to establish her control over the company. The temporary suspension of the 8(a) bona fide office rule does not lessen the control requirement for socioeconomic eligibility.
If you have any questions about this suspension, or SBA’s 8(a) regulations more generally, please give us a call.
Breaking News: SBA Temporarily Suspends 8(a) Bona Fide Office Requirement was last modified: August 25th, 2021 by