HUBZone Contracting

GBK has been approved by the U.S. Small Business Adminstration (SBA) for certification as a HUBZone Small Business Concern (HUBZone SBC).

HUBZone Contracting

Types of HUBZone Contracts

Competitive HUBZone Contract

A competitive HUBZone contract can be awarded if the contracting officer has a reasonable expectation that at least two qualified HUBZone small businesses will submit offers and that the contract can be awarded at a fair market price.

Sole Source HUBZone Contract

A sole source HUBZone contract can be awarded if the contracting officer does not have a reasonable expectation that two or more qualified HUBZone small businesses will submit offers, determines that the qualified HUBZone small business is responsible, and determines that the contract can be awarded at a fair price. The government estimate cannot exceed $5 million for manufacturing requirements or $3 million for all other requirements.

Full and Open Competition

A full and open competition contract can be awarded with a price evaluation preference. The offer of the HUBZone small business will be considered lower than the offer of a non-HUBZone/non-small business-providing that the offer of the HUBZone small business is not more than 10 percent higher.

Goal

The Small Business Reauthorization Act of 1997 increases the overall government wide procurement goal for small business from 20% to 23%. The statute sets the goal for HUBZone contracts as follows: 2001 - 2%; 2002 - 2; 2003; and each year thereafter - 3%.

Affected Federal Agencies

As of October 1, 2000, all Federal agencies are subject to the requirements of the HUBZone Program.

About the HUBZone Program

The HUBZone Empowerment Contracting program was enacted into law as part of the Small Business Reauthorization Act of 1997. The program falls under the auspices of the US Small Business Administration. The program encourages economic development in historically underutilized business zones - "HUBZones" - through the establishment of preferences.

SBA's HUBZone program is in line with the efforts of both the Administration and Congress to promote economic development and employment growth in distressed areas by providing access to more Federal contracting opportunities.

The US Small Business Administration (SBA) regulates and implements the program and

determines which businesses are eligible to receive HUBZone contracts,
maintains a listing of qualified HUBZone small businesses that Federal agencies can use to locate vendors,
adjudicates protests of eligibility to receive HUBZone contracts, and
reports to the Congress on the program's impact on employment and investment in HUBZone areas.

Publication of Final Rule

The final rule for the HUBZone Empowerment Contracting Program was published on June 11, 1998. The interim Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) FAC 97-10, FAR Case 97-307 was published on December 18, 1998 to give effect to the contracting component of the program on January 4, 1999. The comment period for the FAR expired on February 18, 1999.