FAR Council Issues New Interim Rule on Section 889 Prohibitions on Using Chinese Telecommunications and Video Surveillance Equipment

If you have not viewed PilieroMazza’s prior client alert and webinar on the implications of the new prohibition on the use of certain Chinese telecommunications and video surveillance equipment, we highly recommend you do so before reading this article as it will provide helpful background and information which we will not rehash in this article.  You can find that content here and here , respectively. The FAR Council released a new interim rule , effective October 26, 2020, allowing federal contractors who already certified in . . . Read More

Certain SBA Loan Review Decisions Under Paycheck Protection Program Appealable

Millions of small businesses applied for and received loans under the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), which was a temporary program established under the CARES Act enacted by Congress to provide relief to America’s small businesses due to the devastating effects of COVID-19.  But some businesses were denied loans and others are seeking forgiveness, only to find that they were deemed ineligible for full or partial forgiveness.  A new rule may provide small businesses with options to appeal these decisions. An . . . Read More

DOD Receives Section 889 Waiver from Director of National Intelligence

On August 12, 2020, Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe issued a memorandum to the Department of Defense (DOD) that waives DOD’s requirements under Section 889 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019. The Federal Register published an interim rule on July 14, 2020, that implemented Section 889, which prohibits agencies from procuring telecommunications equipment and services from Huawei Technologies Company, Hangzhou Hikvision Digital Technology Company, Hytera Communications Company, Dahua Technology Company, and ZTE Corporation. The DOD originally released a . . . Read More

Prohibitions on Use of Some Chinese Telecommunications Equipment by Government Contractors Effective August 13, 2020

Section 889(a)(1)(B) of the John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2019—prohibiting government agencies and government contractors they work with from using certain covered telecommunications equipment or services from China—goes into effect on August 13, 2020. The FAR Council issued an interim rule implementing Section 889(a)(1)(B) by making a number of changes to 48 CFR Parts 1, 4, 13, 39, and 52. While the interim rule will be effective as of August 13, comments to the . . . Read More

SBA Issues More New Guidance on PPP Loan Forgiveness

In a new FAQ published on August 4, 2020, SBA clarified some additional points from the use of scanned documents to support the application to the forgiveness eligibility of costs incurred or paid during the chosen covered period. As always, PilieroMazza wants to bring this to the attention of all of our clients as we know many firms are currently preparing their forgiveness applications and these may be critical updates. General Loan Forgiveness If you are a sole proprietor/1099 or . . . Read More

California Consumer Privacy Act Enforcement Effective July 1

Despite requests for delay due to COVID-19, California Attorney General Xavier Becerra has affirmed that enforcement of the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) has started, effective July 1, 2020. The CCPA is a huge step forward in data privacy law, granting California consumers robust data privacy rights and increased control over their personal information. Previous  PilieroMazza  coverage of the CCPA can be viewed  here  and  here . While the CCPA has been in effect since January 1, 2020, companies that do business with California . . . Read More

GSA and SBA Issue Additional Guidance on Bidding Through Joint Ventures for STARS III

As we  wrote  on July 16th, SBA was interpreting 13 CFR 124.513(a)(2) as prohibiting awards of STARS III to both an 8(a) firm, individually, and a joint venture where that same 8(a) firm was the entity upon whom eligibility for the JV was based. Below we address additional guidance as to SBA’s interpretation of the prohibitions for 8(a) firms seeking to bid on STARS III—as well as compliance requirements—which are important to note as firms prepare their bidding strategies. As of Friday evening, SBA . . . Read More

Virginia First State to Adopt Workplace Safety Standards Amidst COVID-19 Pandemic

On July 15, the Virginia Safety and Health Codes Board approved temporary emergency standards to prevent the spread of the coronavirus in Virginia workplaces. Expected to go into effect during the week of July 27, the new workplace safety standards are the first of their kind in the country. The regulations will impose large monetary penalties on companies that fail to implement various COVID-19 safety measures. Virginia state officials, under the direction of Governor Ralph Northam, purportedly spearheaded implementation of the . . . Read More

STARS III: Simultaneous Bidding as Prime Contractor and Managing Member of JV, or Bidding as Managing Member Under Multiple JVs

PilieroMazza  has received a flood of questions related to STARS III and  Cy Alba  gave a presentation ( link ) earlier today walking through a number of keys issues and our interpretation of key requirements in the RFP. As a part of that, one key question being asked is whether clients are able to bid themselves as a prime contractor and also as the managing member of a joint venture?  While there is nothing in the STARS III RFP that expressly disallows submitting an offer . . . Read More

Senate Passes PPP Loan Application Deadline Extension, More Than $130 Billion Still Unclaimed

Last night, the Senate unanimously passed a bill that would extend the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) application deadline through August 8, 2020. The bill is now set to be taken up by the House.   The PPP provides forgivable loans to cover payroll and overhead expenses for small businesses. On June 27, 2020,  SBA reported  that over $134 billion in unclaimed funds remained of the $669 billion program. Unless Congress repurposes them, leftover funds will be returned to the . . . Read More