SBA in FY21: What’s Ahead for the Small Business Programs

PilieroMazza is a proud sponsor of the Small and Emerging Contractors Advisory Forum (SECAF), and partner Jon Williams is the Co-Chair of SECAF’s Planning Committee. On October 14th, SECAF will be hosting a panel discussion focused on the Small Business Administration (SBA) that may be of interest to many of our clients. Titled “SBA in FY21: What’s Ahead for the Small Business Programs,” the webinar will feature two panelists from SBA, Barbara Carson, SBA’s Deputy Associate Administrator for the Office of Government . . . Read More

Tony Franco Comments on SBA’s Procurement Scorecard for Law360

The annual dollar value of federal contracts awarded to small businesses broke a record in 2019 for the third year in a row, but the positive numbers obscure the continuing decline in the number of small businesses that participate in government deals. . . . The drop can be at least partially attributed to federal agencies consolidating their contractual needs into fewer and larger procurements. While this may be efficient, it also cuts against other government goals like maximizing competition . . . 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

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

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

SBA and Treasury Release New PPP Application Forms

As we reported in our previous alert , President Trump signed the Paycheck Protection Program Flexibility Act (“Flexibility Act”) into law. The bill makes numerous changes to the Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”) aimed at improving loan forgiveness procedures and loosening restrictions on PPP funds. In accordance with the Flexibility Act, the Small Business Administration (“SBA”) and Department of the Treasury (“Treasury”) released revised application forms for businesses participating in the PPP. The new PPP application forms differ substantially from their previous . . . Read More

SBA’s New WOSB / EDWOSB Certification Requirement and 8(a) Economic Disadvantage Criteria Revisions: What You Need to Know

Presented by  Meghan Leemon and Jonathan Pomerance.   Click here to view the recorded session.   The Small Business Administration recently published a final rule that will impact businesses competing for contracts under the Women-Owned Small Business (WOSB) Program and those companies seeking admission to the 8(a) Business Development Program. The rule implements a certification requirement for WOSBs and Economically Disadvantaged Women-Owned Small Businesses (EDWOSBs) and also revises 8(a) economic disadvantage eligibility criteria.   This webinar covers ways to keep your business competitive and compliant, . . . Read More

Treasury and SBA to Make Changes Regarding Enactment of PPP Flexibility Act

On May 28, 2020, we wrote about the Paycheck Protection Program Flexibility Act (the Act), a new piece of legislation introduced in the House of Representatives. The Act’s intended purpose was to give employers more latitude regarding the use of their Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans while also increasing loan forgiveness in order to stimulate the economy. Since then, the Senate has passed the Act and President Trump signed it into law . On June 8, 2020, U.S. Department of the Treasury . . . Read More