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The Women-Owned Small
Business Program Took Effect February
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The
Small Business Administration's (SBA) rule regarding the Women-Owned Small
Business program (described in the E&B Alert dated October 19, 2010)
became effective on February 4th, 2011, expanding the opportunity
for women-owned small businesses (WOSBs) to obtain Federal Government
contracts. This
program allows contracting officers to set aside Federal contracts (not
exceeding $5 million for manufacturing contracts or $3 million for all other
contracts) for WOSBs and Economically Disadvantaged WOSBs
(EDWOSBs). The Government has a stated goal of awarding five
percent of Federal contract dollars to WOSBs and EDWOSBs, and the new SBA
rule identifies 83 industries-according to NAICS codes-where WOSBs are
underrepresented or substantially underrepresented. Industries where WOSBs are substantially
underrepresented may set aside procurements for WOSBs, while those industries
where WOSBs are underrepresented may set aside procurements for EDWOSBs. What does this mean?
According to Eckland and Blando,
A MN law firm, it means: While
the language of the Rule is somewhat awkward, the upshot appears to be as
follows: ●
If the
industry is one where WOSBs are underrepresented, then the contract is set
aside for businesses that meet the requirements for EDWOSBs; and ●
If the
industry is one where WOSBs are substantially
underrepresented, then the contract may be set aside for WOSBs as well. There
are 83 industries,
identified by NAICS code (North American Industry Classification System),
where WOSBs are substantially underrepresented and, therefore, do not have to
demonstrate that they are ‘economically-disadvantaged’ in order to set aside.
To
qualify as a WOSB, a business must: (1) be "small" for
its industry as defined in the SBA standard; (2) be at least 51 percent
directly and unconditionally owned and controlled by one or more women; and
(3) have one or more women as the primary manager(s) of the business. For
a business to be eligible as an EDWSOB, it must: (1) meet the conditions for
qualification as a WOSB; and (2) be owned and controlled by one or more women
who are economically disadvantaged. A woman will be presumed to be
economically disadvantaged if her personal net worth is less than $750,000,
her adjusted gross yearly income over the three preceding years is less than
$350,000 and the fair market value of her assets does not exceed $6 million. A
business that meets one of the above definitions can participate in this
program by self-certifying or obtaining third party certification as to its
status. Self-certification requires a WOSB or EDWOSB to complete
the following steps: 1.
Register
in the Central Contractor Registration (CCR); 2.
Upload
documents supporting its status to the SBA website; and 3.
Change
its status in the Online Representations and Certifications Application
(ORCA) to reflect its eligibility as a WOSB or EDWOSB. The
WOSB program is expected to be fully functional by April 1, 2011, with the
first contracts being awarded during the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2011,
when the federal government typically awards the largest percent of
contracts. Given this timing, WOSBs and EDWOSBs are encouraged to
carefully review the program and eligibility requirements and update their
status in the CCR and ORCA to reflect their eligibility. Additionally,
WOSBs that qualify for the program must ensure they have uploaded all of the
required documents to the SBA Repository.
Philip G. Bail, Jr., CPCM, Fellow
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