Tribal Consultation for Ownership and Control and Contractual Assistance; Requirements for the 8(a) Business Development (BD) Program and other Planned 8(a) BD Program Regulatory Proposals, 52602-52604 [2022-18393]
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52602
Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 165 / Friday, August 26, 2022 / Notices
approved collection of information
discussed below.
Rule 13e–1 (17 CFR 240.13e–1) under
the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
(U.S.C. 78 et seq.) makes it unlawful for
an issuer who has received notice that
it is the subject of a tender offer made
under Section 14(d)(1) of the Exchange
Act to purchase any of its equity
securities during the tender offer, unless
it first files a statement with the
Commission containing information
required by the rule. This rule is in
keeping with the Commission’s
statutory responsibility to prescribe
rules and regulations that are necessary
for the protection of investors. Public
companies are the respondents. We
estimate that it takes approximately 10
burden hours per response to provide
the information required under Rule
13e–1 and that the information is filed
by approximately 10 respondents. We
estimate that 25% of the 10 hours per
response (2.5 hours) is prepared by the
company for a total annual reporting
burden of 25 hours (2.5 hours per
response × 10 responses).
An agency may conduct or sponsor,
and a person is not required to respond
to, a collection of information unless it
displays a currently valid control
number.
The public may view background
documentation for this information
collection at the following website:
www.reginfo.gov. Find this particular
information collection by selecting
‘‘Currently under 30-day Review—Open
for Public Comments’’ or by using the
search function. Written comments and
recommendations for the proposed
information collection should be sent
within 30 days of publication of this
notice by September 26, 2022 to (i)
www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain
and (ii) David Bottom, Director/Chief
Information Officer, Securities and
Exchange Commission, c/o John
Pezzullo, 100 F Street NE, Washington,
DC 20549, or by sending an email to:
PRA_Mailbox@sec.gov.
Dated: August 22, 2022.
J. Matthew DeLesDernier,
Deputy Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2022–18385 Filed 8–25–22; 8:45 am]
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SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION
Tribal Consultation for Ownership and
Control and Contractual Assistance;
Requirements for the 8(a) Business
Development (BD) Program and other
Planned 8(a) BD Program Regulatory
Proposals
Small Business Administration.
Notice of tribal consultation
meeting; request for comments.
AGENCY:
ACTION:
The U.S. Small Business
Administration (SBA or Agency)
announces that it is holding tribal
consultation meetings in Anchorage,
Alaska, Albuquerque, New Mexico,
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma and
Washington, DC, as well as a Listening
Session in Honolulu, Hawaii,
concerning forthcoming proposed
revisions to the 8(a) Business
Development (BD) program regulations.
Additionally, SBA requests comments
and input on how best to propose
several program policies the Agency is
contemplating that would impact
Alaska Native Corporations (ANC),
tribes, Native Hawaiian Organizations
(NHO) (collectively, ‘‘entities’’), and 8(a)
Participants owned by such entities.
Testimony presented at these tribal
consultations will become part of the
administrative record for SBA’s
consideration when the Agency
deliberates on approaches to changes in
the 8(a) BD program regulations.
DATES: The Tribal Consultation meeting
dates are as follows:
1. Wednesday, September 14, 2022,
9:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. (AKDT),
Anchorage, Alaska. Pre-registration for
this Tribal Consultation meeting is
requested by September 9, 2022.
2. Tuesday, September 20, 2022, 10:00
a.m. to 3:00 p.m. (MDT), Albuquerque,
New Mexico. Pre-registration for this
Tribal Consultation meeting is requested
by September 16, 2022.
3. Thursday, September 22, 2022,
10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. (CDT),
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Preregistration for this Tribal Consultation
meeting is requested by September 19,
2022.
4. Wednesday, October 5, 2022, 10:00
a.m. to 3:00 p.m. (EDT), Washington,
DC. Pre-registration for this Tribal
Consultation meeting is requested by
September 30, 2022.
5. The Listening Session will be held
on Wednesday, September 28, 2022,
10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. (HST), Honolulu,
Hawaii. Pre-registration for this
Listening Session is requested by
September 23, 2022.
ADDRESSES:
Meeting Locations:
SUMMARY:
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1. The Tribal Consultation meeting in
Anchorage, Alaska will be held at the
Z.J. Loussac Public Library, 3600 Denali
Street, Anchorage, AK 99503.
2. The Tribal Consultation meeting in
Albuquerque, New Mexico will be held
at the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center,
2401 12th Street NW, Albuquerque,
New Mexico 87104.
3. The Tribal Consultation meeting in
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma will be held
at the Metro Technology Centers,
Springlake Campus Health Careers
Center, 1720 Springlake Drive,
Oklahoma City, OK 73111.
4. The Tribal Consultation meeting in
Washington, DC will be held at SBA
Headquarters, 409 Third Street SW,
Washington, DC 20416. Commenters
and attendees may participate in-person
or remotely at this consultation meeting.
5. The Listening Session in Honolulu,
Hawaii will be held at the SBA Hawaii
District Office, 500 Ala Moana
Boulevard, Suite 1–306, Honolulu,
Hawaii 96813.
Pre-registration: Send pre-registration
requests to attend and/or testify to
Chequita Carter of SBA’s Office of
Native American Affairs, U.S. Small
Business Administration, 409 3rd Street
SW, Washington, DC 20416;
Chequita.Carter@sba.gov; or Facsimile
to (202) 481–2177.
Comments: You may submit
comments, identified by Regulations
Identifier Number (RIN) 3245–AH70, by
any of the following methods:
• Email: to Jackson S. Brossy,
Assistant Administrator, Office of
Native American Affairs, U.S. Small
Business Administration, at
tribalconsulation@sba.gov.
• Mail (for paper, disk, or CD–ROM
submissions): to Jackson S. Brossy,
Assistant Administrator, Office of
Native American Affairs, U.S. Small
Business Administration, 409 3rd Street
SW, Washington, DC 20416.
Instructions: All submissions received
will become part of the administrative
record for any rulemaking resulting
from these tribal consultation meetings
and listening session. As such,
comments received may be posted on
https://www.regulations.gov. If you wish
to submit confidential business
information (CBI) as defined in the User
Notice at https://www.regulations.gov,
please submit the comments to Jackson
S. Brossy and highlight the information
that you consider to be CBI and explain
why you believe this information
should be held confidential. SBA will
make a final determination as to
whether the comments will be
published.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Chequita Carter, Program Assistant for
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Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 165 / Friday, August 26, 2022 / Notices
SBA’s Office of Native American
Affairs, at Chequita.Carter@sba.gov or
(202) 205–6680 or by facsimile to (202)
481–2177. This phone number can also
be reached by individuals who are deaf
or hard of hearing, or who have speech
disabilities, through the Federal
Communications Commission’s TTYBased Telecommunications Relay
Service teletype service at 711.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
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I. Background
SBA is planning to issue a proposed
rule concerning the 8(a) BD program
regulations under RIN 3245–AH70. The
proposed rule is intended to clarify
regulatory provisions relating to both
program eligibility and 8(a) contracts to
eliminate confusion among small
businesses and procuring activities.
SBA anticipates that the proposed rule
will be published prior to the tribal
consultation meetings and the Listening
Session announced in this Notice. SBA
is seeking comments and input on the
changes identified in the proposed rule.
Among other things, the proposed
rule would require an entity, as part of
its entity-owned business concern’s 8(a)
application, to establish a Community
Benefits Plan laying out its
commitments to give back to the Native
community in several specific identified
ways. SBA understands that not all of
those commitments will come to
fruition. Projected givebacks may be
unattainable where actual revenues do
not meet expectations or if other
unforeseen business needs occur.
However, SBA believes that there
should be some programmatic
consequences where estimated revenues
were obtained but not all the committed
benefits are given to the community.
SBA is considering proposing certain
consequences to the regulations to
encourage entities to meet their
commitments. SBA is seeking comments
on what type of consequences should be
imposed where SBA determines that an
entity has not made good faith efforts to
meet its stated commitments. One
possibility that SBA is considering
would be to disallow that entity from
admitting any new business concerns to
the 8(a) BD program until the entity
meets the previous commitments with
its business concern(s) already
participating in the program. SBA is
also considering whether there should
be any other restrictions, such as
restricting the award of additional sole
source 8(a) contracts to any 8(a)
Participant owned by the entity if SBA
determines that the entity did not make
good faith efforts to meet the
commitments set forth in its Community
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Benefits Plan. SBA specifically asks for
comments as to whether these
consequences would be fair and
reasonable. Additionally, SBA is
seeking input on how best to encourage
entities to meet their stated give-back
goals.
In addition to the above referenced
regulatory proposals, SBA is
contemplating making the following
substantive changes to the regulations
governing the 8(a) BD program, and
requests comments and input on how
best to develop proposed regulatory
revisions. Any such revisions would not
be promulgated under RIN 3245–AH70;
rather, SBA would propose them under
a separate rulemaking after considering
testimony from the tribal consultation
meetings and the Listening Session.
The 8(a) BD program has positively
impacted Native American communities
through individual as well as tribal,
ANC, and NHO participation. The dual
purposes of tribal/ANC/NHO
participation in the 8(a) BD program are:
to develop viable small business
concerns while at the same time
creating opportunities to provide
significant benefits to the Native
communities that they serve. In this
regard, SBA accepts that a portion of an
entity-owned Participant’s receipts must
be retained for business development
purposes. However, the clear legislative
intent of entity participation in the 8(a)
BD program is to benefit Native and
underserved communities using the
revenues derived from the program.
Thus, while SBA recognizes that in-kind
contributions can be beneficial to Native
and underserved communities, SBA
believes entities participating in the 8(a)
BD program should contribute a portion
of their receipts to the communities they
serve. SBA seeks to ensure that both of
these purposes are advanced and invites
comments on how best that can be
accomplished.
Since 2011, the 8(a) BD regulations
have required each Participant owned
by a Tribe, ANC, or NHO to annually
submit to SBA information showing
how the Tribe, ANC, or NHO has
provided benefits to the applicable
Native community due to the Tribe’s/
ANC’s/NHO’s participation in the 8(a)
BD program through one or more firms.
SBA is considering a proposal to require
more precise cash benefit distributions
to the applicable Native community to
standardize SBA’s collection and
tracking of community benefits and in
response to an observation that not all
entities appear to be allocating an
appropriate share of their 8(a) receipts
to the communities they serve. To this
end, some entity-owned Participants
appear to report significant benefits
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52603
primarily or exclusively in the form of
in-kind contributions and, specifically,
volunteer work performed by principals
of the entity or its Participants.
SBA is considering a rule that would
propose to establish a target that a
certain percentage of the entity’s 8(a)
receipts combined from all its
Participants should be distributed as a
cash contribution to benefit the Native
or underserved community. SBA is
specifically seeking comments on: the
target percentage amount that should be
distributed as a cash contribution;
whether the target should be tied to an
entity’s gross 8(a) receipts, or to profits
derived by the entity’s 8(a) Participants;
whether the target percentage amount
should increase based on how long an
entity has owned business concerns
participating in the 8(a) BD program or
based on the number of Participants an
entity owns; whether certain non-cash
contributions or investments in the
community should be considered in this
measurement, including, but not limited
to, community member employment;
and any other measures SBA should
consider to promote the dual purposes
of tribal/ANC/NHO participation in the
8(a) BD program. The SBA additionally
welcomes any estimates of costs to meet
this requirement annually, as well as
any feasibility concerns with such a
requirement. The SBA also welcomes
comments from any entity that has other
proposed methods to track community
benefits and reinvestment.
II. Tribal Consultation Meetings
The purpose of these tribal
consultation meetings is to conform to
the requirements of Executive Order
13175, Consultation and Coordination
With Indian Tribal Governments (65 FR
67249), and SBA’s Tribal Consultation
Policy (https://www.sba.gov/document/
support-sba-tribal-consultation-policy);
to provide interested parties with an
opportunity to discuss their views on
the issues; and for SBA to obtain the
views of SBA’s stakeholders on
approaches to the 8(a) BD program
regulations. SBA considers tribal
consultation meetings a valuable
component of its deliberations and
believes that this tribal consultation
meeting will allow for constructive
dialogue with the Tribal community,
Tribal Leaders, Tribal Elders, elected
members of Alaska Native Villages or
their appointed representatives, and
principals of tribally-owned and ANCowned firms participating in the 8(a) BD
program.
The format of these tribal consultation
meetings will consist of a panel of SBA
representatives who will preside over
the session. The oral and written
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52604
Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 165 / Friday, August 26, 2022 / Notices
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testimony as well as any comments SBA
receives will become part of the
administrative record for SBA’s
consideration. Written testimony may
be submitted in lieu of oral testimony.
SBA will analyze the testimony, both
oral and written, along with any written
comments received. SBA officials may
ask questions of a presenter to clarify or
further explain the testimony. The
purpose of the tribal consultation is to
assist SBA with gathering information to
guide SBA’s review process and to
potentially develop new proposals. SBA
requests that the comments focus on
SBA’s planned rulemaking relating to
the 8(a) BD program, general issues as
they pertain to the 8(a) BD regulations,
or the unique concerns of the Tribal
communities. SBA requests that
commenters do not raise issues
pertaining to other SBA small business
programs. Presenters are encouraged to
provide a written copy of their
testimony. SBA will accept written
material that the presenter wishes to
provide that further supplements his or
her testimony. Electronic or digitized
copies are encouraged.
Each tribal consultation meeting will
be held for one day. The meeting in
Anchorage, Alaska will begin at 9:00
a.m. and end at 2:30 p.m. (AKST), with
a break from 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m.; the
meeting in Albuquerque, New Mexico
will begin at 10:00 a.m. and end at 3:00
p.m. (MDT), with a break from 12:30
p.m. to 1:30 p.m.; the meeting in
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma will begin at
10:00 a.m. and end at 3:00 p.m. (CDT),
with a break from 12:30 p.m. to 1:30
p.m.; the meeting in Washington, DC
will begin at 10:00 a.m. and end at 3:00
p.m. (EDT), with a break from 12:30
p.m. to 1:30 p.m.; and the Listening
Session in Honolulu, Hawaii will begin
at 10:00 a.m. and end at 3:00 p.m.
(HST), with a break from 12:30 p.m. to
1:30 p.m. SBA will adjourn early if all
those scheduled have delivered their
testimony.
III. Registration
SBA respectfully requests that any
elected or appointed representative of
the tribal communities or principal of a
tribally-owned, ANC-owned, or NHOowned 8(a) firm that is interested in
attending please pre-register in advance
and indicate whether you would like to
testify at the hearing. However, preregistration is not required for
attendance. SBA requests that attendees
register with SBA no later than:
September 9, 2022, for the consultation
meeting in Anchorage; September 16,
2022, for the consultation meeting in
Albuquerque; September 19, 2022, for
the consultation meeting in Oklahoma
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16:59 Aug 25, 2022
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City; September 30, 2022, for the
consultation meeting in Washington,
DC; and September 23, 2022, for the
Listening Session in Honolulu. To
register, please contact Chequita Carter
of SBA’s Office of Native American
Affairs in writing at Chequita.Carter@
sba.gov or by facsimile to (202) 481–
2177. If you are interested in testifying,
please include the following
information relating to the person
testifying: Name, Organization
affiliation, Address, Telephone number,
Email address and Fax number. For
those who wish to remotely attend or
participate in the Washington, DC, tribal
consultation meeting, SBA will provide
further instructions upon registration.
SBA will attempt to accommodate all
interested parties that wish to present
testimony. Based on the number of
registrants it may be necessary to
impose time limits to ensure that
everyone who wishes to testify has the
opportunity to do so. SBA will confirm
in writing the registration of presenters
and attendees.
IV. Information on Service for
Individuals With Disabilities
For information on facilities or
services for individuals with disabilities
or to request special assistance at the
tribal consultation meeting, contact
Chequita Carter at the telephone number
or email address indicated under the
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT
section of this notice.
Authority: 15 U.S.C. 634 and E.O.
13175, 65 FR 67249.
Jackson S. Brossy,
Assistant Administrator, Office of Native
American Affairs.
[FR Doc. 2022–18393 Filed 8–25–22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8026–09–P
SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION
[Disaster Declaration #17579 and #17580;
PENNSYLVANIA Disaster Number PA–
00120]
Administrative Declaration of a
Disaster for the Commonwealth of
Pennsylvania
Small Business Administration.
ACTION: Notice.
AGENCY:
This is a notice of an
Administrative declaration of a disaster
for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
dated 08/19/2022.
Incident: Heavy Rain and Flash
Flooding.
Incident Period: 08/05/2022.
DATES: Issued on 08/19/2022.
Physical Loan Application Deadline
Date: 10/18/2022.
SUMMARY:
PO 00000
Frm 00105
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 9990
Economic Injury (EIDL) Loan
Application Deadline Date: 05/19/2023.
Submit completed loan
applications to: U.S. Small Business
Administration, Processing and
Disbursement Center, 14925 Kingsport
Road, Fort Worth, TX 76155.
ADDRESSES:
A.
Escobar, Office of Disaster Assistance,
U.S. Small Business Administration,
409 3rd Street SW, Suite 6050,
Washington, DC 20416, (202) 205–6734.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Notice is
hereby given that as a result of the
Administrator’s disaster declaration,
applications for disaster loans may be
filed at the address listed above or other
locally announced locations.
The following areas have been
determined to be adversely affected by
the disaster:
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Primary Counties: Westmoreland.
Contiguous Counties:
Pennsylvania: Allegheny, Armstrong,
Cambria, Fayette, Indiana,
Somerset, Washington.
The Interest Rates are:
Percent
For Physical Damage:
Homeowners with Credit Available Elsewhere ......................
Homeowners without Credit
Available Elsewhere ..............
Businesses with Credit Available Elsewhere ......................
Businesses
without
Credit
Available Elsewhere ..............
Non-Profit Organizations with
Credit Available Elsewhere ...
Non-Profit Organizations without Credit Available Elsewhere .....................................
For Economic Injury:
Businesses & Small Agricultural
Cooperatives without Credit
Available Elsewhere ..............
Non-Profit Organizations without Credit Available Elsewhere .....................................
4.375
2.188
6.080
3.040
1.875
1.875
3.040
1.875
The number assigned to this disaster
for physical damage is 17579 6 and for
economic injury is 17580 0.
The State which received an EIDL
Declaration # is Pennsylvania.
(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance
Number 59008)
Isabella Guzman,
Administrator.
[FR Doc. 2022–18397 Filed 8–25–22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8026–09–P
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Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 165 (Friday, August 26, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 52602-52604]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-18393]
=======================================================================
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SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION
Tribal Consultation for Ownership and Control and Contractual
Assistance; Requirements for the 8(a) Business Development (BD) Program
and other Planned 8(a) BD Program Regulatory Proposals
AGENCY: Small Business Administration.
ACTION: Notice of tribal consultation meeting; request for comments.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA or Agency)
announces that it is holding tribal consultation meetings in Anchorage,
Alaska, Albuquerque, New Mexico, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma and
Washington, DC, as well as a Listening Session in Honolulu, Hawaii,
concerning forthcoming proposed revisions to the 8(a) Business
Development (BD) program regulations. Additionally, SBA requests
comments and input on how best to propose several program policies the
Agency is contemplating that would impact Alaska Native Corporations
(ANC), tribes, Native Hawaiian Organizations (NHO) (collectively,
``entities''), and 8(a) Participants owned by such entities. Testimony
presented at these tribal consultations will become part of the
administrative record for SBA's consideration when the Agency
deliberates on approaches to changes in the 8(a) BD program
regulations.
DATES: The Tribal Consultation meeting dates are as follows:
1. Wednesday, September 14, 2022, 9:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. (AKDT),
Anchorage, Alaska. Pre-registration for this Tribal Consultation
meeting is requested by September 9, 2022.
2. Tuesday, September 20, 2022, 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. (MDT),
Albuquerque, New Mexico. Pre-registration for this Tribal Consultation
meeting is requested by September 16, 2022.
3. Thursday, September 22, 2022, 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. (CDT),
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Pre-registration for this Tribal Consultation
meeting is requested by September 19, 2022.
4. Wednesday, October 5, 2022, 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. (EDT),
Washington, DC. Pre-registration for this Tribal Consultation meeting
is requested by September 30, 2022.
5. The Listening Session will be held on Wednesday, September 28,
2022, 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. (HST), Honolulu, Hawaii. Pre-registration
for this Listening Session is requested by September 23, 2022.
ADDRESSES:
Meeting Locations:
1. The Tribal Consultation meeting in Anchorage, Alaska will be
held at the Z.J. Loussac Public Library, 3600 Denali Street, Anchorage,
AK 99503.
2. The Tribal Consultation meeting in Albuquerque, New Mexico will
be held at the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center, 2401 12th Street NW,
Albuquerque, New Mexico 87104.
3. The Tribal Consultation meeting in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma will
be held at the Metro Technology Centers, Springlake Campus Health
Careers Center, 1720 Springlake Drive, Oklahoma City, OK 73111.
4. The Tribal Consultation meeting in Washington, DC will be held
at SBA Headquarters, 409 Third Street SW, Washington, DC 20416.
Commenters and attendees may participate in-person or remotely at this
consultation meeting.
5. The Listening Session in Honolulu, Hawaii will be held at the
SBA Hawaii District Office, 500 Ala Moana Boulevard, Suite 1-306,
Honolulu, Hawaii 96813.
Pre-registration: Send pre-registration requests to attend and/or
testify to Chequita Carter of SBA's Office of Native American Affairs,
U.S. Small Business Administration, 409 3rd Street SW, Washington, DC
20416; [email protected]; or Facsimile to (202) 481-2177.
Comments: You may submit comments, identified by Regulations
Identifier Number (RIN) 3245-AH70, by any of the following methods:
Email: to Jackson S. Brossy, Assistant Administrator,
Office of Native American Affairs, U.S. Small Business Administration,
at [email protected].
Mail (for paper, disk, or CD-ROM submissions): to Jackson
S. Brossy, Assistant Administrator, Office of Native American Affairs,
U.S. Small Business Administration, 409 3rd Street SW, Washington, DC
20416.
Instructions: All submissions received will become part of the
administrative record for any rulemaking resulting from these tribal
consultation meetings and listening session. As such, comments received
may be posted on https://www.regulations.gov. If you wish to submit
confidential business information (CBI) as defined in the User Notice
at https://www.regulations.gov, please submit the comments to Jackson S.
Brossy and highlight the information that you consider to be CBI and
explain why you believe this information should be held confidential.
SBA will make a final determination as to whether the comments will be
published.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Chequita Carter, Program Assistant for
[[Page 52603]]
SBA's Office of Native American Affairs, at [email protected] or
(202) 205-6680 or by facsimile to (202) 481-2177. This phone number can
also be reached by individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing, or who
have speech disabilities, through the Federal Communications
Commission's TTY-Based Telecommunications Relay Service teletype
service at 711.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
SBA is planning to issue a proposed rule concerning the 8(a) BD
program regulations under RIN 3245-AH70. The proposed rule is intended
to clarify regulatory provisions relating to both program eligibility
and 8(a) contracts to eliminate confusion among small businesses and
procuring activities. SBA anticipates that the proposed rule will be
published prior to the tribal consultation meetings and the Listening
Session announced in this Notice. SBA is seeking comments and input on
the changes identified in the proposed rule.
Among other things, the proposed rule would require an entity, as
part of its entity-owned business concern's 8(a) application, to
establish a Community Benefits Plan laying out its commitments to give
back to the Native community in several specific identified ways. SBA
understands that not all of those commitments will come to fruition.
Projected givebacks may be unattainable where actual revenues do not
meet expectations or if other unforeseen business needs occur. However,
SBA believes that there should be some programmatic consequences where
estimated revenues were obtained but not all the committed benefits are
given to the community. SBA is considering proposing certain
consequences to the regulations to encourage entities to meet their
commitments. SBA is seeking comments on what type of consequences
should be imposed where SBA determines that an entity has not made good
faith efforts to meet its stated commitments. One possibility that SBA
is considering would be to disallow that entity from admitting any new
business concerns to the 8(a) BD program until the entity meets the
previous commitments with its business concern(s) already participating
in the program. SBA is also considering whether there should be any
other restrictions, such as restricting the award of additional sole
source 8(a) contracts to any 8(a) Participant owned by the entity if
SBA determines that the entity did not make good faith efforts to meet
the commitments set forth in its Community Benefits Plan. SBA
specifically asks for comments as to whether these consequences would
be fair and reasonable. Additionally, SBA is seeking input on how best
to encourage entities to meet their stated give-back goals.
In addition to the above referenced regulatory proposals, SBA is
contemplating making the following substantive changes to the
regulations governing the 8(a) BD program, and requests comments and
input on how best to develop proposed regulatory revisions. Any such
revisions would not be promulgated under RIN 3245-AH70; rather, SBA
would propose them under a separate rulemaking after considering
testimony from the tribal consultation meetings and the Listening
Session.
The 8(a) BD program has positively impacted Native American
communities through individual as well as tribal, ANC, and NHO
participation. The dual purposes of tribal/ANC/NHO participation in the
8(a) BD program are: to develop viable small business concerns while at
the same time creating opportunities to provide significant benefits to
the Native communities that they serve. In this regard, SBA accepts
that a portion of an entity-owned Participant's receipts must be
retained for business development purposes. However, the clear
legislative intent of entity participation in the 8(a) BD program is to
benefit Native and underserved communities using the revenues derived
from the program. Thus, while SBA recognizes that in-kind contributions
can be beneficial to Native and underserved communities, SBA believes
entities participating in the 8(a) BD program should contribute a
portion of their receipts to the communities they serve. SBA seeks to
ensure that both of these purposes are advanced and invites comments on
how best that can be accomplished.
Since 2011, the 8(a) BD regulations have required each Participant
owned by a Tribe, ANC, or NHO to annually submit to SBA information
showing how the Tribe, ANC, or NHO has provided benefits to the
applicable Native community due to the Tribe's/ANC's/NHO's
participation in the 8(a) BD program through one or more firms. SBA is
considering a proposal to require more precise cash benefit
distributions to the applicable Native community to standardize SBA's
collection and tracking of community benefits and in response to an
observation that not all entities appear to be allocating an
appropriate share of their 8(a) receipts to the communities they serve.
To this end, some entity-owned Participants appear to report
significant benefits primarily or exclusively in the form of in-kind
contributions and, specifically, volunteer work performed by principals
of the entity or its Participants.
SBA is considering a rule that would propose to establish a target
that a certain percentage of the entity's 8(a) receipts combined from
all its Participants should be distributed as a cash contribution to
benefit the Native or underserved community. SBA is specifically
seeking comments on: the target percentage amount that should be
distributed as a cash contribution; whether the target should be tied
to an entity's gross 8(a) receipts, or to profits derived by the
entity's 8(a) Participants; whether the target percentage amount should
increase based on how long an entity has owned business concerns
participating in the 8(a) BD program or based on the number of
Participants an entity owns; whether certain non-cash contributions or
investments in the community should be considered in this measurement,
including, but not limited to, community member employment; and any
other measures SBA should consider to promote the dual purposes of
tribal/ANC/NHO participation in the 8(a) BD program. The SBA
additionally welcomes any estimates of costs to meet this requirement
annually, as well as any feasibility concerns with such a requirement.
The SBA also welcomes comments from any entity that has other proposed
methods to track community benefits and reinvestment.
II. Tribal Consultation Meetings
The purpose of these tribal consultation meetings is to conform to
the requirements of Executive Order 13175, Consultation and
Coordination With Indian Tribal Governments (65 FR 67249), and SBA's
Tribal Consultation Policy (https://www.sba.gov/document/support-sba-tribal-consultation-policy); to provide interested parties with an
opportunity to discuss their views on the issues; and for SBA to obtain
the views of SBA's stakeholders on approaches to the 8(a) BD program
regulations. SBA considers tribal consultation meetings a valuable
component of its deliberations and believes that this tribal
consultation meeting will allow for constructive dialogue with the
Tribal community, Tribal Leaders, Tribal Elders, elected members of
Alaska Native Villages or their appointed representatives, and
principals of tribally-owned and ANC-owned firms participating in the
8(a) BD program.
The format of these tribal consultation meetings will consist of a
panel of SBA representatives who will preside over the session. The
oral and written
[[Page 52604]]
testimony as well as any comments SBA receives will become part of the
administrative record for SBA's consideration. Written testimony may be
submitted in lieu of oral testimony. SBA will analyze the testimony,
both oral and written, along with any written comments received. SBA
officials may ask questions of a presenter to clarify or further
explain the testimony. The purpose of the tribal consultation is to
assist SBA with gathering information to guide SBA's review process and
to potentially develop new proposals. SBA requests that the comments
focus on SBA's planned rulemaking relating to the 8(a) BD program,
general issues as they pertain to the 8(a) BD regulations, or the
unique concerns of the Tribal communities. SBA requests that commenters
do not raise issues pertaining to other SBA small business programs.
Presenters are encouraged to provide a written copy of their testimony.
SBA will accept written material that the presenter wishes to provide
that further supplements his or her testimony. Electronic or digitized
copies are encouraged.
Each tribal consultation meeting will be held for one day. The
meeting in Anchorage, Alaska will begin at 9:00 a.m. and end at 2:30
p.m. (AKST), with a break from 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m.; the meeting in
Albuquerque, New Mexico will begin at 10:00 a.m. and end at 3:00 p.m.
(MDT), with a break from 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m.; the meeting in
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma will begin at 10:00 a.m. and end at 3:00 p.m.
(CDT), with a break from 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m.; the meeting in
Washington, DC will begin at 10:00 a.m. and end at 3:00 p.m. (EDT),
with a break from 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m.; and the Listening Session in
Honolulu, Hawaii will begin at 10:00 a.m. and end at 3:00 p.m. (HST),
with a break from 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. SBA will adjourn early if all
those scheduled have delivered their testimony.
III. Registration
SBA respectfully requests that any elected or appointed
representative of the tribal communities or principal of a tribally-
owned, ANC-owned, or NHO-owned 8(a) firm that is interested in
attending please pre-register in advance and indicate whether you would
like to testify at the hearing. However, pre-registration is not
required for attendance. SBA requests that attendees register with SBA
no later than: September 9, 2022, for the consultation meeting in
Anchorage; September 16, 2022, for the consultation meeting in
Albuquerque; September 19, 2022, for the consultation meeting in
Oklahoma City; September 30, 2022, for the consultation meeting in
Washington, DC; and September 23, 2022, for the Listening Session in
Honolulu. To register, please contact Chequita Carter of SBA's Office
of Native American Affairs in writing at [email protected] or by
facsimile to (202) 481-2177. If you are interested in testifying,
please include the following information relating to the person
testifying: Name, Organization affiliation, Address, Telephone number,
Email address and Fax number. For those who wish to remotely attend or
participate in the Washington, DC, tribal consultation meeting, SBA
will provide further instructions upon registration. SBA will attempt
to accommodate all interested parties that wish to present testimony.
Based on the number of registrants it may be necessary to impose time
limits to ensure that everyone who wishes to testify has the
opportunity to do so. SBA will confirm in writing the registration of
presenters and attendees.
IV. Information on Service for Individuals With Disabilities
For information on facilities or services for individuals with
disabilities or to request special assistance at the tribal
consultation meeting, contact Chequita Carter at the telephone number
or email address indicated under the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT
section of this notice.
Authority: 15 U.S.C. 634 and E.O. 13175, 65 FR 67249.
Jackson S. Brossy,
Assistant Administrator, Office of Native American Affairs.
[FR Doc. 2022-18393 Filed 8-25-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8026-09-P