Current through Register Vol. 51, No. 19, September 20, 2024
A. Applicability.
(1) All procurements by a procurement unit are eligible for designation as small business reserve procurements.
(2) A procurement with a total dollar value between $50,000 and $500,000 shall be designated for the small business reserve.
(3) Exemptions. The requirements of the Small Business Reserve Program do not apply to the following procurements:
(a) Preference procurements made from a preference provider (Maryland Correctional Enterprises, community service providers, Blind Industries and Services of Maryland, individual-with-disability-owned businesses, and the Maryland Vending Facilities Program for the Blind) under COMAR 21.11.05 and 21.11.09.
(b) Procurements involving expenditures of federal dollars, to the extent that their inclusion in the program is in violation of federal law or grant provisions.
(c) Procurements with a total dollar value under $50,000.
(d) Procurements for human, social, cultural, or educational services.
(e) Certain term and master contract procurements when the Governor's Office of Small, Minority & Women Business Affairs certifies, concurrently with review of any waiver determinations for certified minority business enterprise participation contract goals, that it is not practicable to designate the procurement for the small business reserve.
B. Scope. To the extent practicable, each procurement unit shall structure its procurement procedures to achieve the result that a minimum of 15 percent of the unit's total dollar value of procurements for goods, supplies, services, maintenance, construction, construction-related services, architectural services, and engineering services are expended directly with certified small businesses at the prime contract level.
C. Exclusion. For purposes of computing the procurement units total dollar value of procurements, exempt procurements under §A(2) of this regulation are excluded.
D. Expenditures.
(1) Forecasts. Each procurement unit shall, based upon the approved budget and other applicable factors, annually prepare a fiscal year procurement expenditure forecast. The forecast shall project expected expenditures under procurements to be awarded or currently under contract, and the unit shall develop a plan allocating a minimum of 15 percent of the total expected expenditures under these contracts directly to certified small businesses.
(2) Included and Excluded Expenditures.
(a) Expenditures in a current fiscal year under a multiyear contract awarded in a prior fiscal year shall be included in the procurement unit's forecast and counted toward both total procurement dollars and small business reserve dollars, as applicable. This excludes expenditures under contracts awarded before October 1,2004.
(b) Only those payments resulting from a procurement designated as a small business reserve procurement may be applied towards the procurement unit's overall small business reserve payment achievement.
(c) Expenditures to certified small businesses awarded under small business reserve procurements may be included towards attainment of the small business reserve amount notwithstanding the procurement method used.
E. Solicitation Notice. Each solicitation for bids or proposals for a procurement designated for a small business reserve shall include the following notice:
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NOTICE TO BIDDERS/OFFERORS
SMALL BUSINESS RESERVE PROCUREMENT
This is a Small Business Reserve Procurement for which award will be limited to certified small business vendors. Only businesses that meet the statutory requirements set forth in State Finance and Procurement Article, §§14-501-14 -505, Annotated Code of Maryland, and that are certified by the Governor's Office of Small, Minority, and Women Business Affairs Small Business Reserve Program are eligible for award of a contract.
For the purposes of a Small Business Reserve Procurement, a small business is a for-profit business, other than a broker, that meets the following criteria:
A. It is independently owned and operated;
B. It is not a subsidiary of another business;
C. It is not dominant in its field of operation; and
D. Either:
(1) With respect to employees:
(a) Its wholesale operations did not employ more than 50 persons in its most recently completed 3 fiscal years;
(b) Its retail operations did not employ more than 25 persons in its most recently completed 3 fiscal years;
(c) Its manufacturing operations did not employ more than 100 persons in its most recently completed 3 fiscal years;
(d) Its service operations did not employ more than 100 persons in its most recently completed 3 fiscal years;
(e) Its construction operations did not employ more than 50 persons in its most recently completed 3 fiscal years; and
(f) The architectural and engineering services of the business did not employ more than 100 persons in its most recently completed 3 fiscal years; or
(2) With respect to gross sales:
(a) The gross sales of its wholesale operations did not exceed an average of $4,000,000 in its most recently completed 3 fiscal years;
(b) The gross sales of its retail operations did not exceed an average of $3,000,000 in its most recently completed 3 fiscal years;
(c) The gross sales of its manufacturing operations did not exceed an average of $2,000,000 in its most recently completed 3 fiscal years;
(d) The gross sales of its service operations did not exceed an average of $10,000,000 in its most recently completed 3 fiscal years;
(e) The gross sales of its construction operations did not exceed an average of $7,000,000 in its most recently completed 3 fiscal years; and
(f) The gross sales of its architectural and engineering operations did not exceed an average of $4,500,000 in its most recently completed 3 fiscal years.
Note: If a business has not existed for 3 years, the employment and gross sales average or averages shall be the average for each year or part of a year during which the business has been in existence.
Further information on the certification process is available at eMaryland Marketplace.
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F. Ineligible Bids or Proposals. Under a small business reserve procurement, a business that is not a certified small business is ineligible for award of a contract.
G. Before awarding a contract under a procurement designated as a small business reserve procurement, the procurement officer shall verify that the apparent awardee is certified by the Governor's Office of Small, Minority, and Women Business Affairs as a small business. A procurement contract award under a small business reserve procurement may not be made to a business that has not been certified.
H. Reporting. The procurement units shall submit a report on the Small Business Reserve Program annually as required under COMAR 21.13.01.03B.
I. SBR Liaison Officer. The head of each procurement unit shall designate an employee to be the SBR liaison officer in the administration of that unit's small business reserve program. The SBR liaison officer shall be a high-level employee reporting directly to a Secretary, Deputy Secretary, or head of a procurement agency. The SBR liaison officer shall be responsible for coordinating the procurement unit's outreach efforts to the small business community, reviewing the unit's contracting procedures to ensure compliance with small business reserve requirements, assisting in the resolution of small business reserve contracting issues, and submitting required small business reserve program reports or information.
