Current through Register Vol. 51, No. 6, March 22, 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
the agency head or head of the procurement unit. 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.