GOVERNMENT CONTRACTS 

DoD Issues Notice to Publish an Updated List of Product Categories for Which Federal Prison Industries Have a Significant Market Share

The Department of Defense (DoD) issued a Notice publishing an updated annual list of product categories for which the Federal Prison Industries' share of the DoD market is greater than five percent, 80 Fed. Reg. 12157.  The updated annual list will become effective March 29, 2015. 

DOL and OMB Issue a Memorandum Regarding the Implementation of the President’s Executive Order on Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces

The Department of Labor (DOL) and Office of Management and Budget (OMB) have issued a Memorandum regarding the implementation of the President’s Executive Order (EO) on fair pay and safe workplaces, signed on July 31, 2014.  The memorandum informs agencies they are to appoint Labor Compliance Advisors within 90 days, in order to prepare themselves for additional scrutiny on contractors’ labor practices, as required by the EO.  The EO requires contractors to disclose administrative merits determinations, arbitration awards or civil judgments related to violations of a wide range of labor laws, and requires agencies to consider whether a contractor has a record of “serious, willful, repeated or pervasive” violations before awarding a contract. The memorandum states that the Labor Compliance Advisors will play a key role in enforcing the EO, and will be responsible for promoting awareness of labor law compliance among agency leadership, contracting officers and contractors, as well as for coordinating with the DOL and other agencies to ensure that the government has consistent and effective policies for combating labor violations. Memorandum Regarding the  Implementation of the President's Executive Order on Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces. 

DOT Issues Notice to Announce New Contracting Initiative

The Department of Transportation (DOT) issued a notice to announce an initiative to permit, on an experimental basis, Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and Federal Transit Administration (FTA) recipients and sub-recipients to utilize various contracting requirements that generally have been disallowed due to concerns about adverse impacts on competition, 80 Fed. Reg. 12257. This initiative will be carried out as a pilot program for a period of 1 year, unless extended under the FHWA and FTA’s existing authorities. The purpose of the pilot program is to determine whether the use of such requirements “unduly limit competition,” as provided in an August 23, 2013, opinion from the Department of Justice's Office of Legal Counsel (OLC). Should DOT find that such restrictions do not unduly limit competition, DOT may provide further guidance regarding their use.  The pilot program became effective March 6, 2015. 

VETERANS AFFAIRS 

VA Issues Final Rule to Implement VOSB and SDVOSB Status Protests

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) issued a final rule to an adopted interim final rule published in the Federal Register on September 30, 2013, to implement a portion of the Veterans Benefits, Health Care, and Information Technology Act of 2006, which requires the VA to verify ownership and control of Veteran-owned small businesses (VOSBs), including service-disabled Veteran-owned small businesses (SDVOSBs), in order for these firms to participate in VA acquisitions set asides for SDVOSB/VOSBs, 80 Fed. Reg. 12564. Specifically, the VA amends its adjudication procedures for SDVOSB and VOSB status protests, to provide that the VA’s Director, Center for Verification and Evaluation (CVE), shall initially adjudicate SDVOSB and VOSB status protests, and provide that protested businesses, if they are denied status, may appeal to the VA's Executive Director, Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization (OSDBU). SDVOSB/VOSB status protests occur when during a particular SDVOSB/VOSB set aside acquisition, a competing vendor in an acquisition challenges the status of the putative awardee as an actual SDVOSB or VOSB, as applicable. Additionally, the VA amends the title of CVE from the Center for Veterans Enterprise to the Center for Verification and Evaluation, to more appropriately represent the function of the office.  The final rule became effective March 10, 2015. 

SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION 

SBA Reopens Comment Period for the Proposed Rule to Implement Provisions of the NDAA of 2013 Published December 29, 2014

The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) reopened the comment period for the proposed rule published in the Federal Register on December 29, 2014 at 79 Fed. Reg. 77955. In that rule the SBA proposed to implement provisions of the National Defense Authorization Act of 2013, which pertain to performance requirements applicable to small business and socioeconomic program set aside contracts and small business subcontracting. The SBA also proposed to make changes to its regulations concerning the nonmanufacturer rule and affiliation rules. Further, the SBA proposed to allow a joint venture to qualify as small for any government procurement as long as each partner to the joint venture qualifies individually as small under the size standard corresponding to the NAICS code assigned in the solicitation. Finally, the SBA requested comments on the timeline and procedures for NAICS code appeals. The comment period originally closed on February 27, 2015. The SBA is reopening the comment period in response to the significant level of interest generated by the proposed rule and due to the request of multiple stakeholders. Given the scope of the proposed rule and the nature of the issues raised by the comments received to date, the SBA believes that affected businesses need more time to review the proposal and fully prepare their comments, 80 Fed. Reg. 12353.  The comments for the proposed rule are now due April 6, 2015. 

Committee for Purchase From People Who Are Blind or Severely Disabled  The Following Notice Was Issued: 

80 Fed. Reg. 12156, March 6, 2015, proposed to add a service (Base Operations and Administrative Services, Marine Corps Base Hawaii (MCB), Camp Smith, Halawa, HI and Kaneohe Bay, HI) and delete products (Binder, Vinyl - ForSight Vision, York, PA; Binder, Round Ring, Clear Overlay, Pockets, Brown, 1/2'' Capacity, Letter - South Texas Lighthouse for the Blind, Corpus Christi, TX; Bottle, Pharmaceutical, White, Screw Cap, 60cc, Bottle, Pharmaceutical, White, Screw Cap, 100cc, Bottle, Pharmaceutical, White, Screw Cap, 150cc, Bottle, Pharmaceutical, White, Screw Cap, 300cc, Bottle, Pharmaceutical, White, Screw Cap, 500cc - Alphapointe, Kansas City, MO) from the Procurement List.  Comments on the proposed addition and deletions are due April 6, 2015.