The Federal Government has established a web site site,  REGULATIONS.GOV,  where you can find, review, and submit comments on Federal documents that are open for comment and published in the Federal Register, the Government’s legal newspaper.  As a member of the public, you can submit comments about these regulations, and have the Government take your views into account.  The web site makes it easier for you to participate in Federal rulemaking - an essential part of the American democratic process. 

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SBA Revises Size Standard for

Heating Oil Dealers and Liquified Petroleum Gas Dealers

Final Rule

The Small Business Administration has revised the small business size standards for Heating Oil Dealers and Liquified Petroleum Gas Dealers.  The final rule revises the standard for North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code 454311, Heating Oil Dealers, from $11.5 million in average annual receipts to 50 employees; and it revises the size standard for NAICS code 454312, Liquefied Petroleum Gas (Bottled Gas) Dealers, from $6.5 million in average annual receipts to 50 employees.  The revised size standards stabilize the definition of the size of a small business in these industries based on a review of the latest available data on industry characteristics and other relevant information.

The revised size standards are effective August 21, 2008.

You may read and/or download the final rule from http://www.regulations.gov or here.    PDF

You may download and/or read the originally proposed rule.   PDF

SBA Further Increases

Small Business Size Standards

Due to Inflation

Final rule

The U.S. Small Business Administration has issued a final rule that adjusts monetary-based small business size standards for inflation.  The rule finalizes the Agency's December 6, 2005 interim final rule that also amended monetary-based small business size standards for inflation.  However, this rule adds an additional 8.7 percent to the inflation-adjusted size standards of the December 2005 interim final rule.  This additional 8.7 percent accounts for inflation that has occurred since then.  This rule also adopts the interim final rule's two-step process for determining eligibility for SBA's Business Loan and Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) Programs.  Furthermore, the rule adopts the revised date that SBA uses to determine size status for purposes of EIDL applications for businesses located in declared disaster areas as a result of Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, and Wilma.

DATES: Effective Date: This rule is effective on August  18, 2008.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Carl Jordan, Office of Size Standards,  (202) 205-6618 or sizestandards@sba.gov.

You may read and/or download the final rule published in the July 18, 2008 Federal Register.  TXT  PDF

You may read and/or download the interim final rule published in the December 5, 2005 Federal Register.  TXT   PDF

Affiliation

A Brief Overview of Some Basic Principles of Affiliation

as set forth in

SBA’s Regulations and the Office of Hearings and Appeals Rulings

SBA has prepared a brief discussion paper of affiliation for interested parties.   The overview provides some guidance on  how affilation affects a small business concern's eligibility for Federal government programs, such as SBA's Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program.   The discussion also provides some examples. 

The discussion is not nor is it meant to be inclusive of each and every situation that could arise where affiliation might arise between two or more entities or persons. 

The reader should review SBA's Small Business Size Regulations as well as SBA's Office of Hearings and Appeals decisions on affiliation. 

Please see affiliation_discussion.pdf.

For further information about small busines size standards, please see SBA's Guide to Size Standards, Frequently Asked Questions and Glossary about Small Business Size Standards.  The Guide explains in general terms many issues.  You may also contact an SBA Size Specialist, listed at the end of the discussion. 

All Contractors with the Federal Government

Must Use the E-Verify System to

Verify Employment Eligibility of all Persons

Hired During the Terms of their Contracts

Executive Order 12989, as amended by the Executive Order entitled "Amended Executive Order 12989, as Amended" of June 6, 2008, instructs Federal departments and agencies that enter into contracts to require, as a condition of each contract, that the contractor agree to use an electronic employment eligibility verification system designated by the Secretary of Homeland Security to verify the employment
eligibility of all persons hired during the contract term by the contractor to perform employment duties within the United States, and
all persons assigned by the contractor to perform work within the United States on the Federal contract.

Pursuant to that Executive Order, the Secretary of Homeland Security has designated the E-Verify system, modified as necessary and appropriate to accommodate the policy set forth in the Executive Order entitled "Amended Executive Order 12989, as Amended" and the implementation of that Executive Order by the Secretary of Defense, the Administrator of General Services, and the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, as the electronic employment eligibility verification system to be used by Federal contractors.

This is effective immediately.

You may read a copy of this Executive Order in PDF format. 

Public Meetings
about
SBA's Comprehensive Review of
All Small Business Size Standards
June 3, 2008

 
The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) held two public meetings to inform the public about one of the Agency's top priorities -- a comprehensive review of all of its small business size standards.  Of fundamental importance in assisting the nation's small businesses is appropriately defining which business entities qualify as small businesses.  SBA is responsible to the public for ensuring that size standards levels are sound and rational.  Therefore, SBA is undertaking a 2 year across the board examination of its size standards.  This notice discusses SBA's reasons for and its approach to the comprehensive review and provides information about registering to attend a public meeting.
 
The meetings were held on June 3, 2008, at 10 a.m. Eastern Time and 2 p.m. Eastern Time in SBA's Eisenhower Conference Room, 409 Third Street, SW., Washington, DC 20416.

SBA had previously published a notice of the upcoming meeting in the Federal Register.  You may read the text of the notice in PDF or HTML format.
 
Below are a number of links to proposed and final rules that SBA has issued in the last few years.  In these rules SBA applied a common methodology to its analyses of the industries.  The rules include a general discussion of the SBA’s methodology and its analysis of specific data.  SBA plans to use generally the same methodology and data in evaluating the industries as part of the comprehensive reviews.  SBA believes that by introducing these now, the public will have the opportunity to review SBA’s methodology and data in advance of the meetings and ask questions or provide comment, if anyone would like to do so.

SBA is also providing the public with a copy of the presenter's comments (in PDF format) and the Microsoft® PowerPoint® presentation from the meetings.  For those without PowerPoint®, Microsoft® makes available a free download of the PowerPoint® viewer. 

PowerPoint® Presentation.

Presenter's comments. 

NAICS 2007
SBA adopts NAICS 2007 for table of size standards
 
Direct Final Rule

On August 29, 2007 the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has amended its Small Business Size Regulations by incorporating the Office of Management and Budget's 2007 modifications of the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) in its table of small business size standards.  These modifications are few in number and result in revisions to size standards for three industries and four activities within other industries.  SBA believes that this rule is routine and non-controversial, and the Agency anticipates no significant adverse comment.  If SBA receives a significant adverse comment, it will withdraw the rule.  SBA published concurrently in August 29, 2007 the Federal Register a proposed rule to achieve the same result, that is, to modify its Small Business Size Regulations as contemplated in this direct final rule.  

The rule is effective October 1, 2007, without further action, unless SBA receives a significant adverse comment by September 28, 2007.  If SBA receives any significant adverse comments, the Agency will publish a timely withdrawal of this rule in the Federal Register.  

To submit comments, please go to regulations.gov and use “RIN 3245-AF66” (no quotes) as your search term to locate the proposed rule.

You may download and/or read the direct final rule.    TXT   PDF 

Size for Purposes of Government-Wide Acquisition Contracts,
Multiple Award Schedule Contracts and other Long-Term Contracts;
8(a) Business Development/Small Disadvantaged Businesses;
Business Status Determinations

Final rule

The U.S. Small Business Administration has amended its regulations to address the time at which size is determined for the purposes of long-term Federal contracts including Government-Wide Acquisition Contracts, the General Services Administration (GSA) Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) contracts and multi-agency contracts.  SBA also amended its 8(a) Business Development regulations to address when a business concern may receive orders as an 8(a) program participant under GSA's MAS Program and other multiple award contracts.  This final action is necessary to ensure that small business size status is accurately represented and reported over the life of these long-term Federal contracts. 

This rule will take effect June 30, 2007, and will apply to solicitations and contracts issued after the effect date, as well as contracts and solicitations in existence at the time of the effective date.

Please read the final rule.   TXT   PDF

Also available are SBA's press release and questions and answers about this rule.

You may read and/or download the proposed rule, published in the Federal Register on April 25, 2003.   TXT   PDF

Air Traffic Control, Other Airport Operations
and Other Support Activities for Air Transportation
Proposed rule to increase small business size standards
Request for comments

The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has proposed to increase the size standard for the Air Traffic Control (North American Classification Systems (NAICS) 488111), Other Airport Operations (NAICS 488119), and Other Support Activities for Air Transportation (NAICS 488190) industries.  SBA has proposed increasing the size standards from $6.5 million in average annual receipts to $21 million in average annual receipts.  SBA has proposed these revisions to define the size of a small business in these industries better, based on its review of the industries' characteristics.

DATES: Comments must be received by SBA on or before June 16, 2006.

Please see the Federal government's eRulemaking Portal: regulations.gov.

You may read and/or download the proposedl rule published in the May 17, 2006 Federal Register.    TXT    PDF