New Small Business Rules: 8(A) Program

As we recently discussed, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has published a long-awaited rule that made important changes to numerous small business contracting programs and the rules Federal agencies must follow when contracting with small businesses. These changes went into effect on November 16, 2020. You can read  our high-level summary of the rule here, an  in-depth look at new treatment for joint ventures and first-tier subcontractors here, and  the rule itself here. In this post, we'll take a closer look at few notable changes to the 8(a) program.

8(a) Joint Ventures

Some of the more notable changes to the 8(a) program relate to 8(a) joint ventures. First, the final rule implements the much-anticipated merger of the 8(a) Mentor Protégé Program into the All Small Mentor Protégé Program), eliminating the 8(a) Mentor Protégé Program. The mentor protégé programs allow a protégé and mentor with an SBA-approved Mentor Protégé Agreement to form a