On May 16, 2012, the Small Business Administration issued a
proposed rule implementing portions of the Small Business Jobs Act
of 2010. See 77 FR 29130-29165 (May 16, 2012).
The lengthy rule covers many areas of the regulations governing
small business contracting, with a particular focus on multiple
award contracts. The proposed changes will impact virtually
every small business government contractor. Comments are due
on or before July 16, 2012.
While the rule covers many topics, several notable highlights
include the following:
Set-Asides, Partial Set-Asides and Reserves for Multiple Award
Contracts
The proposed rule would give agencies the discretion to award
multiple award contracts with a reserve, partial set-aside, or
other commitment to set aside individual orders for small
businesses. Significantly, the SBA proposes to include GSA
schedule contracts within the broad definition of "multiple
award contract," which would expressly allow small
