This article on Mar 9th in Federal Computer Week has the GovCon industry abuzz about the potential ramifications…
Federal Court Gives HUBZone Program Priority
The Small Business Act makes it mandatory, not optional, to give HUBZone companies a preference over other small businesses, a judge rules
A federal judge has thrown a wrench into the Obama administration’s small-business contracting policy by ruling that agencies must give priority to businesses in economically depressed areas when setting aside contracts for small businesses.
The U.S. Court of Federal Claims determined that the Small Business Act requires contracting officers to consider companies in the Small Business Administration’s Historically Underutilized Business Zone (HUBZone) program before opening contracts to firms in the 8(a) and service-disabled, veteran-owned small business set-aside programs.
The Obama administration had argued that the HUBZone preference was simply an option available to contacting officers, but not a requirement. But Federal Judge Emily Hewitt disagreed, noting the text of the provision left little room for debate.
“The court interprets the language of the HUBZone competition provision—‘shall be awarded’—to be mandatory,” the judge wrote in an opinion released March 2.
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Would welcome your opinion on what this will mean!
