126.607—When must a contracting officer set aside a requirement for qualified HUBZone SBCs?

(a) The contracting officer first must review a requirement to determine whether it is excluded from HUBZone contracting pursuant to § 126.605.
(b) If the contracting officer determines that § 126.605 does not apply, the contracting officer shall set aside the requirement for HUBZone, 8(a) or SDVO SBC contracting before setting aside the requirement as a small business set-aside.
(c) If the contracting officer decides to set aside the requirement for competition restricted to qualified HUBZone SBCs, the contracting officer must:
(1) Have a reasonable expectation after reviewing SBA's list of qualified HUBZone SBCs that at least two responsible qualified HUBZone SBCs will submit offers; and
(2) Determine that award can be made at fair market price.

Code of Federal Regulations

[63 FR 31908, June 11, 1998, as amended at 70 FR 51250, Aug. 30, 2005]

Code of Federal Regulations

Effective Date Note: At 75 FR 62282, Oct. 7, 2010, § 126.607 was amended by revising paragraph (b), effective Feb 4, 2011. For the convenience of the user, the revised text is set forth as follows: § 126.607 When must a contracting officer set aside a requirement for qualified HUBZone SBCs? (b) Contracting Among Small Business Programs. (1) Acquisitions Valued At or Below $100,000/Simplified Acquisition Threshold. The contracting officer shall set aside any acquisition with an anticipated dollar value exceeding $3,000 ($15,000 for acquisitions as described in the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) at 48 CFR 13.201(g)(1) ) but valued below $100,000 ($250,000 for acquisitions described in paragraph (1) of the Simplified Acquisition Threshold definition in the FAR at 48 CFR 2.101 ) for small business concerns when there is a reasonable expectation that offers will be obtained from at least two small business concerns that are competitive in terms of quality and delivery and award will be made at fair market prices. This requirement does not preclude a contracting officer from setting aside a contract under the 8(a) BD, HUBZone, Service Disabled Veteran Owned (SDVO), or WOSB programs. (2) Acquisitions Valued Above $100,000/Simplified Acquisition Threshold. (i) The contracting officer shall set aside any acquisition with an anticipated dollar value exceeding $100,000 ($250,000 for acquisitions described in paragraph (1) of the Simplified Acquisition Threshold definition in the FAR at 48 CFR 2.101 ) for small business concerns when there is a reasonable expectation that offers will be obtained from at least two small business concerns that are competitive in terms of quality and delivery and award will be made at fair market prices. However, after conducting market research, the contracting officer shall first consider a set-aside or sole source award (if the sole source award is permitted by statute or regulation) under the 8(a) BD, HUBZone, SDVO SBC or WOSB programs before setting aside the requirement as a small business set-aside. There is no order of precedence among the 8(a) BD, HUBZone, SDVO SBC or WOSB programs. The contracting officer must document the contract file with the rationale used to support the specific set-aside, including the type and extent of market research conducted. In addition, the contracting officer must document the contract file showing that the apparent successful offeror's ORCA certifications and associated representations were reviewed. (ii) SBA believes that Progress in fulfilling the various small business goals, as well as other factors such as the results of market research, programmatic needs specific to the procuring agency, anticipated award price, and the acquisition history, will be considered in making a decision as to which program to use for the acquisition.
Code of Federal Regulations 524