HUBZone Changes effective 10/3
The HUBZone program has been expanded to assist small businesses in disasters areas and base closure areas and provides equal treatment under the HUBZone program for small businesses owned by Native Hawaiian Organizations (NHOs).
Effective Mon 10/3/16, changes will be reflected in 13 CFR Part 126 to implement the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2016 (2016 NDAA) which made the following modifications to the HUBZone program:
- authorized NHOs to own HUBZone small business concerns;
- expanded the definition of “base closure area” under the HUBZone program; and
- authorized the inclusion of “qualified disaster areas” under the HUBZone program.
Specific information about the new HUBZone geographic designations:
- “Major Disaster” areas:
- are HUBZones for a period of 5 years.
- Applies to census tracts and nonmetropolitan counties (NMC) located in “major disaster” areas, if such census tract or NMC lost its HUBZone eligibility
Øwithin the past 5 years or
Øwill lose its HUBZone eligibility within 2 years after the major disaster.
- “Catastrophic Incident” areas
- are HUBZones for a period of 10 years.
- Applies to census tracts and NMCs located in areas where catastrophic incidents occurred, if such census tract or NMC lost its HUBZone eligibility
Øwithin the past 5 years or
Øwill lose its HUBZone eligibility within 2 years after the catastrophic incident.
- Base Closures Areas (BRACs)
- HUBZone eligibility for BRACs is 8 years (up from 5) and expands HUBZone eligibility to census tracts and NMCs that
- contain the BRACs,
- intersect with the BRACs,
- are contiguous to the BRACs, or
- are contiguous to any census tract or NMC described in 1 through 3
