Small Business Transforming America's Regions Act of 2016

Summary: Small Business Transforming America's Regions Act of 2016 (Sec. 2) This bill amends the Small Business Act to include in the Historically Underutilized Business Zone (HUBZone) program a qualified area designated by the Small Business Administration (SBA) in response to a petition by the governor of a state, the District of Columbia, or a U.S. territory. With respect to HUBZones located in census tracts or nonmetropolitan counties that cease to qualify according to the ordinary criteria for the HUBZone program but are &quot;redesignated&quot; to qualify for it, the bill increases the length of time a census tract or nonmetropolitan county may be so redesignated from three years to seven years after the date on which the area ceased to qualify for the HUBZone program according to the ordinary criteria. This increased length of time for a census tract or nonmetropolitan county shall apply only to those that become redesignated areas within three years before enactment of this bill. The SBA may designate, in response to a governor's petition, only a nonmetropolitan county that:   has a median household income less than 90% of the state median household income; has an unemployment rate at least 120% percent of the average U.S. or state unemployment rate, whichever is less; or meets other SBA criteria.  A governor may not file a petition for more than 30% of the total number of nonmetropolitan counties in the state. The SBA shall establish procedures to:   ensure that it accepts petitions from all states each fiscal year, and give an interested governor technical assistance before a petition is filed.  (Sec. 3) The bill revises application of the 30-day period for filing a petition with the SBA Office of Hearings and Appeals for reconsideration of a small business concern size standard. No such petition may be filed until on or after the effective date of regulations for establishing the procedures for reconsideration of a size standard. Any person filing a petition relating to a size standard revised, modified, or established between November 25, 2015, and the effective date of such regulations must file the petition within 30 days after that effective date. (Sec. 4) A prime federal contractor shall, within 14 days after completion of a subcontract, give a past performance rating for the Contractor Performance Assessment Rating System, the Past Performance Information Retrieval System, or any successor system for any subcontractor (whether or not a small business concern) used in performing the federal contract as part of the prime contractor's performance reporting. Failure of the prime contractor to enter the subcontractor's past performance rating shall be considered in evaluating the primer contractor's past performance. A federal agency shall use a small business subcontractor's past performance rating in determining whether to award the subcontractor a prime contract. (Sec. 5) The bill adds the SBA Administrator to the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Small Business Transforming 
America's Regions Act of 2016''.

SEC. 2. MODIFICATION TO THE HUBZONE PROGRAM.

    (a) In General.--Section 3(p) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 
632(p)) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (1)--
                    (A) in subparagraph (E), by striking ``or'' at the 
                end;
                    (B) by redesignating subparagraph (F) as 
                subparagraph (G); and
                    (C) by inserting after subparagraph (E) the 
                following:
                    ``(F) another qualified area designated by the 
                Administrator under section 31(d); or''; and
            (2) in paragraph (4)(C), by striking ``until the later of'' 
        and all that follows and inserting ``for the 7-year period 
        following the date on which the census tract or nonmetropolitan 
        county ceased to be so qualified.''.
    (b) Applicability.--The amendment made by subsection (a)(2) shall 
apply to any census tract or nonmetropolitan county that becomes a 
redesignated area under section 3(p)(4)(C) of the Small Business Act 
(15 U.S.C. 632(p)(4)(C)) on or after the date that is 3 years before 
the date of enactment of this Act.
    (c) Other Qualified Areas.--Section 31 of the Small Business Act 
(15 U.S.C. 657a) is amended--
            (1) by redesignating subsection (d) as subsection (e); and
            (2) by inserting after subsection (c) the following:
    ``(d) Other Qualified Areas.--
            ``(1) Definitions.--In this subsection--
                    ``(A) the term `governor' means the chief executive 
                of a State; and
                    ``(B) the term `State' means each of the several 
                States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of 
                Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, the Commonwealth 
                of the Northern Mariana Islands, and American Samoa.
            ``(2) Designation.--A governor may petition the 
        Administrator to designate 1 or more census tracts in the State 
        of the governor as a HUBZone if each tract nonmetropolitan 
        counties in the State as a HUBZone if each nonmetropolitan 
        county--
                    ``(A) has a median household income that is less 
                than 70 percent 90 percent of the median household 
                income of the State in which the tract nonmetropolitan 
                county is located based on the most recent data 
                available from the Bureau of the Census;
                    ``(B) has an unemployment rate that is not less 
                than 120 percent of the average unemployment rate of 
                the United States or of the State in which the tract 
                nonmetropolitan county is located, whichever is less, 
                based on the most recent data available from the 
                Department of Labor; or
                    ``(C) meets other criteria determined by the 
                Administrator.
            ``(3) Petition.--With respect to a petition submitted by a 
        governor to the Administrator under paragraph (2)--
                    ``(A) the governor may submit not more than 1 
                petition in a fiscal year unless the Administrator 
                determines that an additional petition from the State 
                of the governor is appropriate;
                    ``(B) the governor may not submit a petition for 
                more than 30 percent of the total number of census 
                tracts nonmetropolitan counties in the State of the 
                governor; and
                    ``(C) if the Administrator grants the petition and 
                designates 1 or more census tracts nonmetropolitan 
                counties as a HUBZone, the governor shall, not less 
                frequently than annually, submit data to the 
                Administrator certifying that each census tract 
                nonmetropolitan county continues to meet the criteria 
                establishing the eligibility of the tract 
                nonmetropolitan county under the HUBZone program.
            ``(4) Process.--The Administrator shall establish 
        procedures to--
                    ``(A) ensure that the Administration accepts 
                petitions under paragraph (2) from all States each 
                fiscal year; and
                    ``(B) provide technical assistance, before the 
                filing of a petition under paragraph (2), to a governor 
                who is interested in filing such a petition.''.

SEC. 3. FILING OF PETITIONS FOR RECONSIDERATION OF SIZE STANDARDS.

    (a) Definition.--In this section, the term ``covered period'' means 
the period beginning on November 25, 2015 and ending on the effective 
date of the regulations establishing procedures to implement section 
3(a)(9) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 632(a)(9)).
    (b) Petitions for Reconsideration.--
            (1) Acceptance of applications.--Section 3(a)(9)(A) of the 
        Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 632(a)(9)(A)) is amended by 
        striking ``A person'' and inserting ``On or after the effective 
        date of the regulations establishing procedures to implement 
        this paragraph, a person''.
            (2) Covered period.--Notwithstanding section 3(a)(9)(B) of 
        the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 632(a)(9)(B)), a person 
        filing a petition described in section 3(a)(9)(A) of that Act 
        relating to a size standard that is revised, modified, or 
        established during the covered period shall file the petition 
        not later than 30 days after the effective date of the 
        regulations establishing procedures to implement section 
        3(a)(9) of that Act.

SEC. 4. PAST PERFORMANCE CREDIT FOR SUBCONTRACTORS.

    Section 8(d) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 637(d)) is 
amended by adding at the end the following:
            ``(17) Past performance credit for certain small business 
        subcontractors.--
                    ``(A) In general.--A prime contractor for a covered 
                contract, as that term is defined in paragraph (13)(A), 
                shall provide a past performance rating for the 
                Contractor Performance Assessment Rating System, the 
                Past Performance Information Retrieval System, or any 
                successor system for any subcontractor used by the 
                prime contractor in performing the covered contract as 
                part of the performance reporting by the prime 
                contractor for the covered contract.
                    ``(B) Time for completion.--A prime contractor 
                shall submit the past performance rating of a 
                subcontractor not later than 14 days after the date of 
                the completion of performance of the subcontract by the 
                subcontractor.
                    ``(C) Failure to enter information.--The failure of 
                a prime contractor to enter the past performance rating 
                of a subcontractor shall be considered when evaluating 
                the past performance of the prime contractor.
                    ``(D) Use of information.--A Federal agency shall 
                use a past performance rating provided under 
                subparagraph (A) for a subcontractor that is a small 
                business concern in evaluating the past performance of 
                the subcontractor for purposes of determining whether 
                to award a prime contract to the subcontractor.''.

SEC. 5. MEMBERSHIP OF THE ADMINISTRATOR OF THE SMALL BUSINESS 
              ADMINISTRATION ON THE FEDERAL ACQUISITION REGULATORY 
              COUNCIL.

    (a) Addition of Administrator of Small Business Administration to 
Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council.--Section 1302(b)(1) of title 
41, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) in subparagraph (C), by striking ``and'' at the end;
            (2) in subparagraph (D), by striking the period and 
        inserting ``; and''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following new subparagraph:
                    ``(E) the Administrator of the Small Business 
                Administration.''.
    (b) Conforming Amendments.--Such title is further amended--
            (1) in section 1303(a)(1)--
                    (A) by striking ``and the Administrator of National 
                Aeronautics and Space,'' and inserting ``the 
                Administrator of National Aeronautics and Space, and 
                the Administrator of the Small Business 
                Administration,''; and
                    (B) by striking ``and the National Aeronautics and 
                Space Act of 1958 (42 U.S.C. 2451 et seq.),'' and 
                inserting ``the National Aeronautics and Space Act of 
                1958 (42 U.S.C. 2451 et seq.), and the Small Business 
                Act (15 U.S.C. 631 et seq.),''; and
            (2) in section 1121(d), by striking ``and the General 
        Services Administration'' and inserting ``the General Services 
        Administration, and the Small Business Administration''.