§ 23.26 Fostering small business participation. ( a ) Your ACDBE program must include an element to provide for the structuring of concession opportunities to facilitate competition by small business concerns, taking all reasonable steps to eliminate obstacles to their participation, including unnecessary and unjustified bundling of concession opportunities that may preclude small business participation in solicitations.
( b ) This element must be submitted to the FAA for approval as a part of your ACDBE program no later than October 7, 2024. As part of this program element you may include, but are not limited to including, the following strategies: ( 1 ) Establish a race-neutral small business set-aside for certain concession opportunities. Such a strategy would include the rationale for selecting small business set-aside concession opportunities which may include consideration of size and availability of small businesses to operate the concession.
( 2 ) Consider the concession opportunities available through all concession models.
( 3 ) On concession opportunities that do not include ACDBE contract goals, require all concession models to provide subleasing opportunities of a size that small businesses, including ACDBEs, can reasonably operate.
( 4 ) Identify alternative concession contracting approaches to facilitate the ability of small businesses, including ACDBEs, to compete for and obtain direct leasing opportunities.
( c ) This element should include an objective, definition of small business, verification process, monitoring plan, and implementation timeline.
( d ) Your element must include the following assurances: ( 1 ) Your element is authorized under State law;
( 2 ) Certified ACDBEs that meet the size criteria established under your element are presumptively eligible to participate in your element;
( 3 ) There are no geographic preferences or limitations imposed on any concession opportunities included in your element;
( 4 ) There are no limits on the number of concession opportunities awarded to firms participating in your element but that every effort will be made to avoid creating barriers to the use of new, emerging, or untried businesses;
( 5 ) You will take aggressive steps to encourage those minority and women owned firms that are eligible for ACDBE certification to become certified; and
( 6 ) Your element is open to small businesses regardless of their location (*i.e.,* that there is no local or other geographic preference).
( e ) A State, local, or other program, in which eligibility requires satisfaction of race/gender or other criteria in addition to business size, may not be used to comply with the requirements of this part.
( f ) This element must not include local geographic preferences per § 23.79.
( g ) You must submit an annual report on small business participation obtained through the use of your small business element. This report must be submitted in a format acceptable to the FAA based on a schedule established and posted to the agency's website, available at *https://www.faa.gov/about/office_org/headquarters_offices/acr/bus_ent_program .*
( h ) You must actively implement your program elements to foster small business participation. Doing so is a requirement of good faith implementation of your ACDBE program.
[89 FR 24959, Apr. 9, 2024]