[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 106 (Friday, May 31, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 27335-27337]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-13691]



-----------------------------------------------------------------------

[[Page 27336]]


DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
Minority Business Development Agency
[Docket No. 960402097-6129-02]
RIN 0640-XX02


Revision of the Cost-Share Requirement and Addition of Bonus 
Points for Community-Based Organizations Applying To Operate Minority 
Business Development Centers (MBDC) in Designated Locations

AGENCY: Minority Business Development Agency, Commerce.

ACTION: Interim final policy request for comments.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: In order to leverage Federal resources together with those 
existing in communities, and to build local capacity to impact growth 
in the nation's minority business sector, MBDA is revising its Minority 
Business Development Center Competitive Application Package to increase 
the Cost-Share requirement from fifteen percent (15%) to forty percent 
(40%) and to give an additional ten (10) bonus points to the 
applications of community-based organizations in designated locations.

DATES: This interim policy is effective May 31, 1996. Comments on this 
interim policy must be submitted on or before July 1, 1996.

ADDRESSES: Comments should be sent to Mr. Paul R. Webber IV, Assistant 
Director for Operations, Minority Business Development Agency, U.S. 
Department of Commerce, Room 5073, 14th and Constitution Avenues NW., 
Washington D.C. 20230.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Paul Webber IV at (202) 482-1015.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under Executive Order 11625, MBDA provides 
business development assistance to persons who are members of groups 
determined by MBDA to be socially or economically disadvantaged, and to 
business concerns owned and controlled by such individuals. To deliver 
this assistance, MBDA funds MBDCs which offer a full range of 
management and technical assistance services, coordinate public and 
private resources on behalf of clients, and serve as a conduit for 
information concerning business development.
    MBDA selects applicants to operate its MBDCs through a competitive 
solicitation process. The guidelines for operation of an MBDC are set 
forth in a detailed Competitive Application Package (CAP). The funding 
instrument for the MBDCs is a cooperative agreement, which, in addition 
to the CAP and the competitive solicitation published in the Federal 
Register, sets forth the applicable requirements which must be met by 
an MBDC operator (collectively, the ``program guidelines'').
    Under the program guidelines, the Department of Commerce currently 
funds up to 85% of the total budgeted cost of operating an MBDC on an 
annual basis. The MBDC operator is required to contribute at least 15% 
of the total project cost (the ``cost-share requirement''). 
Contributions which may be utilized in satisfying the cost- share 
requirement include cash contributions, non-cash applicant 
contributions, third party in-kind contributions and client fees.
    Under the revised guidelines for the geographic service areas 
designated below, and for such additional geographic service areas as 
shall from time to time be added to this list, the Department will fund 
up to 60% of the total project cost. The operator will be required to 
contribute at least 40% of the total project cost in order to satisfy 
the cost-share requirement. In addition to the traditional sources of 
an MBDC's cost-share contribution, the 40% may be contributed by local, 
state and private sector organizations. It is anticipated that some 
organizations may apply jointly for an award to operate one of the 
designated centers. For administrative purposes, one organization must 
be designated as the recipient organization.
    Pages 1-7 of the MBDC Competitive Application Package (CAP) address 
the scoring of applications. Currently, applicants are evaluated based 
upon a 100 point scoring system which addresses the capability of the 
applicant, the reasonableness of the applicant's proposed costs, the 
applicant's proposed strategies for accomplishing the program mission, 
and other selection criteria. This scoring system will be revised to 
add ten (10) bonus points to the applications of community-based 
organizations which have received a programmatically acceptable and 
responsive score. Each qualifying application will receive the full ten 
points. Community-based applicant organizations are those organizations 
currently located within the geographic service area designated in the 
solicitation for the award, and whose headquarters and/or principal 
place of business have been located within the geographic service area 
during the last five years. Where an applicant organization has been in 
existence for fewer than five years or has been present in the 
geographic service area for fewer than five years, the individual years 
of experience of the applicant organization's principals may be applied 
toward the requirement of five years of organization experience. The 
individual years of experience must have been acquired in the 
geographic service area which is the subject of the solicitation.
    Issues concerning the interpretation of the foregoing requirements 
and the meanings of key terms shall be governed by the CAP, as amended.
    MBDA recognizes that the substantially decreased level of funding 
for Agency programs and the instituting of a community-based emphasis 
on the selection of service providers may lead to the non-renewal of 
some awards upon the expiration of the current award term, yet prior to 
the completion of a full, three-year competitive cycle. It is important 
to note that under the Agency's existing program guidelines, the 
renewal of an award for the second and third budget years is expressly 
conditioned upon the availability of funding and shifts in Agency 
priorities.

Statement of Policy

    In order to implement its revised program in support of the 
minority business sector, MBDA will henceforth increase the cost-share 
requirement for Business Development Center awards to forty percent 
(40%) and add ten bonus points to programmatically acceptable and 
responsive applications of community-based organizations in the 
following twenty-two locations:

Atlanta
Tampa
Cincinnati
New Orleans
Bronx
Newark/Jersey City
Las Vegas
San Francisco
Jacksonville
West Palm Beach
Brownsville
Oklahoma City
Brooklyn
Washington, D.C.
Los Angeles
Orlando
Chicago
Corpus Christi
Boston
Connecticut
Anaheim
Oxnard

Executive Order 12866

    This policy revision was determined to be not significant for 
purposes of E.O. 12866.

Administrative Procedure Act

    Since this notice of policy revision is a matter relating to public 
property,

[[Page 27337]]

loans, grants, benefits, or contracts under 5 U.S.C. 553(a)(2), the 
requirements of section 553 do not apply.

Regulatory Flexibility Act

    The Regulatory Flexibility Act does not apply to this notice of 
policy change because the notice was not required to be promulgated as 
a proposed rule before issuance in final form by 5 U.S.C. Sec. 553 or 
by any other law. As a result, neither an initial nor final Regulatory 
Analysis was required, and none has been prepared.

Paperwork Reduction Act

    This notice involves a collection of information which has been 
approved by the Office of Management and Budget under control number 
0640-0006.

Executive Order 12612

    This policy statement does not contain policies with Federalism 
implications sufficient to warrant preparation of a Federalism 
assessment under Executive Order 12612.

    Authority: 15 U.S.C. 1512 and Executive Order 11625.

    Dated: May 24, 1996.
Elio E. Muller, Jr.,
Associate Director for Strategic Planning, Minority Business 
Development Agency.
[FR Doc. 96-13691 Filed 5-30-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-21-P