House Passes Small Business Contracting Bills

Eight bills meant to make it easier for small businesses to win federal contracts has won approval in the House of Representatives and has moved on the U. S. Senate. It's not clear what will happen to the bills even with Senate approval because the measures are attached to a defense spending bill that President Obama has threatened to veto. The eight contracting bills were attached to the defense bill to guaranteed they would make it to the House floor, according to D.J. Jordan, spokesman for the House Small Business Committee, which sponsored the bills. The contracting bills include: —The Government Efficiency Through Small Business Contracting Act, which would raise from the current 23% to 25% the amount of federal contracting dollars that should go to small businesses. —The Small Business Advocate Act, which would make it easier for the Offices of Small and DisadvantagedBusiness Utilization in federal agencies to advocate for small business contracts. —The Subcontracting Transparency and Reliability Act, which makes it easier for the government to stop large businesses from winning contracts by using small companies to front for them and would allow more small businesses to team up to win contracts. —The Small Business Opportunity Act, which would make small business advocates part of the federal contracting process. —The Building Better Business Partnerships Act, which would Allow the Small Business Administration to oversee 13 current mentorship programs for small businesses. —The Small Business Protection Act, which would revamp the SBA's size standards, or the measure it uses to determine what a small business is. —The Contractor Opportunity Protection Act, which would overhaul the appeals process for contract bundling. Bundling is the process that brings a number of small companies together to provide goods or services to fulfill one large government contract. —The Contracting Oversight for Small Business Jobs Act, which is intended to fight fraud in contracting.

Caltrans Conducts Availability & Disparity Study Public hearings scheduled statewide.

California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) is conducting an Availability and Disparity Study that will assist Caltrans and local governments in implementing their Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) programs in accordance with 49 Code of Federal Regulations Part 26. The Study includes an analysis of the experiences of vendors and contractors with Caltrans and local agencies in connection with implementation of their DBE Program and whether or not there is evidence of discrimination. You are invited to participate in public hearings that will be held statewide at each Caltrans District. District 12's (Orange County) hearing will be held at their offices in Irvine on Wednesday, May 23, 2012 between 4 pm - 6 pm.  The District Office is located at: 3347 Michelson Dr., Irvine, CA 92612. Parking is available at a cost of $5 per hour, with a daily maximum of $20. Please RSVP via telephone 949-724-2021 or e-mail to Elizabeth_Philippon@dot.ca.gov if you plan to attend at the Irvine location. Public hearing meetings will be held in each Caltrans district in the month of May. You may attend a meeting at any District that is convenient to you. Click on the chart below for a listing of dates and meeting locations.

Open House -- Sustainability

Southern CA Edison Offers HR Workshop

Southern California Edison's (SCE) Supplier Diversity and Development organization, has partnered with SCE's Human Resources organization to offer you a unique opportunity. We are pleased to offer a Business Edge Workshop which will increase your company's internal strength by building the skills needed to achieve the most from your employees:

• A workshop on Coaching your Employees for Optimum Performance.

• Lunch with a guest speaker on How to Retain Employees Through Recognition 

This is a highly interactive workshop for Business Owners with employees and HR Managers which would cost you over $500 in a public setting, but is being offered at no cost to you. Bring examples of challenges you are currently facing and network with your peers as you learn a simple 4-step coaching process.  

RSVP to sally.virgen@sce.com by February 17, 2012.  Respond early as seats are limited.

Workshop Agenda:

8 am.                                  Registration and Continental Breakfast

8:30 am - 12 pm                  Business Edge Workshop (Coaching Your Employees for Optimum Performance)

12pm-1:30 pm                Lunch with your peers and Guest Speaker (How to Retain Employees Through Recognition)

Echo Pacific Construction & the Anaheim City School Distirct Sponsor Breakfast Workshop

Echo Pacific Construction, Inc. (EPC) and the Anaheim City School District are holding an event on January 12, 2012 for sub-contractors interested in participating in the Measure G/Gauer Elementary Modernization Project. EPC has been awarded the contract for this project and is actively seeking disable veteran, minority, and women owned businesses.

The workshop has been designed to meet the needs of the local, small, and minority owner who is interested in learning more about Measure G and bidding on a public works project of Anaheim City School District with Echo Pacific Construction.

When:       January 12, 2012
                8:00 am - 10:15 am
Where:      Gauer Elementary School
                Library Building
                810 N. Gilbert Street
                Anaheim, CA 92801

For more information visit www.echopacific.com or call 760.737.3003.

ABAOC Presents ProCon Conference

Thursday, SEPTEMBER 22, 2011

7:30 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.

Disneyland Paradise Pier Hotel

1717 S. Disneyland Drive, Anaheim, CA 92802

EVENT HIGHLIGHTS

Procurement

Business opportunities for small business enterprises through Business MatchmakingBusiness Seminars

Listen and get connected to industry expert speakers on business development in the US

and Asian global markets

Exhibits

Link corporate supplier and diversity managers with potential vendors

Export Initiative

Demystify the process and opportunities to exporting your products in a global economy

FREE entry for all ABAOC members

Non-members$10

At the door $20

DOMESTIC

Are you looking to foster business partnerships between the

Federal Government, Prime Contractors, and small,

minority, veteran-owned, HUBZone, and women-owned

businesses?

Our objective is to share knowledge and best practices in

advancing your public/private procurement needs through

networking with our high-level procurement practitioners

and experts in the field.

BUSINESS MATCHMAKING

Our Business Matchmaking Workshop graduates will have

the opportunity to meet with several Buyers from large

corporations and Government Procurement Officers, to

jump-start their contracting process.

EXPORTING

Are you planning on taking your business global?

96 percent of the world's consumers live outside of the United

States. Can you afford to ignore other markets?

In this track you will learn how to:

• Research your export markets

• Identify the right channel of distribution for your products

• Price your products and calculate shipping for export

• Understand Legal

For additional information contact:
Lily Otieno -- lily.otieno@abaoc.org  (714) 670-8941
Arnice Lamb -- arnice.lamb@disney.com  (714) 781-1299

MWD Managing Your Innovation Series

Metropolitan's Business Outreach Program will hold their monthly “Managing Your Innovation” series of workshops and networking events. The next workshop on “Gain the Competitive Edge in Getting Free Federal Government Funding” - SBIR/STTR Programs (Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer) will be held this Thursday, September 15th from 6:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. at Metropolitan's Headquarters at Union Station, 700 N. Alameda Street, Los Angeles. Networking will be from 6:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. TO REGISTER, click on this link http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/WD8YKGT. If you have any questions, call Business Outreach at 213.217.6456 or e-mail mogt@mwdh2o.com.