(a) General. After entering into a cooperative agreement with a recipient organization, the SBA may take, as it determines appropriate, any of the following actions based upon one or more of the circumstances listed in paragraph (b) of this section.

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(1) Non-renewal. The AA/SBDC may elect not to renew a cooperative agreement with a recipient organization at any point. In undertaking a nonrenewal action, the AA/SBDC may either choose not to accept or consider any application for renewal from the recipient organization or the Agency may choose not to exercise option years remaining under the cooperative agreement. When a cooperative agreement is not renewed, the recipient organization may continue to conduct project activities and incur allowable expenses until the end of the current budget period. If a recipient organization decides to not seek to renew its grant, it must notify the District Office and send a letter of intent to withdraw to the AA/SBDC as soon as it is feasible.

(2) Suspension. (i) The AA/SBDC may suspend a cooperative agreement with a recipient organization at any point. A decision to suspend a cooperative agreement is effective immediately. The suspension of a recipient organization begins on the date the notice of suspension is issued, and the period of suspension will last no longer than six months. At the end of the period of suspension or at any point during that period, the AA/SBDC will either reinstate the cooperative agreement or commence an action for termination or non-renewal.

(ii) The notice of suspension will recommend that the recipient organization cease work on the project immediately. The SBA is under no obligation to reimburse any expenses incurred by a recipient organization while its cooperative agreement is under suspension. Where AA/SBDC decides to lift a suspension and reinstate a recipient organization’s cooperative agreement, the Agency may, at its discretion, choose to reimburse a recipient organization for some or all of the expenses it incurred in furtherance of project objectives during the period of suspension. However, there is no guarantee that the Agency will elect to accept such expenses, and recipient organizations incurring expenses while under suspension do so at their own risk.

(b) Cause. The AA/SBDC may terminate, elect not to renew, or suspend a cooperative agreement with a recipient organization for cause. The cause may include, but is not limited to the following:

(1) Non-performance;

(2) Poor performance;

(3) Unwillingness or inability to implement changes to improve performance;

(4) Disregard or material violation of regulations;

(5) Willful or material failure to comply with the terms of the cooperative agreement, including relevant OMB Circulars;

(6) Conduct of the SBDC Lead Center Director or other key personnel, reflecting a lack of business integrity or honesty, which is not properly addressed on the part of the recipient organization or sponsoring SBDC organizations;

(7) A conflict of interest on the part of the recipient organization, the SBDC service centers, the SBDC Lead Center Director, other key personnel, contractors or volunteers that causes a real or perceived detriment to a small business concern, a contractor, the SBDC network, including but not limited to, SBDC service centers, or SBA;

(8) Improper use of Federal funds;

(9) Failure of a Lead Center or its service centers to consent to audits, examinations, certification reviews, or to maintain required documents or records;

(10) Failure to implement recommendations from the audits or examinations within one year of notification of deficiencies;

(11) Failure to implement conditions from accreditation reviews within the time frame recommended by the accreditation committee and established by the AA/SBDC;

(12) Failure of the SBDC Lead Center Director to work at the SBDC Lead Center on a full-time basis;

(13) Failure to promptly suspend or terminate the employment of an SBDC Lead Center Director, Service Center Director, or other key personnel, contractors, or volunteers upon receipt of knowledge or written information by the recipient organization and/or SBA indicating that such individual has engaged in conduct which may result or has resulted in a criminal conviction or civil judgment that would cause the public to question the SBDC’s integrity. The SBDC Lead Center Director (or other appropriate official in the SBDC network), when making the decision to suspend or terminate such an employee, must consider the magnitude of the behavior, the repetitiveness of the conduct, and the remoteness in time of the behavior underlying any conviction or judgment;

(14) Failure to maintain adequate client service facilities or service hours; and

(15) Any other action that materially and adversely affects the operation or integrity of an SBDC or the SBDC Program.

(c) Administrative procedure for suspension, termination, and nonrenewal. These procedures apply to termination, non-renewal, and suspension of cooperative agreements with recipient organizations.

(1) Taking action. When the Program Manager has reason to believe that there is cause to suspend, terminate, or non-renew a cooperative agreement with a recipient organization, either based on their own knowledge or upon information provided by other parties, the AA/SBDC may undertake an enforcement action by issuing a written notice of suspension, termination, or non-renewal to the recipient organization. The effects of such notice are addressed in paragraph (a) of this section.

(2) Notice requirements. Each notice of suspension, termination, or non-renewal will set forth the specific facts and reasons for the AA/SBDC’s decision and will include reference to the appropriate legal authority. The notice will also advise the recipient organization that it has the right to request an administrative review of the decision to suspend, terminate, or non-renew its cooperative agreement in accordance with the procedures set forth in paragraph (d) of this section. The notice will be transmitted electronically, via email, to the recipient organization on the same date it is issued by mail.

(3) Relationship to Government-wide suspension and debarment. A decision by the AA/SBDC to suspend, terminate, or not renew an SBDC cooperative agreement does not constitute a non-procurement suspension or debarment of a recipient organization under Executive Order 12549, Debarment and Suspension, and SBA’s implementation of OMB regulations at 2 CFR part 2700. However, a decision by the AA/SBDC to undertake a suspension, termination, or non-renewal enforcement action with regard to a particular SBDC cooperative agreement does not preclude or preempt the Agency from also taking action to suspend or debar a recipient organization for purposes of all Federal procurement and/or non-procurement opportunities.

(d) Administrative review of suspension, termination and nonrenewal actions. When the AA/SBDC has suspended, terminated, or elected not to renew a cooperative agreement, the recipient organization has the right to request an administrative review of the enforcement action. Administrative review of the AA/SBDC’s enforcement actions will be conducted by the Associate Administrator for Entrepreneurial Development (AA/ED).

(1) Format. There is no prescribed format for a request for an administrative review of an SBA enforcement action. While a recipient organization has the right to retain legal counsel to represent its interests in connection with an administrative review, it is under no obligation to do so. Formal briefs and other technical forms of pleading are not required. However, a request for an administrative review of an SBA enforcement action must be in writing, should be concise and logically arranged, and must at a minimum include the following information:

(i) Name and address of the recipient organization;

(ii) Identification of the relevant SBA office/program (i.e., Office of Small Business Development Centers/Small Business Development Center Program);

(iii) Cooperative agreement number;

(iv) Copy of the notice of suspension, termination, or non-renewal;

(v) Statement discussing why the recipient organization believes the SBA’s actions were arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of discretion, and/or otherwise not in accordance with the law or governing regulations;

(vi) Identification of the specific relief being sought (e.g., lifting of the suspension);

(vii) Statement as to whether the recipient organization is requesting a hearing, and if so, the reasons why it believes a hearing is necessary; and

(viii) Copies of any documents or other evidence the recipient organization believes support its position.

(2) Service. Any recipient organization requesting an administrative review of an SBA enforcement action must submit copies of its request (including any attachments) to:

(i) AA/SBDC; and

(ii) the Associate General Counsel for Procurement Law.

(3) Timeliness. To be considered timely, the AA/ED must receive a request for an administrative review from the recipient organization within 30 days of the date of the notice of termination, non-renewal, or suspension. Any request for administrative review received by the AA/ED more than 30 days after the date of the notice of suspension, termination, or non-renewal will be considered untimely and will be rejected without being considered.

(i) In addition, if the AA/ED does not receive a request for an administrative review within the 30-day deadline, then the decision by the AA/SBDC to suspend, terminate, or non-renew a recipient organization’s cooperative agreement will become the final Agency decision on the matter.

(ii) [Reserved]

(4) Standard of review. In order to have the suspension, termination, or non-renewal of a cooperative agreement reversed on an administrative review, a recipient organization must successfully demonstrate that the SBA enforcement action was arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of discretion, and/or otherwise not in accordance with the law or governing regulations.

(5) Conduct of the proceeding. Each party must serve the opposing party with copies of all requests, arguments, evidence, and any other filings it submits pursuant to the administrative review. Within 30 days of the AA/ED receiving a request for an administrative review, the AA/ED must also receive the SBA’s arguments and evidence in defense of its decision to suspend, terminate, or non-renew a recipient organization’s cooperative agreement. If the SBA fails to provide its arguments and evidence in a timely manner, the administrative review will be conducted solely on the basis of the information provided by the recipient organization. After receiving the SBA’s response to the request for an administrative review or after the passage of the 30-day deadline for filing such a response, the AA/ED will take one or more of the following actions, as applicable:

(i) Notify the parties whether the AA/ED has decided to grant a request for a hearing.

(ii) Direct the parties to submit further arguments and/or evidence on any issues, that she/he believes require clarification.

(iii) Notify the parties that the AA/ED has declared the record to be closed and therefore will refuse to admit any further evidence or argument.

(iv) Within ten calendar days of declaring the record to be closed, provide all parties with a copy of the AA/ED’s written decision on the merits of the administrative review.

(6) Request for hearing. The AA/ED will only grant a request for a hearing if she/he concludes that there is a genuine dispute as to a material fact that cannot be resolved except by the taking of testimony and the confrontation of witnesses. If the AA/ED grants a request for a hearing, they will set the time and place for the hearing, determine whether the hearing will be conducted in person, via telephone or virtually, and identify which witnesses will be permitted to give testimony.

(7) Evidence. The recipient organization and SBA each have the right to submit whatever evidence they believe is relevant to the matter in dispute. No form of evidence will be permitted unless a party has made a substantial showing, based upon credible evidence and not mere allegation, that the other party has acted in bad faith or engaged in improper behavior.

(8) Decision. The decision of the AA/ED will be effective immediately as of the date it is issued. The decision of the AA/ED will represent the final Agency decision on all matters in dispute on administrative review. No further relief may be sought from or granted by the Agency. If the AA/ED determines that the SBA’s decision to suspend, terminate, or non-renew a cooperative agreement was arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of discretion, and/or otherwise not in accordance with the law, she/he will reverse the Agency’s enforcement action and direct the SBA to reinstate the recipient organization’s cooperative agreement.

(i) Where an enforcement action has been reversed on administrative review, the SBA will have no more than ten calendar days to implement the AA/ED’s decision. However, to the extent permitted under the applicable OMB Circulars, the SBA reserves the right to impose such special conditions in the recipient organization’s cooperative agreement as it deems necessary to protect the Government’s interests.

(ii) [Reserved]

[88 FR 76648, Nov. 7, 2023]