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This rule will merge the 8(a) Business Development (BD) Mentor-Protégé Program and the All Small Mentor-Protégé Program. This rule will also eliminate the burden imposed caused by requiring 8(a) Participants seeking to be awarded an 8(a) contract as a joint venture to submit the joint venture agreement to SBA for review and approval prior to contract award, make a number of other changes to the 8(a) BD program that would reduce unnecessary or excessive burdens on 8(a) Participants, and clarify other regulatory provisions to eliminate confusion among small businesses and procuring activities, including: clarifying that size recertification is not required when the ownership of a concern that is at least 51 percent owned by an entity (i.e., tribe, ANC, or Community Development Corporation (CDC)) changes to or from a wholly-owned business concern of the same entity, as long as the ultimate owner remains that entity; allowing a concern that has been declined for 8(a) BD program participation to submit a new application 90 days after the date of the Agency’s final decision instead of requiring a concern to wait 12 months from the date of the final agency decision to reapply (making the 8(a) BD program consistent with the HUBZone program); lessening the burden on 8(a) Participants seeking minor changes in ownership by providing that prior SBA approval is not needed where a previous owner held less than a 20 percent interest in the concern both before and after the transaction; eliminating the provision that a Participant cannot receive any 8(a) BD benefits until SBA has approved its business plan; clarifying that SBA does not use the certificate of competency (COC) procedures for 8(a) sole source contracts; eliminating confusion as to whether an ANC-owned subcontractor that does not individually qualify as small but counts as a small business or a small disadvantaged business for goaling purposes must itself submit a subcontracting plan; and amending SBA’s Office of Hearings and Appeals procedures to make them consistent with SBA’s size and regulations (they were not previously consistent regarding the effect of a NAICS code appeal, which has caused confusion in the procurement community).