PBCA Update – Award Announcements Delayed until February, 2013

HUD previously announced that the Department had decided to move forward with the 2012 PBCA NOFA, and planned to announce awards on December 14. However, a legal case was filed against the NOFA by Contract Management Services (CMS) and the Bremerton, WA Housing Authority. On December 13, a hearing was held by the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, to consider their motion for a temporary restraining order or a preliminary injunction. This put any announcement of PBCA awards on hold while the case is heard by the Court.

CMS/Bremerton argued that the NOFA was not a free and open competition, and that they limited the number of states they bid on, because of the constraints of the NOFA. They are asking for a complete re-bid for the PBCAs in all of the 42 contested states/areas.

The Department of Justice, representing HUD, argued that there was only one NOFA bidder for each of 8 states (AZ, ID, KS, KY, NM, OK, OR and SC), and HUD wants to award those contracts now, even if the rest of the awards have to wait for a court decision.

But Judge Wheeler wants HUD to hold off on all of the awards until each side presents its case – which is expected to take until late February. A decision is expected to be published on February 22, 2013.