By:  Ellis, Rosson, Luna                               S.B. No. 462
                                 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
                                        AN ACT
    1-1  relating to allowing a political subdivision to create a program to
    1-2  assist historically underutilized businesses.
    1-3        BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
    1-4        SECTION 1.  Chapter 271, Local Government  Code, is amended
    1-5  by adding Subchapter F to read as follows:
    1-6    SUBCHAPTER F.  CREATION OF HISTORICALLY UNDERUTILIZED BUSINESS
    1-7                  PROGRAM BY A POLITICAL SUBDIVISION
    1-8        Sec. 271.111.  DEFINITION. In this subchapter, "historically
    1-9  underutilized business" means any legal entity, including a
   1-10  corporation, sole proprietorship, partnership, joint venture, or
   1-11  other entity that is formed for the purpose of making a profit and
   1-12  in which at least 51 percent of all the ownership interests in the
   1-13  entity are owned by one or more persons who:
   1-14              (1)  are socially disadvantaged because of their
   1-15  identification as members of certain groups, including African
   1-16  Americans, Hispanic Americans, women, Asian Americans, and Native
   1-17  Americans, and have suffered the effects of discriminatory
   1-18  practices or similar insidious circumstances over which they have
   1-19  no control; and
   1-20              (2)  have a proportionate interest and demonstrate
   1-21  active participation in the control, operation, and management of
   1-22  the entity's affairs.
   1-23        Sec. 271.112.  PROGRAM.  A political subdivision of the state
    2-1  may establish a program to increase the participation of
    2-2  historically underutilized businesses in the process of awarding
    2-3  the political subdivision's contracts.  The program may:
    2-4              (1)  set goals for the award of contracts to
    2-5  historically underutilized businesses;
    2-6              (2)  include guidelines to inform historically
    2-7  underutilized businesses fully about the political subdivision's
    2-8  contract and procurement processes and the requirements for
    2-9  participation in those processes;
   2-10              (3)  require prime contractors, as part of their
   2-11  responses to requests for proposals or bids, to make a specific
   2-12  showing of how they intend:
   2-13                    (A)  to achieve goals for the use of historically
   2-14  underutilized businesses as subcontractors; and
   2-15                    (B)  to inform historically underutilized
   2-16  businesses fully about subcontracting opportunities;
   2-17              (4)  identify historically underutilized businesses in
   2-18  the political subdivision;
   2-19              (5)  identify barriers to historically underutilized
   2-20  businesses in the political subdivision's contracting and
   2-21  procurement process; and
   2-22              (6)  take any other reasonable steps allowed under law
   2-23  that are necessary to increase the participation of historically
   2-24  underutilized businesses in the political subdivision's contracting
   2-25  or procurement process.
    3-1        SECTION 2.  The importance of this legislation and the
    3-2  crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
    3-3  emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
    3-4  constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
    3-5  days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended,
    3-6  and that this Act take effect and be in force from and after its
    3-7  passage, and it is so enacted.