82R8369 MCK-D

By: Rodriguez S.B. No. 831

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to considering ownership interests of certain disabled veterans in determining whether a business is a historically underutilized business for purposes of state contracting.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. Section 2161.001, Government Code, is amended by amending Subdivision (3) and adding Subdivision (5) to read as follows:

(3) "Economically disadvantaged person" means a person who is economically disadvantaged because of the person's identification as a member of a certain group, including Black Americans, Hispanic Americans, women, Asian Pacific Americans, [and] Native Americans, and disabled veterans, and who has suffered the effects of discriminatory practices or other similar insidious circumstances over which the person has no control.

(5) "Disabled veteran" means a veteran of the armed services of the United States who is classified as disabled by the Veterans Administration or its successor or the branch of the armed services in which the veteran served and whose disability is service-connected. The term does not include a person having a less than honorable discharge from military service.

SECTION 2. Section 2161.125, Government Code, is amended to read as follows:

Sec. 2161.125. CATEGORIZATION OF HISTORICALLY UNDERUTILIZED BUSINESSES [BY SEX, RACE, AND ETHNICITY]. The comptroller, in cooperation with each state agency reporting under this subchapter, shall categorize each historically underutilized business included in a report under this subchapter by sex, race, and ethnicity and by whether the historically underutilized business derives its status as a historically underutilized business because it is owned or owned, operated, and controlled, as applicable, wholly or partly by one or more disabled veterans.

SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2011.