BILL ANALYSIS

H.B. 194

By: Farias

Defense & Veterans' Affairs

Committee Report (Unamended)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Currently, historically underutilized businesses are defined as businesses owned by economically disadvantaged persons, including women and members of certain racial and ethnic groups who have been subject to the effects of discriminatory practices or other similar circumstances.  However, the definition does not include service disabled veterans among those groups of economically disadvantaged persons.  H.B. 194 seeks to extend to a service disabled veteran the same opportunity afforded other economically disadvantaged individuals to participate in the state's procurement process. 

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution.

ANALYSIS

H.B. 194 amends the Government Code to include in the definition of "economically disadvantaged person" a veteran, as defined by federal law, who has a service-connected disability as defined by federal law. The bill adds a category by which the comptroller of public accounts is required to categorize each historically underutilized business included in certain state agency reports on these businesses to include whether the business qualifies as a historically underutilized business because it is owned or owned, operated, and controlled, as applicable, wholly or partly by one or more veterans who have a service-connected disability.

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2013.