| |
|
|
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 and to |
|
|
promoting state contract awards to historically underutilized |
|
|
businesses based on that ownership. |
|
|
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
|
|
SECTION 1. Section 2161.001(3), Government Code, is amended |
|
|
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 veterans as defined by 38 U.S.C. |
|
|
Section 101(2) who have suffered at least a 20 percent |
|
|
service-connected disability as defined by 38 U.S.C. Section |
|
|
101(16), and who has suffered the effects of discriminatory |
|
|
practices or other similar insidious circumstances over which the |
|
|
person has no control. |
|
|
SECTION 2. Section 2161.002, Government Code, is amended by |
|
|
adding Subsection (d) to read as follows: |
|
|
(d) The comptroller shall adopt rules to provide goals for |
|
|
increasing the contract awards for the purchase of goods or |
|
|
services by the commission and other state agencies to businesses |
|
|
that qualify as historically underutilized businesses because the |
|
|
businesses are owned or owned, operated, and controlled, as |
|
|
applicable, wholly or partly by one or more veterans as defined by |
|
|
38 U.S.C. Section 101(2) who have a service-connected disability as |
|
|
defined by 38 U.S.C. Section 101(16). The goals established under |
|
|
this subsection are in addition to the goals established under |
|
|
Subsection (c) and the goals established under Subsection (c) may |
|
|
not be reduced as a result of the establishment of goals under this |
|
|
subsection. |
|
|
SECTION 3. 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 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 as defined by 38 U.S.C. Section 101(2) who have |
|
|
suffered at least a 20 percent service-connected disability as |
|
|
defined by 38 U.S.C. Section 101(16). |
|
|
SECTION 4. |
|
|
(a) Unless expressly provided otherwise, if any |
|
|
provision of this Act or its application to any person or |
|
|
circumstance is held invalid, the invalidity does not affect other |
|
|
provisions or applications of this Act that can be given effect |
|
|
without the invalid provision or application, and to this end the |
|
|
provisions of this Act are severable. |
|
|
(b) This section does not affect the power or duty of a court |
|
|
to ascertain and give effect to legislative intent concerning |
|
|
severability of this Act. |
|
|
SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2013. |