Texas 2017 - 85th Regular

Texas House Bill HB1527 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New	Differences
1	1	85R8338 AAF-D
2	2	By: Simmons, Parker, Rodriguez of Travis, H.B. No. 1527
3	3	et al.
4	4
5	5
6	6	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
7	7	AN ACT
8	8	relating to the consideration of ownership interests of certain
9	9	persons with disabilities in determining whether a business is a
10	10	historically underutilized business for purposes of state
11	11	contracting.
12	12	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
13	13	SECTION 1. Section 2161.001(3), Government Code, is amended
14	14	to read as follows:
15	15	(3) "Economically disadvantaged person" means a
16	16	person who:
17	17	(A) is economically disadvantaged because of the
18	18	person's identification as a member of a certain group, including:
19	19	(i) Black Americans;
20	20	(ii) Hispanic Americans;
21	21	(iii) women;
22	22	(iv) Asian Pacific Americans;
23	23	(v) Native Americans; [and]
24	24	(vi) veterans as defined by 38 U.S.C.
25	25	Section 101(2) who have suffered at least a 20 percent
26	26	service-connected disability as defined by 38 U.S.C. Section
27	27	101(16); and
28	28	(vii) persons with a disability as defined
29	29	by 42 U.S.C. Section 12102; and
30	30	(B) has suffered the effects of discriminatory
31	31	practices or other similar insidious circumstances over which the
32	32	person has no control.
33	33	SECTION 2. Section 2161.002, Government Code, is amended by
34	34	adding Subsection (e) to read as follows:
35	35	(e) The comptroller shall adopt rules to provide goals for
36	36	increasing the contract awards for the purchase of goods or
37	37	services by the comptroller and other state agencies to businesses
38	38	that qualify as historically underutilized businesses because the
39	39	businesses are owned or owned, operated, and controlled, as
40	40	applicable, wholly or partly by one or more persons with a
41	41	disability as defined by 42 U.S.C. Section 12102. The goals
42	42	established under this subsection are in addition to the goals
43	43	established under Subsections (c) and (d), and the goals
44	44	established under Subsections (c) and (d) may not be reduced as a
45	45	result of the establishment of goals under this subsection.
46	46	SECTION 3. Section 2161.061, Government Code, is amended by
47	47	adding Subsection (f) to read as follows:
48	48	(f) To be certified by the comptroller as a historically
49	49	underutilized business, a business owned by one or more persons who
50	50	qualify as economically disadvantaged solely based on being a
51	51	person with a disability as defined by 42 U.S.C. Section 12102 must
52	52	submit to the comptroller an affidavit from the physician of each
53	53	owner claiming a disability verifying that owner's disability.
54	54	SECTION 4. Section 2161.125, Government Code, is amended to
55	55	read as follows:
56	56	Sec. 2161.125. CATEGORIZATION OF HISTORICALLY
57	57	UNDERUTILIZED BUSINESSES. The comptroller, in cooperation with
58	58	each state agency reporting under this subchapter, shall categorize
59	59	each historically underutilized business included in a report under
60	60	this subchapter by sex, race, and ethnicity and by whether the
61	61	business qualifies as a historically underutilized business
62	62	because it is owned or owned, operated, and controlled, as
63	63	applicable, wholly or partly by one or more persons with a
64	64	disability as defined by 42 U.S.C. Section 12102 or one or more
65	65	veterans as defined by 38 U.S.C. Section 101(2) who have suffered at
66	66	least a 20 percent service-connected disability as defined by 38
67	67	U.S.C. Section 101(16).
68	68	SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2017.