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Bill Watch: Adjustments Proposed for Small Business/DVBE Designations

Legislators are taking another stab at raising the dollar thresholds that would constitute a Small Business or Disabled Veteran Business Enterprise (SB/DVBE), for the purpose of procurement in California state government.

Legislators are taking another stab at raising the dollar thresholds that would constitute a Small Business or Disabled Veteran Business Enterprise (SB/DVBE), for the purpose of procurement in California state government.

Here's a quick synopsis of three bills circulating at the state Capitol that Techwire is following:

AB 632 — Small Business Procurement and Contract Act: disabled veteran business enterprise

This bill from Assemblymember Dante Acosta, R-Santa Clarita, would raise the upper limit of contracts to $500,000 for goods, services and IT that can be awarded to certified SB/DVBE businesses using two or more price quotes. The current contract range, by law, is $5,000 to $250,000. A similar bill last year (AB 1445) stalled in committee.

SB 605 — Small Business Procurement and Contract Act: small business

The legislation from state Sen. Cathleen Galgiani, D-Stockton, would change the definition of a Small Business to an operation that has $15 million average annual gross receipts during the past three years. The current threshold is $10 million. The definition of a "microbusiness" also would be similarly changed, raising the threshold to $5 million from today's $2.5 million. Galgiani introduced a similar measure last year that was vetoed by the governor.

AB 1635 — Public contracts: small business participation.

The bill authored by Assemblymember Sharon Quirk-Silva, D-Orange County, would take additional steps to improve small business participation in contracting and to ensure state agencies, departments and other entities achieve the state's annual 25 percent goal in small business participation.

Related: Late last year the Department of General Services announced revisions to its Small Business and Disabled Veteran Business Enterprise "Plan of Improvement" template and the creation of a Best Practices Checklist.

Matt Williams was Managing Editor of Techwire from June 2014 through May 2017.