California's Small Business and Disabled Veteran Business Enterprise Services (OSDS) is receiving an influx of Small Business Enterprise (SBE) and Disabled Veteran Business Enterprise (DVBE) certification requests. 

The OSDS is part of a Procurement Division of the state’s Department of General Services (DGS), which manages business activities associated with the state. 

This ranges from procurement and acquisition to real estate management, design, environmentally friendly transportation, professional printing, web services, administrative hearings, legal services, building standards, and oversight.

SBE and DVBE certifications provide many benefits to the recipient,  as it helps to make a small firm eligible to take part in the state’s spending of 25% of all contract funds with small businesses. Meanwhile, DVBEs have 3% slated from state contracts. The recipients are also eligible for a 5% bid preference for SBEs and DVBEs on many state-funded projects.

The certifications provided increased contact opportunities to certified business persons. The recipients are also eligible for benefits from the Prompt Payment Act, which include payments due on a contract awarded to a certified small business organization. They also will often receive outreach letters from prime contractors who are required to undertake outreach on federal and state-funded construction projects.

The individual is also entitled to leverage the benefits with other California Government Entities. In addition, prime contractors can benefit from the certification when they award subcontracting to small businesses. 

In the recent legislative sessions, important updates have been carried out with regard to the certifications.

In the 2021-2022 session, AB 1574, the committee responsible for jobs, economic development, and economy, earmarked a few new updates, such as:

• The committee modified the previous laws to require all departments to make constant efforts to widen the pool of SBE and DVBE certificate seekers. This will primarily assist those businesses that have never had any interaction with the state, are not accustomed to state contracts and are included in the SB/MB lists in the state solicitations.
• A new law was added under which all departments are required to report all program abuse allegations.
• Another law states the allegations of violations of intent to a fraudulent person. It will allow for a civil action to be raised by any city, county, district attorney, city council, or attorney general. The city council or the attorney will not be liable to bring a civil penalty if the Department of General Services has ordered an administrative action for the same violation. It will also forbid monetary penalties for administrative and civil action for the same violation of rules and regulations. However, DGS can impose other penalties.
• The new law also envisages that the city, county, or district attorney shall notify DGS before taking any initiative under this new law.

New applicants who intend to apply for these certificates must carefully check the SBE and DVBE certification instructions. To register, they should visit the Cal eProcure website, register their personal information, and get certified. On the other hand, if someone is a returning applicant, they can log in to Cal eProcure website and complete it before submitting an online application along with all relevant documents. 

To be SBE certified, a business needs to be independently operated and should have its headquarters in California. On the other hand, to be eligible for a DVBE certificate, a disabled veteran has to be an Ex-serviceman of US military, naval, or air service. They should have at least 10% or more service-related disabilities and be a resident of California. 

Follow Contractor News for the latest update on government certifications and policies.