Acting Comptroller Kelly Hancock announced that the state’s Historically Underutilized Business (HUB) program will now operate as Veteran Heroes United in Business (VetHUB). Through emergency rules, the program has been restructured to focus on small businesses owned and operated by veterans with a 20 percent or higher service-connected disability.
The emergency rules were sent to the Texas Register on December 2nd and are effective immediately. The rules reduce the program’s size while also removing race and sex based preferences. The program’s focus is now exclusively on service-disabled veterans who qualify under legislative guidelines established in 2015.
Businesses that were previously certified as HUBs based on race, ethnicity or sex will no longer qualify under the new rules unless they demonstrate ownership and control by a service-disabled veteran. The Comptroller’s office will be acting soon to revoke outdated certifications and issue new VetHUB certifications.
Previously, Hancock announced an administrative freeze of the HUB program in October pending agency legal review.
The Comptroller’s full press release can be found here. More information can be found on the Comptroller’s HUB FAQ webpage.
