| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to contracting by state agencies; |
| 3 | providing a goal for governmental contracts with disabled- |
| 4 | veteran business enterprises; defining terms; providing |
| 5 | for businesses to be certified; providing duties of the |
| 6 | Department of Veterans' Affairs and the Department of |
| 7 | Management Services; requiring an annual report to |
| 8 | legislative leaders; providing an effective date. |
| 9 |
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| 10 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 11 |
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| 12 | Section 1. Disabled-veteran business enterprises; state |
| 13 | contracting goals; definitions; certification of businesses; |
| 14 | duties of Department of Veterans' Affairs and Department of |
| 15 | Management Services.-- |
| 16 | (1) The statewide goal for each state agency or political |
| 17 | subdivision of the state in awarding contracts for construction, |
| 18 | professional services, materials, supplies, equipment, |
| 19 | alterations, repairs, or improvements is that each such entity |
| 20 | should award to disabled-veteran business enterprises contracts |
| 21 | having no less than 3 percent of the overall dollar amount that |
| 22 | the entity expends each year on all such contracts to which the |
| 23 | entity is a party. |
| 24 | (2) As used in this section, the term: |
| 25 | (a) "Disabled veteran" means a veteran as defined in s. |
| 26 | 1.01, Florida Statutes, who has a service-connected disability |
| 27 | of 10 percent or greater as certified by the United States |
| 28 | Department of Veterans Affairs, its predecessor agencies, or a |
| 29 | branch of the armed forces. |
| 30 | (b) "Disabled-veteran business enterprise" means a |
| 31 | business entity, however organized, which is certified as such |
| 32 | an enterprise by the Department of Management Services. The |
| 33 | business must: |
| 34 | 1. Be at least 51-percent owned by a disabled veteran, and |
| 35 | the management and control of the daily business operations must |
| 36 | be exercised by one or more disabled veterans. The veterans who |
| 37 | exercise the management and control need not be the owners of |
| 38 | the business; and |
| 39 | 2. Have its home office located in the United States and |
| 40 | must not be a branch or subsidiary of a foreign corporation, |
| 41 | foreign firm, or other foreign-based business. |
| 42 |
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| 43 | If a disabled veteran who is a majority owner of a business that |
| 44 | qualified as a disabled-veteran business enterprise dies or is |
| 45 | certified as having a permanent medical disability and the |
| 46 | business is inherited or controlled by the spouse of that |
| 47 | majority owner, the business remains a disabled-veteran business |
| 48 | enterprise after the death or certification of permanent medical |
| 49 | disability, as long as the spouse does not remarry. |
| 50 | (c) "Foreign corporation," "foreign firm," or "foreign- |
| 51 | based business" means a business entity that is incorporated or |
| 52 | has its principal headquarters located outside the United States |
| 53 | of America. |
| 54 | (3) By October 1, 2006, the Department of Veterans' |
| 55 | Affairs shall publish on its website and in such other |
| 56 | publications as are most likely to be accessed by veterans a |
| 57 | copy of this act and information relating to procedures that a |
| 58 | business owner must follow to obtain certification as a |
| 59 | disabled-veteran business enterprise. |
| 60 | (4) An applicant for certification as a disabled-veteran |
| 61 | business enterprise must submit to the Department of Management |
| 62 | Services, in a form authorized by the department, documentation |
| 63 | that the business satisfies the criteria set forth in subsection |
| 64 | (2). The department shall publish on its website a list of |
| 65 | certified disabled-veteran business enterprises. |
| 66 | (5)(a) Each state agency or political subdivision of state |
| 67 | government shall submit quarterly to the Department of |
| 68 | Management Services a list of contracts awarded to certified |
| 69 | disabled-veteran business enterprises, together with the total |
| 70 | amounts paid during that quarter to such businesses and the |
| 71 | total amounts paid to all business entities with which the |
| 72 | department has a contract. |
| 73 | (b) The department shall compile the records submitted |
| 74 | under paragraph (a) and annually shall notify each state agency |
| 75 | or political subdivision of the state as to whether or not it |
| 76 | has met the goal set forth in subsection (1) and shall report to |
| 77 | the Department of Veterans' Affairs, the President of the |
| 78 | Senate, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives the |
| 79 | extent to which each agency and subdivision has met that goal. |
| 80 | Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2006. |