Agency Dollars Spent on HUBs Continue to Increase

The Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts (CPA) recently released its twice-yearly report on historically underutilized business (HUB) contracts, an accounting due by law.

The Fiscal Year 2024 Semi-Annual HUB Report outlines reported HUB spending between Sept. 1, 2023, and Feb. 29, 2024. It is required under Texas Government Code 2161.121.

A HUB is a business owned by a minority, woman or qualified service-disabled vet, and there is a goal each year for agencies to purchase a certain amount of goods and services from these businesses. The CPA sets the goals, found in the reporting documents.

“During the first six months … HUBs received over $1 billion in statewide expenditures,” statewide HUB program manager Linda Rogers said at a recent vendor event. “This is an increase of 13.3 percent from last year, in a six-month period; so we are steadily trying to increase that number.”

Goals that affect spending in the categories of professional service contracts, other services contracts and commodity purchasing may relate to technical services, computing services, software and hardware spending.

As an example, Health and Human Services reported $2 million (4.47 percent) in HUB spending on professional service contracts, $74.6 million (12.36 percent) on other services contracts and $20.7 million (20.1 percent) on commodities purchasing.

This shows fewer dollars spent than the category goals of 23.75 percent, 26 percent and 21.1 percent, respectively.

How can vendors help agencies reach these goals? While not mandated, contracting HUBs is a good-faith effort on the part of the state.

Vendors should look to the HUB information listed in agency requests for offers, qualifications or proposals. The vendor can create a HUB subcontracting plan (HSP) among other supportive efforts.

The report and data search tools are found on the Comptroller’s Fiscal Year 2024 Semi-Annual HUB Report page. The Comptroller’s HUB Program page is also a resource.