SB 656: Small business: small business liaison.

Session Year: 2025-2026
House: Senate
Latest Version Date: 2025-04-21

Current Status:

Failed

(2026-02-02: Returned to Secretary of Senate pursuant to Joint Rule 56.)

Introduced

First Committee Review

First Chamber

Second Committee Review

Second Chamber

Enacted

Version:

Existing law establishes the Office of Small Business Advocate within the Governors Office of Business and Economic Development to advocate for causes of small businesses and to provide small businesses with the information they need to survive in the marketplace. Existing law marketplace and requires the Governor to appoint a Small Business Advocate, and requires the advocate, among other duties, to prepare and submit a written annual report to the Governor and to the Legislature that describes the activities and recommendations of the office, including an evaluation of the efforts of specified state agencies to assist minority and other small business enterprises. Existing law requires each agency of the state to furnish to the advocate the reports, documents, and information that are public records and that the advocate deems necessary to carry out the advocates functions. Advocate.

This bill would require only an agency under the direct authority of the Governor to furnish to the advocate those reports, documents, and information, and would require an agency under the direct authority of another elected statewide constitutional officer to provide those reports, documents, and information to either the advocate or to the Legislature, as provided.

Executive Order No. S-02-06 establishes a 25% small business participation goal for the states procurement and contracting processes. Existing law requires a state agency that significantly regulates small business or that significantly impacts small business to designate at least one person to serve as a small business liaison. Existing law requires the small business liaison to be responsible for specified duties relating to interactions between the state agency and small businesses, including assisting the agency secretary, department director, or executive officer of the state agency in ensuring that the procurement and contracting processes of the state agency are administered in order to meet or exceed the 25% small business participation goal, and developing and sharing innovative procurement and contracting practices from the public and private sectors to increase opportunities for small businesses.

This bill would require all state agencies to designate at least one person to serve as a small business liaison. The bill would revise the duty described above to instead require the small business liaison to assist the agency secretary, department director, or executive officer in ensuring that the procurement and contracting processes of the state agency are administered properly. The bill would also require a small business liaison to annually submit certain information to the advocate, including a list of all current contracts between the state agency and a small business, all contracts of the state agency that include a subcontract with a small business, and the total dollar amount paid to a small business under those contracts or subcontracts. The bill would require the advocate to post the information on its internet website.

Existing law requires a state agency, department, officer, or other state governmental entity to meet an annual statewide participation goal of not less than 3% for disabled veteran business enterprises for specified contracts entered into by the awarding department during the year.This bill would increase that participation goal to 5%.Existing law requires that certain contracts awarded by the Secretary of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation or the Director of the Youth Authority have annual statewide participation goals of not less than 15% for minority business enterprises and 5% for women business enterprises.This bill would expand the annual statewide participation goal for minority business enterprises to all contracts awarded by any state agency, department, officer, or governmental entity for construction, professional services, materials, supplies, equipment, alteration, repair, or improvement. The bill would also increase the participation goal for minority business enterprises to 25%.

Discussed in Hearing