Overview
- All new and renewed Historically Underutilized Business certifications are paused and HUB information was removed from the comptroller’s website.
- Acting Comptroller Kelly Hancock told agencies they are prohibited from awarding contracts on the basis of race, ethnicity or sex during the review.
- The HUB program, created in the 1990s under state law, requires agencies to notify certified firms about solicitations over $10,000 but provides no scoring advantage.
- Hancock cannot unilaterally end the program; any permanent termination would require a court ruling or legislative repeal.
- Certified firms and supplier groups reported surprise and uncertainty, as a pending lawsuit by Aerospace Solutions and recent reports showing HUBs received about 11% (~$2 billion) of spending frame what is at stake.