Disadvantage Business Enterprise (DBE)

A certified Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) is a business that has successfully gone through a federally regulated process to determine if the business is owned (at least 51%), operated and controlled by one of the following groups: minorities, women and anyone who can document social and economic disadvantage. The business owner must be a U.S. citizen or legally admitted permanent resident. The owner's personal net worth must be less than $750,000 and the business' gross annual receipts over a three-year average should not exceed $17.42 million in construction, $12 million in special trades and $4 million in architecture/engineering/surveying.

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The Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) program, which became federal law in 1983, is an important tool in promoting equal opportunity for minority-owned or disadvantaged businesses and encouraging their participation in federally assisted contracts related to transportation.

The Texas Department of Transportation is committed to increasing the participation of small and minority-owned businesses in department contracts. On January 29, 1999, TxDOT issued a new regulation to guide the administration of the DBE program. This new regulation has three major goals: (1) to create a level playing field on which DBEs can compete fairly, (2) to mend but not end the DBE program and (3) to make the DBE program more effective and efficient for all participants.

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The Texas Unified Certification Program (TUCP) provides one-stop certification service for DBEs in Texas. The program is accomplished by having one centralized DBE database. Six agencies in Texas, including TxDOT, have agreed to certify companies as DBE firms. Once certified in the TUCP, a firm is recognized as a DBE throughout Texas and the U.S. However, a DBE firm can only apply for certification with the designated agency that services the county of the business' permanent address.

Point of caution to certified DBEs: Review your work category codes in the TUCP database for accuracy.

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The Texas Department of Transportation is committed to including DBE firms in the design and construction State Highway 130. For this project, TxDOT has set the DBE participation goals at 12.7 percent for design and 12.7 for construction.

Lone Star Infrastructure, the consortium hired to develop SH 130, is making every effort to meet or exceed these goals. LSI has established a policy and outreach program to include firms in the project's development. LSI will insure contracting opportunities reach the DBE construction and vendor community locally and throughout Texas.

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