Procurement Compliance Bulletin
11.22.2024
Veteran-owned businesses embody the resilience, leadership, and dedication forged during their service to our country. In Maryland alone, there are approximately 54,049 veteran-owned businesses, representing about 10.2% of the state’s total businesses. Nationwide veteran-owned businesses stand as vital pillars who foster innovation and exemplify relentless grit which in turn directly supports our communities and economy. November is the month where we honor our nation's veterans by celebrating National Veteran's Day (November 11, 2024) and National Veteran Small Business Week (November 11-15). Their military service and support to our communities does not go unnoticed.
This month, our office will continue to recognize many veteran small business owners at the Annual VSBE Appreciation Breakfast on November 26th. This event, is a space where veteran-owned businesses, with representation from across the entire state of Maryland and the growth of the VSBE Program is celebrated. The VSBE Program's database has tripled since 2021, currently resulting in more than 940 certified VSBE firms. This allows your unit more opportunities to be inclusive of certified VSBEs when setting contract goals through the Procurement Review Group (PRG) process. We are encouraging your unit to foster relationships with the veteran small business vendor community to continue growing the program and opening more opportunities for VSBEs to participate in the state contracting arena. These efforts will positively impact your unit's participation efforts and the veteran-owned business community. If your unit needs assistance with identifying VSBEs in the PRG process, feel free to reach out to the VSBE Compliance Manager; Danielle Davis.
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FY2025 SBR Quarter 1 Reporting (New Performance Measurements)
SBR Quarterly FY2025 reporting is now past due. All SBR participating units, please make sure you have completed your submission. Any units that have not completed their full submission, are urged to contact us immediately for action. If not, your unit will be reported as unresponsive.
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- Quarterly reporting is MANDATORY and submission of the data is critical. The quarterly report will note participating units that fail to submit the required data on time.
- Quarterly Reports do not have to be signed.
- GOSBA is preparing a statewide quarterly report for the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, the Board of Public Works, and the Governor’s Cabinet.
- The SBR QTR reporting requirements and template have been revised. The templates now include the collection of contract awards which will track participating agency's achievement of the certified small business goal attainment of 20%. The new requirements are available in the SBR Reporting Toolkit.
If you have questions pertaining to the SBR Quarterly Report, feel free to submit them via email or contact the SBR Compliance Manager that works with your agency to schedule a meeting.
Lisa Mitchell Sennaar lisa.sennaar@maryland.gov or Tanita Johnson taniita.johnson1@maryland.gov
SBR Program Goal Increased to 20%
New Reporting Procedure Impacts FY2025 Quarterly Reporting
Two key changes are impacting Maryland's SBR Program. First, legislation passed earlier this year (HB0962/SB0673) which increases the statewide goal from 15% to 20% effective October 1, 2024. To the extent practicable, each procurement unit shall structure its procurement procedures to achieve the minimum result of 20% of the unit's total dollar value of procurements for goods, supplies, services, maintenance, construction, construction-related services, architectural services, and engineering services being expended directly with certified small businesses (CSBs), formerly referred to as SBRs, at the prime contract level.
Previously, SBR Program performance was measured by payments to certified small businesses (CSBs). Effective October 1, 2024, the participating units will measure CSB performance by awards made to CSBs under designated SBR contracts as well as awards made to CSBs under non-designated contract awards. This means that all awards made to a CSB will count toward the 20% SBR goal attainment.
Payment data will still be captured and reported both quarterly and annually. This aligns the SBR Program's performance measures with the state's other socioeconomic procurement programs.
Just a Reminder:
Per COMAR 21.11.01.06 (A) (2)
A procurement with a total dollar value between $50,000 and $500,000 shall be designated for the small business reserve program. Units must follow their Procurement Review Group (PRG) process. If the eligible procurement is not being designated as SBR, then the unit must submit the prescribed exemption or request a waiver of SBR designation by sending it to the SBR Waiver mailbox per the Department of General Services (DGS) Office of State Procurement's (OSP) "Guidance and Worksheets"- https://procurement.maryland.gov/procurement-review-group-prg/.
As you work toward meeting this new goal, you'll be pleased to know the number of CSBs has grown by almost 30% in the past year. There are currently more than 5,300 CSB vendors in eMMA and the number is growing every day.
To address any questions or concerns about SBR reporting, certification, outreach, or training assistance, please email your SBR Compliance Manager to schedule a meeting.
Lisa Mitchell Sennaar - lisa.sennaar@maryland.gov Tanita Johnson - tanita.johnson1@maryland.gov
FY2024 Annual Reporting Verification Process
GOSBA is in the process of verifying each participating unit's MBE Annual Report data.
Participating units who have NOT received corrections or a summary statement should expect one by early December. Be sure to respond to corrections diligently to ensure report corrections are completed prior to the Christmas holiday.
Below is how the verification process works:
- After review, the MBE Compliance Manager will reach out to the report preparer if there are any corrections that are required.
- Once, corrections are complete and the report is verified for compliance in accordance with COMAR 21.11.03.17 the MBE Compliance Manager will send a Summary Statement when the report is deemed finalized.
- From the date the summary statement is received by the participating unit, the unit will have 5 days to return the summary statement signed by the; Report Preparer, Chief Financial Officer, and Agency Head or Designee, confirming they are in agreement with the final verified MBE numbers.
If you have questions pertaining to the MBE Annual Report, feel free to submit them via email or contact the MBE Compliance Manager to schedule a meeting.
Karen Reyes - karen.reyes@maryland.gov
SB587 Reporting Titling Services within the MBE Program
The reporting mechanism to execute Senate Bill 587 is now available. SB587 requires new MBE participation reporting within the industry category:
- REAL PROPERTY TITLE INSURANCE SERVICES, INCLUDING COMMERCIAL REAL PROPERTY TITLE INSURANCE SERVICES.
SB587 Reporting is due on: December 10, 2024 All procurement units must submit a response even if your unit did not have any contract awards in this category. All units should begin this process by submitting the google form survey.
See below for requirements dependent on whether your unit had contracts to report or not:
Procurement units that did not have any awards to report within the industry type 'Real Property Title Insurance Services' must submit the following:
1. Google Form Submission
Procurement units that did report awards within the industry type 'Real Property Title Insurance Services' must submit the following:
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Google Form Submission
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Excel Reporting Template for Titling Services
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Contract award backup data (Excel format) for Titling Services
Any questions, should be directed to: karen.reyes@maryland.gov
FY2025 VSBE Quarterly Reporting
VSBE Quarterly FY2025 reporting is now past due. All VSBE participating units, please make sure you have completed your submission. Any units that have not completed their full submission, are urged to contact us immediately for action. If not, your unit will be reported as unresponsive. Deadline for Q1 submissions was October 30th to the vsbereports.gosba@maryland.gov mailbox.
VSBE Goal Increased to 3%
To ensure each participating unit strives towards the VSBE 3% statewide goal, please make sure to implement your action plan based on your submitted strategic plan. Please be sure to share the goal increase across your unit and connect with GOSBA to support and amplify your outreach efforts to the veteran community. As we near the end of Quarter 2, please assess your forward progression.
To address any questions or concerns about VSBE certification, outreach, training, or reporting, please contact the VSBE Compliance Manager.
Danielle Davis - danielle.davis2@maryland.gov.
by Nichelle Johnson MBE Ombudsman
The MBE Ombudsman unit would like to thank the procurement units who submitted the MBE Quarterly Compliance Check-in as requested. It is vital that we continue to monitor and improve compliance with all of the socioeconomic procurement programs.
Don't forget that the unit will be offering the first Prime Contractor Training focused on improving the understanding of compliance requirements for the MBE Program. This training will be available through our T.I.P.S. (Training & Insights for Procurement Success) Small Business Webinars Series.
The session, MBE Compliance Considerations for Prime Contractors, is scheduled for December 19, 2024. The Governor's Office of Small, Minority & Women Business Affairs highly recommends that current or potential Prime Contractors register for this session. If you are aware of a prime contractor that could benefit from taking this session, please refer them to our website. Registration typically opens approximately three weeks before the session.
Thank you all for the amazing work you are doing to bring us closer to 100% MBE Compliance.
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