Procurement Compliance Bulletin
July 18, 2025
Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 has arrived! With the entrance of the new Fiscal Year, we know that summer is officially here. It is met with heat waves, beach waves and waves of us making our vacation plans. We hope that you are carving out some time to enjoy those things that make you happy during these summer months, as you deserve it! If you have not yet visited the beach, your favorite ice cream/snow cone shop or other favorite summertime places, be certain that this gets added to the top of your priority list.
Another item that will be high on priority lists is the FY2025 Annual Report. Remember to refer to the Program Toolkits for the manuals/instructions/templates and reach out to the compliance managers for any assistance/one-on-one meetings. When completing the reports, be sure to enter the data correctly within the templates, provide supporting documentation and submit it by the due date. It is also highly recommended to have a co-worker to review the report prior to the submission.
As we look back on FY2025, some changes were introduced that had a positive impact on our socioeconomic programs. Even more changes are set to take effect in FY2026, which should elevate the socioeconomic programs to even greater heights. With this, we are hoping that the FY2025 socioeconomic program spend is the highest yet. Let’s show them the money (that it was well spent with our CSB/MBE/VSBE vendors)!
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The Procurement Forecast is provided to the public and serves as a valuable tool for the small, minority, women, and veteran business community.
Thank you to the 44 units that have already submitted their Procurement Forecasts! If your unit has not yet forwarded the forecast, submit it as soon as possible. This is a mandatory report for all participating units.
The FY2026 updated Procurement Forecast instructions and template are available in the SBR and VSBE Reporting Toolkits. Each unit submits only one Forecast that includes all of your eligible projected procurements over $100,000.
Please DO NOT use the FY2025 template. Also, do not modify the template. It must be uploaded to our Forecast database and cannot be uploaded if the spreadsheet is modified.
Forward completed reports to compliance.gosba@maryland.gov
If you have any questions, you may contact Lisa Mitchell Sennaar lisa.sennaar@maryland.gov
Upcoming Compliance Call
GOSBA hosts a compliance call each quarter to address issues impacting how the SBR, MBE, and VSBE procurement programs are implemented by participating state agencies and departments. Topics for discussion come from you, our liaisons, procurement and compliance officers. We discuss them in an open and transparent forum so we can all learn from one another.
The next Compliance Call is August 20, 2025, from 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Please email any topics you would like to have addressed
no later than August 8, 2025
to compliance.gosba@maryland.gov
Topics will include:
- FY2025 MBE, VSBE and SBR Annual Reports
- FY2026 MBE, VSBE and SBR Quarterly Reports
- FY2026 Procurement Forecast
- SBR Program - Rule of two and new mandatory threshold
An invitation was sent out. If you have questions about the Compliance Call or would like to add a staff member to our mailing list, let us know. If you do not wish to attend any upcoming meetings, simply decline the meeting invitation.
For questions about the compliance call, or to be added to the invite, please email lisa.sennaar@maryland.gov
Upcoming New Liaison Onboarding Training
SBR, MBE, and VSBE New Liaison Onboarding Training (virtual)
DATE: Thursday August 28, 2025
TIME: 10:00 - 12:00 pm EST
The Governor’s Office of Small, Minority & Women Business Affairs is hosting a "SBR, MBE, and VSBE New Liaison Onboarding Training" to help prepare new liaisons for their reporting duties. While we are targeting new liaisons, this class is open to all liaisons, regardless of when you began your liaison role. It can be helpful to all liaisons, including those who have been in the role for a while and simply need a better understanding/refresher of what their duties entail, or a liaison who was caught in the midst of a turnover period in their agency and needs to know where to start.
This session will include:
General liaison duties across all three socioeconomic programs, overview of the Liaison training throughout the Fiscal Year, waiver resources and requirements, program specific reporting requirements & resources. Separate Liaison Welcome Packets for each socioeconomic procurement program based on the programs where you serve as liaison. One-on-one training sessions will still be available to liaisons throughout the year upon request to your designated compliance manager.
To register for this event, please visit the following link:
https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_JUOWW9R9RPKZB9-kgXeqvw
FY2025 Annual Reporting
Annual Reporting Season has Officially Begun
The FY2025 Annual Reporting season is now underway! As a reminder, FY2025 officially closed on June 30, 2025, and the new fiscal year (FY2026) began on July 1, 2025. All annual reports are due by September 30th and must include data from the start of the fiscal year.
Important Reminders:
- Liaisons do not submit a 4th Quarter Report.
- All reporting units should begin preparing the FY2025 MBE Annual Report using the most current templates.
- FY2025 reporting data is available for download from ANSWERS as of July 7, 2025. You may begin downloading the full data reports immediately.
The MBE Reporting Toolkit has been updated with FY25 materials and a revised reporting schedule. Please review these resources to ensure accurate and timely submission.
COMING SOON: FY2025 Annual Reporting Training
In response to recent system issues, the sign-up process for Annual Reporting training will now be sent via Google Form. This form will be sent to all MBE Liaisons and Report preparers on July 21, 2025, to register for the appropriate sessions. Training topics will include:
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Awards Training will be broken down into:
- Annual Report Forms (Form 1 & 2)
- Contracts Inventory
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Payments Training will focus on the:
- Form 3 Payment Portal (Manual & Template Upload Method)
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Compliance Training will focus on the:
- Compliance Assessment (Ombudsman Unit)
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Backup Data training will focus on:
- How to properly scrub and organize the data for final submission
If you have questions about the MBE Annual Report, feel free to contact your MBE Compliance Managers, Karen Reyes or Tiara Randolph via email at karen.reyes@maryland.gov and tiara.randolph@maryland.gov with questions or to schedule a meeting.
Designated MBE Compliance Manager One-on-One Scheduling
Each MBE Compliance Manager has been assigned to specific participating agencies to provide more tailored and hands-on assistance. An email was sent out to each MBE liaison on January 28, 2025, a list was provided of each agency's designation.
Below are Karen Reyes and Tiara Randolph's Calendly links to make it easy for you to schedule one-on-one sessions whenever you need guidance or have questions. We look forward to collaborating with you to ensure your success as an MBE liaison.
Karen Reyes Calendly Link
Tiara Randolph Calendly Link
Feel free to reach out via email as well:
Karen Reyes - karen.reyes@maryland.gov
Tiara Randolph - tiara.randolph@maryland.gov
FY2025 Annual Reporting
The Annual Reporting period began on July 1, 2025
The annual reporting period commenced after the close of FY2025. Annual reports are due no later than September 30th and should contain cumulative data from July 1, 2024 to June 30, 2025.
Please remember, units do not submit a 4th quarter report. Instead, all reporting units should work on the FY2025 SBR Annual Report, making sure to use the latest template and instructions that are in the SBR Reporting Toolkit.
SBR Liaison FY2025 Annual Reports Training (virtual)
Thursday, July 24, 2025
10:00 AM - 11:30 AM
We will walk through the FY2025 SBR Annual Report Template cell by cell. All SBR Liaisons and agency colleagues that are on the SBR distribution will receive a Google Meet invite. If you have not received an invite and would like to be added, please email lisa.sennaar@maryland.gov. We are also available for one-on-one training if you need additional assistance after or cannot attend our July 24th Training.
REMINDER- SBR Program Compliance (Rule of Two)
Per COMAR 21.11.01.06 (A) (2) and EXECUTIVE ORDER 01.01.2024.38
A procurement with a total dollar value between $50,000 and $500,000 shall be designated for the Small Business Reserve Program as long as an eMMA search yields at least two Certified Small Businesses (SBRs) that have selected the commodity codes for work or provide the desired goods or services.
To address any questions or concerns about SBR waivers, 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
VSBE FY2025 Annual Report Templates- Now Available
The end-of-year VSBE FY2025 Annual Reporting templates have been posted to the VSBE Reporting Toolkit to be used to prepare for the October 1st mandatory submission date. A complete VSBE Annual submission includes three items:
- Completed VSBE FY2025 Annual Form with all award and payment data
- All required backup data in Excel format, both Raw and Scrubbed of 7 categories
- Submission of the FY2025 VSBE Annual Outreach Report, which is a fillable Google form link
****Any VSBEs that were not certified in eMMA at the time of award will be extracted from your totals as they do not count per COMAR regulations****
VSBE Waivers
If your unit has approved ANY VSBE waivers in FY2025, please make sure you send our VSBE Compliance Manager a copy to vsbereports.gosba@maryland.gov
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 Catherine Porterfield, MBE Ombudsman Compliance Manager
Tell Us a Story
The books have closed on another fiscal year, and across the State procurement units are starting to gather their thoughts and data to create their annual reports.
In the annual Compliance Assessment, you will report the details of all closed contracts with MBE Goals. Hopefully you will be able to report that 100% of your unit’s contracts achieved full MBE participation. But, you may have to report that one or more contracts fell short of attaining the MBE goal.
If you find yourself having to explain unfulfilled MBE Goal achievement, Column R of your annual Compliance Assessment report (PRIMES sheet) is one of the most important elements of your report. It is your opportunity to tell the complete story of how the MBE goal shortfall happened.
Ombudsman Unit Compliance Managers review every Compliance Assessment, checking MBE goal attainment. We take a closer look at contracts for which the MBE goal was not met. Using a process called Enhanced Monitoring, the Ombudsman team seeks to fully understand the circumstances surrounding the contract MBE goal non-compliance. We talk with contract managers and examine documentation, to ensure that proper MBE compliance procedures were followed and to identify opportunities for improvement. Enhanced Monitoring requires a collaborative “extra effort” between GOSBA and agency procurement staff.
Enhanced Monitoring may not be necessary for every contract that fails to meet the MBE Goal. We understand that there may be a reasonable and well-documented explanation why an MBE goal could not be met, despite everyone’s best efforts. But, we can’t know what happened unless you tell us!
If we can understand from your explanation in Column R what happened and what actions were taken, it may not be necessary to ask further questions or dig deeper into contract documentation.
To avoid additional follow-up questions from the Ombudsman Unit, use Column R to:
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Tell the whole story: Explain why the goal was not met, what steps were taken to address the compliance issues, and any determinations that may have been made.
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Keep it succinct but be thorough: Don’t just describe what happened – include why, when, and how the situation unfolded.
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Write from the Compliance Manager’s perspective: Consider whether, based on your explanation, someone unfamiliar with the contract could understand what happened and why the goal was not met.
Compliance Assessment Reports are due to GOSBA by September 30, 2025. Now is the time to research and craft your explanation for any contracts that failed to meet the MBE goal. Together, your Procurement Team can provide a concise and thorough summary that will help the Ombudsman Team understand the “Full Story.”
If you have questions about Column R or the annual MBE Reporting process, you can find detailed guidance in the FY2025 MBE Reporting Manual. The MBE Compliance Team is also here to answer your questions!
YOUR Ombudsman Team
To strengthen the relationship between the Ombudsman Unit and state personnel implementing the MBE program, dedicated compliance managers of the Ombudsman Unit are assigned specific procurement units to ensure responsive communication and ongoing support. You can find out who your agency's Ombudsman representative is by visiting the Ombudsman webpage under the State Agency Resources link or by clicking below.
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SBR Liaison FY2025 Annual Reports Training (virtual)
Thursday July 24, 2025, 10:00 AM - 11:30 AM
Quarterly Compliance Call
Wednesday Aug 20, 2025, 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM
New Liaison Onboarding
Thursday Aug 28, 2025 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM
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