Acting Texas Comptroller Kelly Hancock has announced the formal end of all regional Memoranda of Agreements (MOAs) linked to the former Historically Underutilized Business (HUB) program. This move follows a restructuring effort that replaced the HUB program with Veteran Heroes United in Business (VetHUB).
“Texas has ended DEI-based preferences in state contracting and replaced them with a program that is fair, focused and constitutional,” Hancock said. “We eliminated race- and sex-based classifications, reduced layers of bureaucracy and placed responsibility for certification within one accountable office. Most importantly, we made service-disabled veterans the focus of this program.”
Previously, the Comptroller’s office worked with outside organizations to certify businesses based on race, ethnicity, and sex categories. The new structure removes these classifications to align with constitutional equal-protection requirements. Since emergency rules were put into place last fall, all certifications are now managed directly by the agency.
The MOAs that have expired included agreements with several organizations: City of Austin, City of Houston, El Paso Chamber of Commerce, Houston Minority Supplier Development Council, South Central Texas Regional Certification Agency, Tri-County Regional Black Chamber of Commerce, Women’s Business Council Southwest, Golden Triangle Minority Business Council, Southwest Minority Supplier Development Council, and Dallas/Fort Worth Minority Supplier Development Council.
The VetHUB program now focuses exclusively on service-disabled veterans who were already eligible under the previous HUB framework. At the time VetHUB was relaunched, there were 547 businesses certified solely as service-disabled veteran-owned. That number has grown to 1,075 active VetHUB-certified businesses — the highest participation from service-disabled veterans since the program began.
This change completes efforts to simplify certification by removing duplicate administrative processes and creating a single statewide system run by the Comptroller’s office. For questions about eligibility or certification status under VetHUB, business owners can contact VetHUBProgram@cpa.texas.gov.
