California Governor Schwarzenegger Announces Record Number Of Certified Small And Disabled Veteran Businesses Are Providing Goods And Services To The State

Sacramento, CA  (CompNewsNetwork) - Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger today announced that California's small and disabled veteran businesses are registered at record-breaking numbers to compete for the state's more than $9 billion a year in contracts, and exceeding goals he put forth two years ago. There are now 16,005 certified small and disabled veteran businesses able to bid on state contracts, up from 12,000 just one year ago.

"Small businesses are the backbone of our state's economy," said Governor Schwarzenegger. "Ensuring that small businesses have the tools they need to succeed has always been a priority of my administration, and I'm pleased that more small businesses and disabled veteran businesses are taking advantage of one of the many tools available by registering and competing for state contracts."

Under State and Consumer Services Agency (SCSA) Secretary Rosario Marin's leadership, the Department of General Services Procurement Division has made simplifying the small business certification process a priority.

"In most cases, the new online application process can be completed in twenty minutes-a wonderful accomplishment, compared to the former paper-based system that oftentimes could take months," said SCSA Secretary Marin. "This is a prime example of technology successfully serving our citizens and enabling our government to operate at the speed of business."

Last year, more than $2.7 billion in contracting went to small and disabled veteran businesses. This was more than 28.3 percent of all the state's contract spending and exceeded the goal of 25 percent that Governor Schwarzenegger's Executive Order (S-02-06) requires.

Expanding on these efforts is a high priority for the administration this year. Representatives from the State and Consumer Services Agency sponsored and attended more than 137 small and disabled veteran business outreach events in 2007, and they plan to exceed that amount in 2008.

Ninety-eight percent of California businesses are defined as small, which means they have fewer than 100 employees and less than $12 million in average gross annual receipts.

For more information about how you can register your small or disabled veteran business with the State of California, go to www.getcertified.dgs.ca.gov.

The Governor has made helping small and disabled veteran businesses a priority, including:

Reforming workers'compensation with historic legislation that cut premiums by 65% - resulting in cumulative savings of more than $24 billion for all employers.
Signing Executive Order S-11-06 increasing state assistance to small and disabled veteran businesses, inaugurating a $40 million fund to help small businesses secure adequate insurance for state projects and creating a Small Enterprise Officer.
Launching the California Business Portal (www.calbusiness.ca.gov) a one-stop online resource that helps businesses open, relocate or expand in California.
Inaugurating a new capital program with the Small Business Administration to give California's businesses access to $111 million in funding.
Signing Executive Order S-02-06 to increase small business participation in state procurement and contracting processes. 
Vetoing dozens of bills deemed "job killers" by the California Chamber, including measures trying to rollback workers'compensation reforms, create incentives for frivolous litigation, and mandate new employer benefits.
Extending $553 million in loan guarantees through the Small Business Loan Guarantee Program to help provide financing to over 4,000 small businesses that were previously denied credit.

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