Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority

1. Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority

2. The Unified Certification Program – Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) • Mandated by U.S. Dept. of Transportation • Statewide Certification Accepted by Transportation Agencies • Applies to Federally Funded Contracts

3. Some Agencies Accepting UCP Certification • CalTrans • VTA • BART • SamTrans • MUNI • City of L.A. • Others Statewide

4. Who is Eligible? • Asian Indian Americans • Asian Pacific Americans • Black Americans • Hispanic Americans • Native Americans • Women • Socially & Economically Disadvantaged Persons • Citizens or Permanent Residents • Non-profit organizations are not eligible

5. Websites: • VTA.org – go to Procurement • Californiaucp.com – includes application & link to various agencies in the UCP

6. Economic Disadvantage • Net Worth must be under $750,000 adjusted, for an individual • Does not include primary residence • Does not include business equity from applicant firm • Retirement accounts are discounted • Does not include spouse’s community property • Airport concessionaires might have higher limits

7. Personal Financial Statement • It is like your balance sheet: Assets = Liability and Net Worth • Include everything – we will adjust • Real estate and other assets much be at current market value • Include whether for an individual or for a married couple

8. Caucasian males can be eligible if • The Caucasian or nonminority male is socially disadvantaged • To be socially disadvantaged, a nonminority male must prove that he has encountered chronic discrimination or prejudice due to a social condition, such as a disability

9. Small Business Requirement • Two tests for small business • Must be small business under SBA regulations and • Must be under average of $20.41 million in sales over past three years • Airport concessionaires have much higher standards, usually around $30-40 million

10. 51% Ownership • Firm must be at least 51% owned by disadvantaged individuals (usually minorities or women) • Ownership must be real, substantial and continuing • Must prove contribution of capital or expertise to acquire majority ownership

11. Daily Control of Operations • Disadvantaged owners must control daily operations of firms • Must work in firm full-time if firm is full-time business • Role of nonminority male cannot be disproportionate with ownership interest • Board of directors must be controlled by disadvantaged owners • Must be an independent business

12. Other Information: • Site visits are required by regulations • Appeals of denial of certification go to U.S. Dept. of Transportation in D.C. • Apply to one agency ONLY in UCP • Application process typically take 1-3 months • Applications can be expedited for bidding of contracts

13. Where to Apply: • In general, apply to the agency closest to you, unless you are applying for only airport concessions, then apply to Caltrans or SFO if you are bidding SFO concession • VTA covers Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Monterey Counties, part of San Benito County, Fremont, Livermore, Pleasanton, Sunol

14. The Application • Fill out completely • Have notarized • List NAICS (workcodes) for only those areas you perform and have expertise in • If you are a certified SBA 8(a) or SDB firm, you may not have to do as much paperwork. We can request your file from SBA.

15. How Certification Helps • DBE subcontracting goals are set on contracts • At VTA, DBEs are eligible as SBEs for our SBE program • If certified, your firm goes into the UCP Database, maintained by Caltrans