14838.8.
In order to encourage small business participation in state contracts, all state agencies, departments, boards, and commissions shall establish and achieve an annual goal of 25 percent small business participation in state procurements and contracts.(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, the heads of all state agencies, departments, boards, and commissions shall ensure that the state’s procurement and contract processes are administered in order to meet or exceed the 25 percent small business participation goal, and shall report to the Director of General Services statistics regarding small business annual participation in his or her agency’s procurements and contracts.
(b) The Department of General Services shall monitor the progress of all state agencies, departments, boards, and commissions toward meeting the 25 percent small business participation goal. The department shall regularly share information with the Office of Small Business Advocate on each individual agency, department, board, and commission’s progress in meeting the annual goal, including, but not limited to, providing copies of corrective action plans.
(c) (1) A state agency, department, board, or commission that has not achieved the 25 percent small business participation goal by the close of the fiscal year shall submit an implementation and corrective action plan to the Department of General Services within 45 days and annually thereafter as long as that agency fails to meet or exceed the goal.
(2) The Department of General Services, in collaboration with the Office of Small Business Advocate, shall undertake reasonable means to assist agencies in improving small business participation in their contracting, including entering into memoranda of understanding with the agencies that have not met the goal to improve performance.
(d) All state agencies, departments, boards, and commissions shall use the contracting procedure authorized in Section 14838 to contract with small businesses for goods and services contracts under one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) and construction contracts under one hundred twenty thousand dollars ($120,000) whenever possible.
(e)The Department of General Services shall actively promote small business certification, help small businesses market their products, goods, and services to the state, and promote the use of technologies and other innovative solutions for notifying small businesses of state contracting opportunities, including, but not limited to, the Subscription Outreach Service of the State Contracts Register.
(f) The Department of General Services shall collaborate with the Office of the Small Business Advocate in the office’s work to assist small businesses access capital and other financial resources necessary to successfully fulfill state contracts.
(g) This section applies to all state agencies, departments, boards, commissions, and other state public entities that receive state funding including the California State University, the University of California, and the California Community Colleges. In calculating the total amount of contracting covered by this section, the California State University, the University of California, and the California Community Colleges shall only be required to meet the 25 percent goal for state funding used in contracting.