DOHERTY/Associates/LTD

Learn how to become a supplier for the State of California and the City and County of San Francisco

Wednesday, March 25, 2009
6:00-8:00 PM
San Francisco LGBT Community Center
1800 Market Street (@ Octavia)
RSVP to Kens@sfcenter.org

The workshop is free, but space is limited!

The State of California and the City and County of San Francisco spend billions of dollars each year on contracts. Your firm can be a part of this marketplace doing business with the state government and providing services for the citizens of San Francisco. During this workshop, you will learn how the State and City buy products and services and you will learn how your business can become a supplier.

The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) has just received conditional approval from the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) to immediately implement its Federal Fiscal Year (FFY) 2009 Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) Goal and Methodology.

The 2009 Goal and Methodology provides for a 6.75 percent race-conscious goal and a 6.75 percent race-neutral goal for an overall 13.5 percent program goal. With the recent enactment of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009 and the increase in transportation contracting opportunities it will bring, the urgency for Caltrans to implement contract goals has heightened. The conditional approval requires Caltrans to submit to FHWA the additional requested information to support its decision to make no upward adjustment to the FFY 2009 goal.

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The Business Outreach Committee has introduced a Contracting Newsletter to assist DBE and SBE firms in doing business with Bay Area Transportation Agencies. It will provide one document that offers links to agency procurement information, information on upcoming DBE and SBE events, and agency contact information for AC Transit; BART; Central Contra Costa Transit Authority; Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District; Metropolitan Transportation Commission; San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency; SamTans; and VTA.

Newsletter

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SBA Interim Final Rule: Small Disadvantaged Business Program (Effective 10/3/08) — This Rule Changes The Requirements Relating To Which Firms May Certify Their Status As Small Disadvantaged Businesses (SDBs) For Purposes Of Federal Prime Contracts And Subcontracts

Small Disadvantaged Business Program
AGENCY: U.S. Small Business Administration.
ACTION: Interim final rule, with request for comments.

SUMMARY: This rule changes the requirements relating to which firms may certify their status as small disadvantaged businesses (SDBs) for purposes of federal prime contracts and subcontracts. Currently, only those firms that have applied to and been certified as SDBs by SBA may certify themselves to be SDBs for federal prime and subcontracts. This rule allows firms to self-represent their status for subcontracting purposes without first receiving any SDB certification. It also recognizes that the benefits of being an SDB for federal prime contracts has been greatly diminished over the past years, and shifts the responsibility of identifying firms as SDBs for federal prime contracts to those limited agencies that have authority and chose to use price evaluation adjustments to SDBs.

DATES: Effective Date: This rule is effective October 3, 2008.
Comment Date: Comments must be received on or before November 3, 2008.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by RIN: 3245-AF79, by any of the following methods:

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov.
• Follow the instructions for submitting comments. Mail, for paper, disk, or CD/ROM submissions: Joseph
• Loddo, Associate Administrator, Office of Business Development, 409 Third Street, SW., Mail Code, Washington, DC 20416.
• Hand Delivery/Courier: Joseph Loddo, Associate Administrator, Office of Business Development, 409 Third Street, SW.,
• Washington, DC 20416.

SBA will post all comments on www.regulations.gov. If you wish to submit confidential business information (CBI) as defined in the User Notice at www.regulations.gov, please submit the information to LeAnn Delaney, Deputy Director, Office of Business Development, 409 Third Street, SW., Washington, DC 20416, or send an e-mail to LeAnn.Delaney@sba.gov. Highlight the information that you consider to be CBI and explain why you believe SBA should hold this information as confidential. SBA will review the information and make the final determination of whether it will publish the information or not. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: LeAnn Delaney, Deputy Director, Office of Business Development, at (202) 205-5852, or LeAnn.Delaney@sba.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: DOWNLOAD DETAILS

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For Immediate Release: Contact: Aaron McLear/Camille Anderson

Wednesday, October 29, 2008 916-445-4571

Gov. Schwarzenegger Announces Conference on Small Business and Entrepreneurship

Furthering his commitment to support California’s small businesses in their contribution to the health and power of the state’s economy, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger today announced he will host California’s first ever Governor’s Conference on Small Business and Entrepreneurship to be held at the Renaissance Montura Hotel in Los Angeles on November 18 and 19.

“Small businesses have always provided innovative products and services that drive our state’s diverse economy,” said Governor Schwarzenegger. “As we deal with the global economic crisis, my administration is committed to listening to our small businesses and entrepreneurs for their ideas on how we can best partner with them to unleash the power of their creativity, ingenuity and work ethic to maintain California’s leadership in the global economy.”

On Monday, the Governor announced the he would focus on economic stimulus as part of the special legislative session he will call in November.

The Governor has invited leaders of small business organizations and entrepreneurs representing the spectrum of the state’s economy to make recommendations on improving the partnership between the private sector and state government to stimulate the economy. Since May, a number of individuals from these groups have been preparing draft proposals for consideration and prioritization by the conference participants. The topics range from access to capital to regulatory reform; from workforce development to AB 32 compliance. Their work has yielded over 100 separate recommendations and the final proposals will be developed and voted on by the conference participants.

Speakers at the conference include Tom Hayes, author of the Jump Point and Silicon Valley columnist Mike Malone, who will lead an exciting discussion on the future of business; Louis Rossetto, co-founder of Wired magazine and Dan Rose, vice president of Facebook, who will explore the network of entrepreneurs and the digital explosion; David Fischer, vice president of global online sales and operations at Google and Janine Popick, founder and chief executive officer of Vertical Response, who will provide insights into how small businesses can establish themselves in the global market. Additional speakers include Phil Romero, dean of the California State University Los Angeles School of Business; Guy Philips, head of U. S. Small Business for VISA, Inc; Elizabeth O’Connor, economist and vice president of Capital Strategy Research, Inc.; and Arel Moodie, founder and chief executive officer of Placefinder.com, among others.

Notable attendees include the leadership team for the California Community Colleges and representatives from California’s most influential small business groups.

Additional information about the Governor’s Conference on Small Business and Entrepreneurship can be found at www.sba.ca.gov.

Since assuming office, the Governor has been committed to supporting and growing California small businesses. To date, he has:

• Appointed Marty Keller as the Small Business Advocate in the Office of the Governor to advise on issues affecting California’s small business community and promote policies to encourage the growth of more small businesses in the state.
• Achieved over 25 percent in small business participation in state contracts procurement since 2007, exceeding the goal required by his executive order.
• Worked on behalf of minority-owned and small businesses to improve the state’s business climate and create jobs to promote economic growth.
• Fixed California’s broken workers’ compensation system which has saved California $24.7 billion in premiums to insured and self-insured plans.
• Issued an executive order encouraging small, disadvantaged businesses to participate in California’s infrastructure growth and play a key role in rebuilding the state’s transportation infrastructure.
• Announced a joint effort to provide more than $100 million in venture capital to expanding small businesses in the Los Angeles area.

The conference is by invite only. If you are interested in attending please click here

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