Determination of established business enterprise status.
Houston Code of Ordinances § 15-87
in effectSec. 15-87. - Determination of established business enterprise status.
(a) Based upon a review of data submitted by MWSBEs or MWSBE applicants and any other information available from its files or the files of any other governmental entity, the office of business opportunity shall determine the size of each MWSBE or MWSBE applicant by determining the average of the gross receipts for the prior three years and the average number of employees for the 12 calendar months immediately preceding the review, as applicable. The calculation of size shall be based solely upon the size standards and methods of calculation identified by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) including, without limitation those set forth in 13 C.F.R. part 121, subpart A, secs. 121.101 through 121.107, and sec. 121.201, any amendment or successor thereto, or any other document defining such size standards or the calculation thereof that has been fully and finally adopted by the SBA. The review shall be applicable to business entities applying for initial certification as a MWSBE or to certified MWSBEs, provided that such review may not be initiated until the applicant or certified MWSBE has established a business history of sufficient length to allow calculation of size based on the three year financial or 12 month employee data, as applicable.
(b) Following the review described in this section, each certified MWSBE or MWSBE applicant shall be re-evaluated under this section on an annual basis based upon the size standards and methods of calculation identified by the SBA and procedures established by the OBO director to ensure compliance with all applicable provisions of this article.
(c) All MWSBEs and MWSBE applicants shall, upon written request of the OBO director, provide to the office of business opportunity copies of any and all documents, including without limitation financial statements and tax records, requested by the director in connection with the review authorized in subsection (a) of this section, not later than 20 business days following the date of mailing of the request. Failure to timely and completely comply with any such request will authorize the imposition of sanctions under section 15-86 of this Code, or denial of certification in the case of a MWSBE applicant.
(d) Following the review authorized by subsection (a) of this section, the office of business opportunity shall classify each MWSBE or MWSBE applicant whose size meets or exceeds the size standard identified by the SBA for that class of enterprise as an established business enterprise. The classification shall be effective as of the date of mailing of the notice provided in section 15-88 of this Code.
(Ord. No. 2013-428, § 10(Exh. A), 5-8-2013, eff. 7-1-2013)
Source: City of Houston, Code of Ordinances and City Charter (Municode Library, library.municode.com)URL: https://library.municode.com/tx/houston/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=COOR_CH15CO_ARTVMIWOSMBUEN_S15-87DEESBUENSTFetched: 10/26/2026