PROGRAM
INFORMATION

Under this program twenty-five (25%) of State funded purchases are set-aside for small businesses. In addition, twenty-five (25%) of that amount is reserved for small businesses which are minority/women owned.

To participate in this program a small business must register with the Department of Administrative Services, which is charged with the responsibility of certifying that the business meets the qualifications set by law for the program. Companies that have been certified by the Connecticut Department of Transportation and meet the DAS certification requirements are automatically eligible for certification by the Department of Administrative Services.

Department of Administrative Services
Business CONNections/Set-Aside Unit
165 Capitol Avenue Room G-8a
Hartford, Connecticut 06106
(860) 713-5236 J. Carlos Velez - Program Director

Once certified, a business can bid on contracts covered by the program. However, this certification does not exclude companies from bidding on statewide contracts.

TO BE ELIGIBLE
FOR
CERTIFICATION

A SMALL BUSINESS IS DEFINED AS:

• any company doing business and having its principal place of business in Connecticut for at least a year, with gross revenues of less than $10,000,000 in the last fiscal year,
• with 51% ownership held by person(s) who exercises the operational authority over the daily affairs of the business and has the power to direct the policies and management and receives the beneficial interests of the business.

WHAT QUALIFIES A COMPANY AS A MINORITY/WOMEN OWNED FIRM?
A minority owned firm must meet the definition of a small business and:

• must be owned and operated by a person(s) who is a member of a minority group; and

• who has at least 51% ownership of the company; and

• exercises the operational authority over the daily affairs of the business and has the power to direct the policies and management and receives the beneficial interests of the business.

WHO IS CONSIDERED A MINORITY?
As defined in P.A. 93-409, minority means: (1) Black Americans, including all persons having origins in any of the Black African racial groups not of Hispanic origin; (2) Hispanic Americans, including all person of Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, Central or South American or other Spanish culture of origin, (3) all persons having origins in the Iberian Peninsula, including Portugal, regardless of race; (4) Asian Americans (5) American Indians and persons having origins in any of the original peoples of North America and maintaining identifiable tribal affiliation through membership and participation or community identification; (6) a woman (7) An individual with a disability.

A company with gross receipts over 6 million dollars will be issued a certificate for up to one fiscal year.  Same rule as above applies.

HOW DOES A COMPANY RECERTIFY?
A company is required to recertify once their certification expires.  The company has a 90 (ninety) day grace period in which to submit a recertification application.  At this time the company must submit a recertification application along with supporting documentation as stated in the recertification application.

DAS will make every effort to notify certified companies, that it is time to recertify, 30 days prior to the expiration date that appears on the certificate however, the responsibility to recertify remains with the company. 

HOW LONG IS THE CERTIFICATION REVIEW PROCESS?
Complete application packages take approximately 3 weeks.  Incomplete packages will require additional correspondence thereby delaying the certification review.

WHAT STATE AGENCIES PARTICIPATE IN THE SET-ASIDE PROGRAM?
All State Agencies with a budget of more than $10,000 are required to set aside contracts for Certified small business enterprises.

Is there a directory published that lists the companies certified through the Set-Aside Program?
Yes, a complete listing of companies certified is available both electronically and in hard copy.  The use of the electronic listing is strongly encouraged because companies are being certified and expiring on a daily basis.  The electronic directory is updated daily.  The hard copy listing becomes incomplete the minute a company is added or deleted. This hard copy directory is printed annually, with quarterly updates. 

The address for the electronic directory is:

www.das.state.ct.us/Purchase/SetAside/SAPVendor.asp

For a hard copy directory (must be picked up in Hartford) is available by calling (860)713-5236.

What if I own more than one company is it considered an affiliate?

•  If an individual owns 20% or more of the applying company and 20% or more of another company it is considered an affiliate.

•  The combined total gross receipts for all companies cannot exceed $10,000,000.

HOW DO YOU FIND OUT ABOUT WORK AVAILABLE FOR SET-ASIDE COMPANIES?
Legal notices regarding bid opportunities are published in the classified section of most major newspapers.

• The Hartford Courant
• The Waterbury Republican
• The New Haven Register
• The Connecticut Post
• Northeast Minority News
• Inquirer Newspaper Group

DOWNLOADS

• E-Mail SetAside
• Application Download (Adobe Acrobat Format)
• Recertification Application Download  (Adobe Acrobat Format)

The software to view and print Adobe Acrobat documents is available free from the Adobe website. To get a free copy of the software, click the "Get Acrobat" image.