Before the Rules Changed: BlackTexasNews Preserves Texas’ Black HUB Business Footprint

Historical records from 2017 through 2023 offer a public view of the Black-owned companies Texas once identified within its contracting system.

The BlackTexasNews Texas Black HUB Business Registry is more than a directory. It is a historical record of Black-owned businesses that appeared in State of Texas Historically Underutilized Business records between 2017 and 2023.

That timeframe matters.

The records predate the major administrative and legal conflict that followed. On October 28, 2025, the Texas Comptroller suspended new and renewed HUB certifications while the agency reviewed the program. On December 2, the Comptroller announced rules that shifted eligibility toward businesses owned and controlled by qualifying service-disabled veterans. Businesses previously certified based on race, ethnicity or sex would no longer qualify unless they also met the new veteran requirements. (Texas Comptroller)

In March 2026, minority- and women-owned businesses and a trade association sued Texas officials, arguing that the Comptroller exceeded the agency’s authority and could not administratively rewrite a program enacted by the Texas Legislature. A Travis County district court later granted temporary relief to six plaintiff businesses while the case proceeds. That injunction was not a final ruling on the entire program and did not automatically restore every historically certified company. (Jackson Lewis)

The BlackTexasNews registry therefore captures something important: the Black business population visible within the Texas HUB system before the disputed policy changes and resulting litigation.

It shows company names, cities, counties, ZIP Codes, business descriptions and the years in which companies appeared in the covered records. It cannot establish that every listed company remains open, currently Black-owned or currently certified. It also cannot prove that a company lost a contract or has a legal claim.

What it can do is preserve the historical footprint.

Who can benefit from the information?

Black business owners and former HUB participants can determine whether their companies appear in the historical records, review how they were described and identify the years in which they were represented. They may also recognize former peers, subcontractors, mentors or business partners.

Consumers, corporations and community organizations can use the city, county, ZIP and industry tools to discover companies they may not have known existed. Readers are encouraged to search each company online, confirm its current ownership and operating status, and explore opportunities to purchase, contract, refer or partner.

Journalists and researchers can examine where the state-recognized Black business footprint was concentrated, which industries were represented and how long companies remained visible in the program.

Legislators and policymakers can use the records to understand that administrative changes affected a geographically broad business community—not an abstract category. The directory can help frame questions about procurement access, outreach, subcontracting, certification and the transition from the former HUB structure to VetHUB.

Attorneys and civil-rights organizations may find the registry useful as a starting point for identifying businesses that could possess relevant records. Those might include certification notices, mentor-protégé agreements, termination letters, bids, renewals, subcontracting plans or correspondence from agencies and prime contractors. The registry itself does not prove injury, but it can help locate the businesses whose individual experiences may provide evidence.

Prime contractors and former mentors can use it to revisit relationships with companies that participated in the state’s business-development system. In some cases, those relationships may have been interrupted even though the businesses involved had invested time, trust and resources in building them.

What the public can learn

The registry makes it possible to ask questions that would otherwise be difficult to answer:

• How many historical Black HUB businesses were located in a particular county?
• Which cities and ZIP Codes had the largest concentrations?
• What services did the companies report providing?
• Which businesses appeared throughout several years?
• Where might contracting, mentoring and supplier-development relationships have existed before the program changed?

The records should not be used to presume that a company is still operating. Instead, they should serve as an invitation to investigate, reconnect and support.

Search the business name with its city and Texas. Look for a current website or verified business profile. Confirm its ownership and services directly. When there is a good match, consider doing business with the company.

At a moment when the future of the Texas HUB program remains tied to litigation and public debate, the BlackTexasNews registry preserves an essential part of the record: the businesses that were there before the rules changed.