Section 14840.
Cal. Government Code - GOV § 14840.
in effect(a)
(1)
In the process of certifying and determining the eligibility of a disabled veteran business enterprise or a small business enterprise, including a microbusiness, the department shall require the applicant or certified firm to submit a written declaration, under penalty of perjury, that the information submitted to the department pursuant to this chapter, and in the case of a disabled veteran enterprise all information submitted to the department pursuant to Section 999.2 of the Military and Veterans Code, is true and correct.
(2)
The department shall make available the option for an applicant or certified firm to voluntarily identify that the business is at least 51 percent owned by, and whose management and daily operations are
controlled by, one or more individuals who identifies as any of the following:
(A)
Black (a person having origins in any of the Black racial groups of Africa); Hispanic (a person of Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, Central or South American, or other Spanish or Portuguese culture or origin regardless of race); Native American (an American Indian, Inuk, Aleut, or Native Hawaiian); Pacific-Asian (a person whose origins are from Japan, China, Taiwan, Korea, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, the Philippines, Samoa, Guam, or the United States Trust Territories of the Pacific, including North Marianas); Asian-Indian (a person whose origins are from India, Pakistan, or Bangladesh).
(B)
A woman.
(C)
LGBTQ.
(3)
Notwithstanding any other law, including Title 1.8 (commencing
with Section 1798) of Part 4 of Division 3 of the Civil Code, the department may publicly display this information within the certification profile of the firm using the state’s certification system.
(b)
(1)
If the department determines that just cause exists, it may require the owner of the disabled veteran business enterprise, microbusiness, or small business, the applicant, or the certified firm to complete and submit to the department a federal Form 4506-T from the Internal Revenue Service, United States Department of the Treasury, requesting a transcript of a tax return.
(2)
For the purposes of this subdivision, “just cause” means either of the following circumstances exist:
(A)
The department receives a complaint regarding the certified firm.
(B)
The department determines, based on its findings during the course of any certification eligibility review of the applicant or certified firm, that the action described in paragraph (1) is necessary.
References
referencesCal. Military and Veterans Code - MVC § 999.2.
referencesCal. Civil Code - CIV § 1798.
Source: CA Legislative Counsel Bulk DataURL: https://downloads.leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/pubinfo_2025.zipFetched: 6/27/2026