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The South Central Texas Regional Certification Agency would like to reassure firms applying for Local SMWVBE and DBE/ACDBE certification that the agency takes the confidentiality of all information submitted by potential vendors and contractors in the small business enterprises, minority, women-owned, veteran-owned business enterprises and disadvantaged business enterprises (“SMWVBE and DBE/ACDBE”) certification process seriously. The agency is committed to protecting all the information you submit in the application process. As a governmental entity, the agency may be required to release some of your information in response to a public information request, but the agencywill not release any of your information without first notifying you of the request and giving you an opportunity to object to the release. Additionally, the agency uses one of the largest and most secure commercial computing platforms in the world to maintain your information and to protect it from exploitation by hackers or other bad actors.
Public Information Requests
As a governmental entity in the State of Texas, the SCTRCA is subject to the Texas Public Information Act (the “Act”). Under the Act, the agency is required to release information maintained in its custody, including information received from third-party vendors, in response to a request for information received from a member of the public, unless the information is confidential by law or may otherwise be withheld under one of the exceptions contained in the Act.When the agency receives a request for third-party information, such as a completed SMWVBE and DBE/ACDBE application, prior to releasing any information responsive to the request, the agency will request a ruling from the Office of the Attorney General to determine whether any of the responsive information must be withheld. The Attorney General will require the agency to withhold information that is confidential by law, such as personal financial information, social security numbers, and dates of birth.
Additionally, the agency will notify any third-party that may have a proprietary interest in the requested information of the request when it is received, to give the third-party an opportunity to object to the release of the requested information. The agency will send a copy of the notice statement prescribed by the Office of the Attorney General in the 2018 Public Information Act Handbook. If a party objects to the release of the requested information, it should submit its arguments directly to the Office of the Attorney General. The agency will generally rely on an interested third-party to raise any discretionary exceptions contained in the Act, since they are best situated to articulate the proprietary nature of their own information. The agency will release or withhold the responsive information as specified in the Attorney General’s final letter ruling. The objecting party will receive a copy of the final letter ruling prior to the final release of any responsive information.
In addition to the above, notwithstanding any provision of Federal or state law, DBE and ACDBE certification applications and supporting documentation must not be released to any third party without the written consent of the firm that submitted the information. However, DBE and ACDBE certification applications and supporting documentation must be transmitted to DOT in any certification appeal proceeding under 49 CFR, Part §26.89 and to any other state to which the individual's firm has applied for certification under 49 CFR, Part §26.85.
Cyber Security Measures
The agency’s SMWVBE/DBE/ACDBE application system is secured on the Amazon AWS Cloud Platform, one of the largest and most secure commercial computing systems in the world. The system is monitored continuously, and the information submitted with your application is accessible only by you and your authorized representatives. Only certification staff necessary for the actual review of your application are granted access to the application after you have completed the submission. Once your application has been processed, it is automatically locked to all users, except those you have specially authorized.All your information remains encrypted while it is being transmitted to and from and stored on the Amazon Platform. The padlock icon that appears in your browser’s web address bar while you are accessing your application confirms that the connection with the platform is secure. You may view the platform’s security certificate at any time by clicking the padlock icon. If you do not see the padlock icon in the address bar while you are accessing your application, contact customer support immediately.
Finally, to help us ensure the safety of your information, please ensure that all your employees who are granted access to your application information have their own account and never share accounts, and make sure that no employee with access to the application shares their account password.
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