Brief • September 2026
The Texas VetHUB Reset: What It Means for Primes
In October 2025 the Texas Comptroller froze the Historically Underutilized Business (HUB) program, and by December more than 15,000 certified firms had been told their status was ending. An emergency rule rebuilt the program as VetHUB (Veteran Heroes United in Business), open only to businesses owned by service-disabled veterans with a service-connected disability rating of at least 20 percent. The regional certification agreements with cities, chambers and business councils expired in February 2026, which leaves the Comptroller as the only certifying body.
By February 2026 the certified pool had grown from 547 to 1,075 firms, according to the Comptroller’s figures at the time, still a small fraction of the old HUB list. Contracts signed before the rule change are not affected.
The rules are not settled. On April 14, 2026, a Travis County district judge granted a temporary injunction against the Comptroller’s changes, finding that the office could not change the statute through an administrative rule. The order is narrow: it restores the pre-December HUB rules only for the six businesses that brought the suit. The state is expected to appeal, and a trial on the merits is set for November 9, 2026.
For primes, the practical effect lands on HUB Subcontracting Plans. The directory used for good-faith outreach is much shorter, and subs named on older plans may no longer be certified, though a few may be again under the court order. Before submitting an HSP, confirm each sub’s current status in the CMBL/VetHUB Directory using the “VetHUBs Only” search, and keep the results with the plan. Check again after the November trial, since the outcome could change which firms count.
Sources: Texas Tribune, December 2025; Texas Government Insider, February 2026; Essence, April 2026.