(a) For the purposes of this section:
  (1) a DBE manufacturer is a firm that operates or maintains a factory or establishment that produces, on the premises, the materials or supplies that are required under the contract and are of the general character described by the specifications; and
  (2) subject to subsections (b) and (c) of this section, a DBE regular dealer is an established, regular firm that:
    (A) engages, as its principal business and under its own name, in the purchase and sale or lease of the materials or supplies described by paragraph (1) of this subsection; and
    (B) owns, operates, or maintains a store, warehouse, or other establishment in which those materials or supplies are bought, kept in stock, and regularly sold or leased to the public in the usual course of business.
(b) For the purposes of this section, a person may be a regular dealer in bulk items such as petroleum products, steel, cement, gravel, stone, or asphalt without owning, operating, or maintaining a place of business as provided by subsection (a)(2)(B) of this section if the person both owns and operates distribution equipment for the products or materials. Any supplementing of a regular dealer's own distribution equipment must be by a long-term lease and not on an ad hoc or contract-by-contract basis.
(c) For the purposes of this section, a packager, broker, manufacturer's representative, or other person who arranges or expedites transactions is not a regular dealer.
(d) The total cost of the materials and supplies purchased from a DBE manufacturer may be counted toward the DBE goals.
(e) Sixty percent of the total cost of the materials and supplies purchased from a DBE regular dealer may be counted toward the DBE goals.
(f) The following may be counted toward the DBE goals to the extent the amounts are determined to be reasonable and not excessive as compared with fees customarily allowed for similar services and subject to subsection (g) of this section:
  (1) the total amount of fees or commissions charged for assistance in the procurement of the materials and supplies provided by a DBE that is neither a DBE manufacturer nor a DBE regular dealer; and
  (2) the total amount of fees or transportation charges for the delivery to the job site of those materials or supplies required on a job site.
(g) None of the cost of the materials or supplies may be counted toward DBE goals under subsection (f) of this section.

Source Note: The provisions of this §9.234 adopted to be effective September 1, 2012, 37 TexReg 5320