On March 5, 2024, a federal judge in Texas struck down a federally-sponsored racial preference extended to minority groups seeking to access capital and government contracts.
Retired circuit judge and Douglas County state s attorney Mike Carroll offers some reasons, "besides probably violating the Constitution," that current race-conscious preferences in federal procurement should end.
As of September 29, 2023, the SBA’s certify.gov portal for submitting 8(a) applications (for both individually owned and entity-owned applicants) is back open and accepting new.