(a) Minority owned businesses have experienced the effects of discrimination in the awarding of County contracts and subcontracts. The effect has been to:
(1) make a smaller percentage of contract and subcontract awards to minority owned businesses than the percentage of qualified minority owned businesses in the County’s relevant geographic market area would indicate as reasonable;
(2) impede the economic development and expansion of minority owned businesses in the County’s relevant geographic market area;
(3) impair the competitive position of minority owned businesses; and
(4) generally harm minority owned businesses.
(b) Adoption of the minority owned business purchasing program is intended to remedy the effects of discrimination on minority owned businesses.
(c) A goal of awarding an appropriate percentage of the dollar value of County contracts to minority owned businesses in proportion to their availability to perform work under County contracts is a reasonable and appropriate means to remedy discrimination against minority owned businesses.
(d) The County should actively recruit all minority owned businesses to provide goods, construction, and services to the County. To help achieve this goal, the County should:
(1) notify all businesses of procurement opportunities;
(2) provide information to all business owners about the procurement system;
(3) provide referrals for technical assistance, sureties, and financing; and
(4) review procurement procedures to remove artificial barriers to competition.
(e) A five-year period is a reasonable time to continue the minority owned business purchasing program before evaluating it.
(f) This article does not give any person, including a minority owned business, any right or status, including standing, to challenge the award of a contract or subcontract under the County procurement system. The provisions of this article are enforceable only through the oversight function of the Chief Administrative Officer and the County Council. (1994 L.M.C., ch. 30, § 1; 1997, L.M.C., ch. 38, § 1; 2006 L.M.C., ch. 3, § 1; 2014 L.M.C., ch. 32, § 1.)
Editor’s note-Section 2 of Ch. 30 LMC 1997 states:
"Transition. Any certification as a minority owned business remains valid until April 1, 1998, if:
(a) the County certified the entity as a minority owned business before this Act took effect [December 10, 1997]; and
(b) the entity continues through March 31, 1998, to meet the criteria for a minority owned business in effect before this Act took effect [December 10, 1997].
The goal of awarding 20 percent of the total dollar value of County contracts to minority owned businesses remains in effect until the Chief Administrative Officer sets new goals under regulations adopted to implement this Act. This Act does not affect the validity of any minority, female, disabled subcontractor performance plan entered into before this Act took effect [December 10, 1997].”