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Posted February 22, 2008
Minority Business Development--State MBE Certification Programs Among minority business enterprise (MBE) development strategies, perhaps the most well known, are programs designed to encourage minority-owned business growth through facilitated participation in government procurement. MBE procurement assistance programs often include services such as technical training on government contracting and the bidding process, as well as notification of current bidding opportunities. Providing more direct assistance, some states have “set aside” programs where a certain percentage of government contracting is designated for minority firms. These set asides are expressed as goals that government agencies try to meet, and are not treated as enforceable quotas. States with set aside programs certify minority-owned businesses as such to ensure that participation in the program is limited to the group it was designed to assist. The application process for certification often involves submitting a detailed report on the firm along with supporting documents to the certification authority. The authority may also visit the business site to verify information provided in the application. The certification process can take as little as 10 days in some states, and up to 90 days in others. In addition to state-level programs, there are federal programs that also provide direct procurement assistance to minority owned-businesses. The U.S. Small Business Administration’s 8a and SDB programs, as well as the Department of Transportation’s disadvantaged business enterprise (DBE) development program, all involve set asides and certification for federally-funded government procurement. At least 27 states have state-level MBE development programs involving certification for participation in state government procurement independent of existing federal DBE development programs in both funding and administration. The following chart contains a list of states with these programs, information on their administrative structure, and links to their respective websites.
State MBE Certification Programs |
STATE
|
ADMINISTERING AGENCY/
PROGRAM
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CERTIFICATION AUTHORITY
| | Alabama | Department of Economic and Community Affairs | Office of Minority Business Enterprise | | California | Department of General Services
State-level MBE program found unconstitutional in 1998.
Disabled Veteran Business Enterprise (DVBE) and Small Business Enterprise programs still effective. | Office of Small Business Certification and Resources | | Connecticut | Department of Administrative Services | Supplier Diversity Program | | Delaware | Department of Administrative Services | Office of Minority and Women Business Enterprise | | Florida | Department of Service Management | Office of Supplier Diversity | | Illinois | Department of Central Management Services | Business Enterprise Program | | Indiana | Department of Administration | Minority Business Development Program | | Iowa | Department of Inspections and Appeals | Targeted Small Business Certification Program | | Kansas | Department of Commerce | Disadvantaged Business Enterprise Program | | Maryland | Department of Transportation | Office of Minority Business Enterprise Program | | Massachusetts | Department of Business and Technology | State Office of Minority and Women Business Assistance | | Minnesota | Department of Administration | Materials Management Division, Targeted Group/Economically Disadvantaged Small Business Program | | Mississippi | Mississippi Development Authority, Minority and Small Business Development Division | Minority Business Certification Program | | Missouri | Office of Administration | Office of Supplier and Workforce Diversity | | New Jersey | | Minority and Woman-Owned Business Enterprise Program | | New York | Empire State Development | Division of Minority and Women-owned Business Development | | North Carolina | Department of Administration | Office for Historically Underutilized Businesses | | Ohio | Department of Administrative Services, Equal Opportunity Division | Minority Business Enterprise Unit | | Oregon | Oregon Department of Consumer and Business Services | Office of Minority, Women and Emerging Small Business | | Pennsylvania | Department of General Services | Bureau of Minority and Women Business Opportunities | | Rhode Island | Department of Administration | Rhode Island Minority Business Enterprise Compliance Office | | South Carolina | Governor’s Office of Small and Minority Business Assistance | Governor’s Office of Small and Minority Business Assistance | | Texas | Texas Building and Procurement Commission | Historically Underutilized Business Program | | Virginia | Department of Minority Business Enterprise, Services Division | Department of Minority Business Enterprise, Services Division | | Washington | Office of Minority and Women’s Business Enterprise | Office of Minority and Women’s Business Enterprises | | West Virginia | West Virginia Development Office | Small Business Development Center | | Wisconsin | Department of Commerce, Bureau of Minority Business Development
Department of Administration, Division of State Agency Services, Minority Business Enterprise | Department of Commerce, Bureau of Minority Business Development | Other Resources: U.S. Department of Transportation - Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization web site U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) - Small Disadvantaged Business (SDB) program web site “Minority-Owned Business Development” - NCSL LegisBrief, June, 2004 - NCSL Publications
For more information or for errors or omissions in this chart please contact:
Ian Pulsipher
NCSL Fiscal Affairs
econ-info@ncsl.org
303-364-7700 ext. 1649
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