428. Minority and women-owned business enterprise program. 1. Federal assistance projects. Where a transportation infrastructure renewal project or municipal transportation infrastructure project involving federal assistance is undertaken to effectuate the provisions of this article, applicable federal laws relative to participation of minority and women-owned business enterprises shall apply.
2. Other transportation infrastructure renewal projects. a. In the performance of transportation infrastructure renewal projects, minority and women-owned business enterprises shall be given the opportunity for meaningful participation. The governor shall establish measures and procedures to secure meaningful participation and identify those contracts and items of work for which minority and women-owned business enterprises may best bid to actively and affirmatively promote and assist their participation in the department's construction and procurement program for transportation infrastructure renewal projects, so as to facilitate the award of a fair share of contracts to such enterprises; provided, however, that nothing in this article shall be construed to limit the ability of the governor to assure that qualified minority and women-owned business enterprises may participate in the transportation infrastructure renewal program. For purposes hereof, minority business enterprise shall mean any business enterprise which is at least fifty-one per centum owned by, or in the case of a publicly owned business, at least fifty-one per centum of the stock of which is owned by citizens or permanent resident aliens who are Black, Hispanic, Asian or American Indian, and such ownership interest is real, substantial and continuing; and women-owned business enterprise shall mean any business enterprise which is at least fifty-one per centum owned by, or in the case of a publicly owned business, at least fifty-one per centum of the stock of which is owned by citizens or permanent resident aliens who are women, and such ownership interest is real, substantial and continuing.
The provisions of this paragraph shall not be construed to limit the ability of any minority business enterprise to bid on any contract.
b. In the implementation of this section, the department shall consider compliance by any contractor with the requirements of any federal, state, or local law concerning minority and women-owned business enterprises, which may effectuate the requirements of this section. If the department determines that by virtue of the imposition of the requirements of any such law, in respect to capital project contracts, the provisions thereof duplicate or conflict with such law, the department may waive the applicability of this section to the extent of such duplication or conflict.
c. Nothing in this section shall be deemed to require that overall state and federal requirements for participation of minority and women-owned business enterprises in programs authorized under this article be applied without regard to local circumstances to all projects or in all communities.
3. In order to implement the requirements and objectives of this section, the governor shall establish procedures to monitor the contractors' compliance with provisions hereof, provide assistance in obtaining competing qualified minority and women-owned business enterprises to perform contracts proposed to be awarded, and take other appropriate measures to improve the access of minority and women-owned business enterprises to these contracts.
Last modified: February 3, 2019