The Benefits of Being A Minority-Owned Business with Certification
The process of becoming certified as a minority-owned business for the purposes of participating in special programs like those offered by the DOT and the SBA’s ) are significant, but the benefits of being a minority-owned business with certification are significant too. From federal and government agencies to private corporations, there are many organizations that want to do business with minority-owned businesses and would even prefer to do so. Certification may provide your business with opportunities it might not otherwise be able to compete for.
Many federal government agencies are even mandated to reward a substantial number of contracts to certified minority-owned businesses. For example, the U.S. Department of Transportation requires that at least 10 percent of the money spent on contracts for certain projects go to businesses that are minority-owned, and entities (such as state transportation agencies) that receive DOT funding are required to develop Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) programs to ensure compliance.
The Department of Transportation (DOT) is dedicated to serving our
community, including those businesses contracting with state agencies
and recipients of DOT funds. The Department's Disadvantaged Business
Enterprise (DBE) program is designed to remedy ongoing discrimination
and the continuing effects of past discrimination in federally-assisted
highway, transit, airport, and highway safety financial assistance
transportation contracting markets nationwide. The primary remedial goal
and objective of the DBE program is to level the playing field by
providing small businesses owned and controlled by socially and
economically disadvantaged individuals a fair opportunity to compete for
federally funded transportation contracts.
Interstate Certification 49 C.F.R. §26.85
What is the purpose of the interstate certification rule?
In response to longstanding concerns of DBEs, the interstate certification provision is designed to make the certification process easier on recipients and certified DBEs. The DBE program is a national program, and administrative obstacles to certification undermine important program objectives.
The rule furthers several fundamental objectives of the DBE program—(1) facilitating the ability of DBE firms to compete for DOT-assisted contracting, (2) reducing administrative burdens and costs on the small businesses that seek to pursue contracting opportunities in other states, and
(3) fostering greater consistency and uniformity in the application of certification requirements—while maintaining program integrity.
The Department strongly reiterates that the ultimate purpose of the interstate certification rule is to facilitate certification of currently certified firms in other jurisdictions. Accordingly, interstate certification is not automatic reciprocity in the sense that each state must honor the other states’ certification decisions without review.
Rather, the rule creates a rebuttable presumption such that a firm certified in its home state (State A) is eligible to be certified in other states in which it applies.
Thus, the subsequent certifier’s review is limited to specifically enumerated items in the rule. The rule creates a bright-line distinction between applications for interstate certification and applications for initial certification.
For further discussion of the Department’s general views on the interstate certification provisions, please see the preamble to the final rule establishing this regulation: Office of the Secretary, “Disadvantaged Business Enterprise: Program Improvements,”011-1531.pdf
© Copyrights 2023 |S|B|G|A| SMALL BUSINESS GOVERNMENT ACCESS.
A website by
Webnomics Technologies