The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) released an Interim final rule Sept. 30 detailing its intentions to revise the Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) program.
The planned changes are consistent with a May court filing, in which U.S. DOT is proposing to settle a lawsuit challenging the program by eliminating race- and gender-based DBE goals on federal-aid highway and transit projects. While the judge in that case has not yet approved the proposed settlement, the Department is now moving to enact its key terms.
The changes propose an end to the presumptions that identify DBEs as disadvantage based race or gender. Under the proposal, each of the estimated 41,000 firms currently in the program must be reevaluated and can apply for recertification under new case-by-case standards. It is unclear if these new provisions will apply to existing contracts or procurements.
Tag: Disadvantaged Business Enterprise
A coalition of 21 state attorneys general and the Arizona state legislature urged a Kentucky federal court to approve a proposal from the U.S. Department of Transportation that would end core provisions of its Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) program, reports the American Road and Transportation Builders Assn (ARTBA). In the amicus brief filed June 16, the Republican state officials expressed support for a recent “consent order” in which the department has agreed to stop enforcing race- and gender-based goals on federal-aid projects, pending court approval.
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