TxDOT prepares for disparity study, holding public meeting

TX News - Published Mar 26, 2018

The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) is hosting a public meeting in Austin on April 12th to provide information about the upcoming disparity study the department will be conducting.

At the meeting, the study team will be introduced, information relating to the programs involved will be reviewed, and methods through which interested parties can participate in the process, among other topics, will be addressed.

The disparity study is being conducted for TxDOT's disadvantaged business enterprise (DBE) and historically underutilized business (HUB) programs in order to ensure both that disadvantaged businesses working with TxDOT have "equal access to contracting opportunities" and that the current DBE and HUB programs remain "legally defensible and administratively successful."

As a recipient of U.S. Department of Transportation funds, TxDOT must narrowly tailor its programs that include race- and gender-conscious remedies in order to stay inside the law, and evidence of disparities as gathered by the study will be vital to continuing the DBE and HUB programs as they currently exist. On the homepage for the study, TxDOT calls upon interested stakeholders in the DBE and HUB programs to communicate with TxDOT through various means including the upcoming meeting.

Full details about the time and place of the informational meeting can be found at http://www.txdot.gov/inside-txdot/get-involved/about/hearings-meetings/civil-rights/041218.html

For more information about the disparity study, visit http://txdot.disparity-study.com/