California Assembly Bill sets SBE utilization quota

CA News - Published Feb 26, 2021

A bill has been introduced into the California State Assembly which, if passed, would set a quota (rather than a goal) of awarding 25 percent of all state contracts to small businesses. The bill, AB 915, follows a 2006 executive order from the Governor's office, which set the same figure as a goal with no enforcement mechanism.

Currently, only 12 out of the State's 231 total agencies have adopted a small business or disabled veterans business enterprise policy. The bill would extend its quota to all agencies, and set an enforcement mechanism whereby if any agency does not meet the goal by 2027, it may then be audited (however, there would be no fines for failing to meet the goal). The bill would include DBEs and certain other categories of businesses such as LGBT-owned businesses under the rubric of the small businesses that may be counted for purposes of meeting the quota.

If passed, the bill would go into effect on January 1st, 2022, with the aforementioned 2027 deadline becoming law. Currently, the bill is expected to be heard in committee on March 20th, 2021.

Read the bill at https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202120220AB915.