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The Commissioners Court for Bexar County is currently considering a proposal under which the existing Small, Minority, and Women-Owned Business Enterprises (SMWBE) Program would be changed to a Small Business and Local Business Enterprise Program. The move comes after recent presidential executive orders relating to the consideration of race and gender in government programs, with the County seeking to avoid losing federal funding.
Currently, the provisions of the SMWBE Program allow for a non-binding participation goal of 20 percent of County contract dollars to be spent with MWBEs annually, with participation tracked but not used in evaluating bids, which must go to the low bidder. Under the new Program being considered, this 20 percent goal would be removed. An existing participation goal of 30 percent for small businesses would remain unchanged, and a new participation goal of 50 percent for local businesses (local being specified as businesses headquartered in Bexar County) would be instituted.
The proposal that the Commissioners are considering follows the dissolution, in October, of the Small, Minority, and Women-Owned Business Enterprise Program Advisory Committee (which made recommendations to the Commissioners Court). The Committee had voted to dissolve itself and then reconstituted itself as Small Business Enterprise and Local Business Enterprise Advisory Committee.
The proposed changes also follow on the heels of the City of San Antonio's decision to remove MWBE participation goals from its contracting procedures, and the Acting Comptroller for the State of Texas eliminating race- and gender-based eligibility for the State HUB program, while retaining the eligibility of service-disabled veterans for the program.
Read more about changes from the City of San Antonio at https://dbegoodfaith.com/item.php?item_type=news&news_id=2535.
Read more about changes to the State HUB program at https://dbegoodfaith.com/item.php?item_type=news&news_id=2533 and at https://dbegoodfaith.com/item.php?item_type=news&news_id=2536.
