§ 37-14.1-6. Minority business enterprise participation.
(a) Minority business enterprises shall be included in all procurements and construction projects under this chapter and shall be awarded a minimum of fifteen percent (15%) of the dollar value of the entire procurement or project. Of that fifteen percent (15%), minority business enterprises owned and controlled by a minority owner, as defined in § 37-14.1-3, shall be awarded a minimum of seven and one-half percent (7.5%), and minority business enterprises owned and controlled by a woman shall be awarded a minimum of seven and one-half percent (7.5%). Annually, by October 1, the department of administration shall submit a report to the general assembly on the status of achieving the aforementioned participation requirements in the most recent fiscal year. The director of the department of administration is further authorized to establish by rules and regulation the certification process and formulas for giving minority business enterprises a preference in contract and subcontract awards.
(b) Any minority business enterprise currently certified by the U.S. Small Business Administration as an 8(a) firm governed by 13 C.F.R. part 124 shall be deemed to be certified by the department of administration as a minority business enterprise and shall only be required to submit evidence of federal certification of good standing.
(c) The provisions of this chapter shall not be waived, including, but not limited to, during a declared state of emergency.
(d) The state of Rhode Island will arrange for a disparity study to evaluate the need for the development of programs to enhance the participation in state contracts of business enterprises owned by women and minorities, to be repeated every five (5) years, beginning in fiscal year 2025.
(e)(1) The department of administration shall provide a list of certified minority- and women-owned business enterprises to each prospective contractor and no waiver for this chapter shall be granted until after each prospective contractor receives assistance from the department of administration with compliance of this chapter.
(2) Upon issuance of a waiver of compliance, the department of administration shall make publicly available records of all waivers of compliance. Such records shall include:
(i) Information identifying the contract, including the value of the contract;
(ii) Information identifying the contracting agency;
(iii) The name of the contractor receiving the waiver;
(iv) The date of the waiver; and
(v) The specific contract provisions to which the waiver applies.
(f) Each contracting agency that substantially fails to make a good faith effort to achieve the maximum feasible participation of minority- and women-owned business enterprises in such agency’s contracting shall be required to submit to the director of the department of administration a remedial action plan to remedy such failure.
History of Section.
P.L. 1986, ch. 493, § 1; P.L. 1987, ch. 523, § 1; P.L. 2019, ch. 37, § 1; P.L. 2019,
ch. 57, § 1; P.L. 2021, ch. 336, § 1, effective July 15, 2021; P.L. 2023, ch. 79,
art. 3, § 7, effective June 16, 2023; P.L. 2025, ch. 169, § 1, effective June 24,
2025; P.L. 2025, ch. 170, § 1, effective June 24, 2025.