In their first meeting as members of the Board of Public Works, Gov. Wes Moore (D) and Comptroller Brooke Lierman (D) said the panel will sharpen its focus on including more diverse businesses in state contracts.
“We will ensure that we are treating minority business enterprise goals not just as suggestions from prime contractors, but as promises and commitments made to both the state and our MBE communities who simply want a fair shot at competing for and receiving work,” Moore said.
Moore noted that too many agency contracts that come before the board — which reviews millions of dollars in state contracts each year and oversees state property — include waivers for participation by minority- and women-owned businesses.
“The era of agencies generously issuing MBE waivers and not holding prime contractors accountable for meeting MBE goals … those days and that era has come to an end,” Moore said.
Lierman agreed with Moore’s focus on MBE participation, noting that the state was a national leader when it started an MBE program 45 years ago. “But we have fallen far behind,” she said. “Since 2016, MBE participation on state contracts has been 20% or below and in 2020 it was just 14%.”
Click here to read the rest of the article written by Danielle E. Gaines over at Maryland Matters
