Bill Text: FL H7029 | 2010 | Regular Session | Introduced


Bill Title: Certification of Minority Business Enterprises

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 10-0)

Status: (Failed) 2010-04-30 - Died in Messages [H7029 Detail]

Download: Florida-2010-H7029-Introduced.html
HB 7029
1
A bill to be entitled
2An act relating to the certification of minority business
3enterprises; amending s. 287.0943, F.S.; deleting
4provisions establishing the Minority Business
5Certification Task Force, requiring that criteria for the
6certification of minority business enterprises be approved
7by the task force, and authorizing the task force to amend
8the statewide and interlocal agreement for the
9certification of minority business enterprises; conforming
10provisions; providing an effective date.
11
12Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
13
14 Section 1. Subsection (2) and paragraph (e) of subsection
15(3) of section 287.0943, Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
16 287.0943 Certification of minority business enterprises.-
17 (2)(a) The office is hereby directed to convene a
18"Minority Business Certification Task Force." The task force
19shall meet as often as necessary, but no less frequently than
20annually.
21 (b) The task force shall be regionally balanced and
22comprised of officials representing the department, counties,
23municipalities, school boards, special districts, and other
24political subdivisions of the state who administer programs to
25assist minority businesses in procurement or development in
26government-sponsored programs. The following organizations may
27appoint two members each of the task force who fit the
28description above:
29 1. The Florida League of Cities, Inc.
30 2. The Florida Association of Counties.
31 3. The Florida School Boards Association, Inc.
32 4. The Association of Special Districts.
33 5. The Florida Association of Minority Business Enterprise
34Officials.
35 6. The Florida Association of Government Purchasing
36Officials.
37
38In addition, the Office of Supplier Diversity shall appoint
39seven members consisting of three representatives of minority
40business enterprises, one of whom should be a woman business
41owner, two officials of the office, and two at-large members to
42ensure balance. The chairperson of the Legislative Committee on
43Intergovernmental Relations or a designee shall be a member of
44the task force, ex officio. A quorum shall consist of one-third
45of the current members, and the task force may take action by
46majority vote. Any vacancy may only be filled by the
47organization or agency originally authorized to appoint the
48position.
49 (c) The purpose of the task force will be to propose
50uniform criteria and procedures by which participating entities
51and organizations can qualify businesses to participate in
52procurement or contracting programs as certified minority
53business enterprises in accordance with the certification
54criteria established by law.
55 (d) A final list of the criteria and procedures proposed
56by the task force shall be considered by the secretary. The task
57force may seek technical assistance from qualified providers of
58technical, business, and managerial expertise to ensure the
59reliability of the certification criteria developed.
60 (a)(e) In assessing the status of ownership and control,
61certification criteria shall, at a minimum:
62 1. Link ownership by a minority person, as defined in s.
63288.703(3), or as dictated by the legal obligations of a
64certifying organization, to day-to-day control and financial
65risk by the qualifying minority owner, and to demonstrated
66expertise or licensure of a minority owner in any trade or
67profession that the minority business enterprise will offer to
68the state when certified. Businesses must comply with all state
69licensing requirements prior to becoming certified as a minority
70business enterprise.
71 2. If present ownership was obtained by transfer, require
72the minority person on whom eligibility is based to have owned
73at least 51 percent of the applicant firm for a minimum of 2
74years, when any previous majority ownership interest in the firm
75was by a nonminority who is or was a relative, former employer,
76or current employer of the minority person on whom eligibility
77is based. This requirement shall not apply to minority persons
78who are otherwise eligible who take a 51-percent-or-greater
79interest in a firm that requires professional licensure to
80operate and who will be the qualifying licenseholder for the
81firm when certified. A transfer made within a related immediate
82family group from a nonminority person to a minority person in
83order to establish ownership by a minority person shall be
84deemed to have been made solely for purposes of satisfying
85certification criteria and shall render such ownership invalid
86for purposes of qualifying for such certification if the
87combined total net asset value of all members of such family
88group exceeds $1 million. For purposes of this subparagraph, the
89term "related immediate family group" means one or more children
90under 16 years of age and a parent of such children or the
91spouse of such parent residing in the same house or living unit.
92 3. Require that prospective certified minority business
93enterprises be currently performing or seeking to perform a
94useful business function. A "useful business function" is
95defined as a business function which results in the provision of
96materials, supplies, equipment, or services to customers. Acting
97as a conduit to transfer funds to a nonminority business does
98not constitute a useful business function unless it is done so
99in a normal industry practice. As used in this section, the term
100"acting as a conduit" means, in part, not acting as a regular
101dealer by making sales of material, goods, or supplies from
102items bought, kept in stock, and regularly sold to the public in
103the usual course of business. Brokers, manufacturer's
104representatives, sales representatives, and nonstocking
105distributors are considered as conduits that do not perform a
106useful business function, unless normal industry practice
107dictates.
108 (b)(f) When a business receives payments or awards
109exceeding $100,000 in one fiscal year, a review of its
110certification status or an audit will be conducted within 2
111years. In addition, random reviews or audits will be conducted
112as deemed appropriate by the Office of Supplier Diversity.
113 (c)(g) The certification criteria approved by the task
114force and adopted by the Department of Management Services shall
115be included in a statewide and interlocal agreement as defined
116in s. 287.09431 and, in accordance with s. 163.01, shall be
117executed according to the terms included therein.
118 (d)(h) The certification procedures should allow an
119applicant seeking certification to designate on the application
120form the information the applicant considers to be proprietary,
121confidential business information. As used in this paragraph,
122"proprietary, confidential business information" includes, but
123is not limited to, any information that would be exempt from
124public inspection pursuant to the provisions of chapter 119;
125trade secrets; internal auditing controls and reports; contract
126costs; or other information the disclosure of which would injure
127the affected party in the marketplace or otherwise violate s.
128286.041. The executor in receipt of the application shall issue
129written and final notice of any information for which
130noninspection is requested but not provided for by law.
131 (e)(i) A business that is certified under the provisions
132of the statewide and interlocal agreement shall be deemed a
133certified minority enterprise in all jurisdictions or
134organizations where the agreement is in effect, and that
135business is deemed available to do business as such within any
136such jurisdiction or with any such organization statewide. All
137state agencies must accept minority business enterprises
138certified in accordance with the statewide and interlocal
139agreement of s. 287.09431, and that business shall also be
140deemed a "certified minority business enterprise" as defined in
141s. 288.703. However, any governmental jurisdiction or
142organization that administers a minority business purchasing
143program may reserve the right to establish further certification
144procedures necessary to comply with federal law.
145 (j) The statewide and interlocal agreement shall be guided
146by the terms and conditions found therein and may be amended at
147any meeting of the task force and subsequently adopted by the
148secretary of the Department of Management Services. The amended
149agreement must be enacted, initialed, and legally executed by at
150least two-thirds of the certifying entities party to the
151existing agreement and adopted by the state as originally
152executed in order to bind the certifying entity.
153 (k) The task force shall meet for the first time no later
154than 45 days after the effective date of this act.
155 (3)
156 (e) Any participating program receiving three or more
157challenges to its certification decisions pursuant to subsection
158(4) from other organizations that are executors to the statewide
159and interlocal agreement, shall be subject to a review by the
160office, as provided in paragraphs (a) and (b), of the
161organization's capacity to perform under such agreement and in
162accordance with the certification core criteria established by
163the task force. The office shall submit a report to the
164secretary of the Department of Management Services regarding the
165results of the review.
166 Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2010.
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
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