Effective April 12, 2016, Portuguese-owned business enterprises, formerly certified as Minority Business Enterprises (MBEs) by the Massachusetts Supplier Diversity Office (“SDO”), will no longer be considered MBEs. Please see the April 21, 2016 SDO Memorandum outlining this change for additional information.
The April 21, 2016 SDO Memorandum states:
Awarding authorities are hereby advised that, for any bids submitted by a prime bidder after April 12, 2016, the SDO will not recognize, and the awarding authority should not recognize, an MBE-certification issued to a Portuguese-owned firm.
As awarding authorities, School Districts which obtain reimbursement from the Massachusetts School Building Authority (“MSBA”), accordingly should not recognize Portuguese-owned businesses as MBEs for any bids submitted by a prime bidder after April 12, 2016 on MSBA-reimbursed projects.
Please be advised that Districts should similarly exclude Portuguese-owned business enterprises from MBE participation goals in regard to Designer contracts for MSBA-reimbursed projects. Portuguese-owned businesses will not be recognized toward MBE participation goals in Designer project applications due to the District after April 12, 2016.
The MSBA Standard Contract for Designer Services (Base Contract for Design Bid Build or CM at Risk Projects) provides at Section 17.4:
Minority-Owned and Women-Owned Business Participation: Pursuant to M.G.L. c. 7C, § 6, the Designer shall subcontract a minimum of seventeen and nine-tenths percent (17.9%) of the contract price to minority-owned business enterprises (MBEs) and women-owned business enterprises (WBEs), as certified by the Supplier Diversity Office, formerly the State Office of Minority- and Woman-Owned Business Assistance (SOMWBA), 1 Ashburton Place, 13th Floor, Boston, MA 02108; such percentages shall be based on the listed services defined and required in the RFS . If the Designer is an SDO-certified MBE or WBE the Designer must bring a reasonable amount of participation by a firm or firms that hold the certification which is not held by the prime Designer on the project.
The same contract also provides at Section 17.4.1:
The Designer shall complete and submit at the time of contract execution a completed Participation Schedule which is attached to this contract as Attachment C in order to be in compliance with Article 17.4 above.
The Standard MSBA Contract for Designer Services (MSBA Accelerated Repair Program) similarly provides at Section 17.4:
The Designer shall comply with the participation goals established for minority-owned (“MBE”) and women-owned (“WBE”) businesses under affirmative marketing programs established pursuant to the provisions of M.G.L. c. 7C, §6, and any executive orders, regulations, procedures and other applicable law related to such affirmative marketing programs.
The Designer shall submit to the Owner at the time of contract execution a completed Participation Schedule which is attached to this Contract as Attachment C.
