District Of Columbia 2023-2024 Regular Session

District Of Columbia Council Bill PR25-0654 Compare Versions

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Old	New	Differences
1	1	MURIEL BOWSER
2	2	MAYOR
3	3	February 27, 2024
4	4	The Honorable Phil Mendelson, Chairman
5	5	Council
6	6	of the District of Columbia
7	7	John
8	8	A. Wilson Building
9	9	1350 Pennsylvania Avenue,
10	10	NW
11	11	Washington, DC 20004
12	12	Dear Chairman Mendelson:
13	13	Enclosed for consideration
14	14	by the Council is the "Certified Business Enterprise Program
15	15	Compliance and Enforcement Support Emergency Declaration Resolution
16	16	of 2024", the
17	17	"Certified Business Enterprise Program Compliance and Enforcement Support Emergency
18	18	Amendment Act
19	19	of 2024" and the "Certified Business Enterprise Program Compliance and
20	20	Enforcement Support Temporary Amendment Act
21	21	of 2024."
22	22	The resolution and accompanying emergency and temporary bills close gaps in the District's
23	23	Certified Business Enterprise (CBE) Program
24	24	by making critical amendments to sections 2302,
25	25	2346, and 2363
26	26	of the Small and Certified Business Enterprise Development and Assistance Act
27	27	of 2005 ("the Act").
28	28	More specifically, these amendments will:
29	29	(l) establish uniform hearing procedures for all
30	30	departmental enforcement actions before OAH; (2) expand the scope
31	31	of DSLBD's complaint
32	32	hotline for the public reporting
33	33	of issues beyond allegations of potential certified business
34	34	enterprise program fraud; (3) add penalties for any person that violates section 2363
35	35	of the Act;
36	36	( 4) increase the penalty for beneficiaries who fail
37	37	to show commercially reasonable best efforts
38	38	to meet required CBE subcontracting requirements; (5) establish minimum periods
39	39	of
40	40	departmental suspensions and revocations for violations under the Act; and ( 6) expand the
41	41	statutory definition
42	42	of "beneficiary" to include non-profit entities, ensuring that all prime
43	43	contractors on government-assisted projects are subject to the Act's CBE subcontracting and
44	44	reporting requirements.
45	45	These necessary, time-sensitive changes will allow the District to more effectively and
46	46	efficiently enforce the District's CBE compliance requirements.
47	47	I urge the Council to take prompt and favorable action on the enclosed legislation. 1
48	48	2
49	49	3
50	50	4
51	51	5
52	52	6
53	53	-::zt;~
54	54	Ychairman Phil Mendelson
55	55	At the request
56	56	of the Mayor
57	57	7
58	58	8
59	59	9
60	60	A PROPOSED RESOLUTION
61	61	10 IN THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
62	62	11
63	63	12
64	64	13
65	65	14 To declare the existence of an emergency with respect to the need to amend the Small
66	66	15 and Certified Business Enterprise Development and Assistance Act of 2005 to establish
67	67	16 uniform hearing procedures for all departmental enforcement actions before the Office of
68	68	1 7 Administrative Hearings, to expand the scope of the Department's complaint hotline for
69	69	18 the public reporting of issues in addition to allegations of potential certified business
70	70	19 enterprise program fraud, to add penalties for any business enterprise that violates section
71	71	20 2363
72	72	of the Act, to increase the penalty for beneficiaries who fail to show commercially
73	73	21 reasonable best efforts to meet required certified business enterprise subcontracting
74	74	22 requirements, to include non-profit entities
75	75	as beneficiaries subject to certified business
76	76	23 enterprise subcontracting and reporting requirements under section 2346, and to establish
77	77	24 minimum periods
78	78	of revocations, and maximum periods for suspensions, for violations
79	79	25 under the act.
80	80	26
81	81	27
82	82	RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, That this
83	83	28 resolution may be cited as the "Certified Business Enterprise Program Compliance and
84	84	29 Enforcement Support Emergency Declaration Resolution of 2024".
85	85	30 Sec. 2. (a) A Certified Business Enterprise (CBE) is a business enterprise certified by the
86	86	31 Department of Small and Local Business Development (DSLBD) as a local business enterprise.
87	87	32 (b) Businesses with CBE certification may receive preference when submitting bids or
88	88	33 proposals for procurement and contracting opportunities. (c) There are currently over 2,000 businesses participating in the District’s CBE 34
89	89	Program. 35
90	90	(d) Following a recent revocation hearing before the Office of 36
91	91	Administrative Hearings (OAH), DSLBD determined that certain time -sensitive amendments 37
92	92	were necessary to ensure increased effectiveness and efficiency in departmental compliance and 38
93	93	enforcement procedures. 39
94	94	(e) Time-sensitive items include (1) establishing uniform hearing procedures for all 40
95	95	departmental enforcement actions before the Office of A dministrative Hearings, (2) expanding 41
96	96	the scope of the Department’s complaint hotline for the public reporting of issues in addition to 42
97	97	allegations of potential certified business enterprise program fraud, (3) t he addition of penalties 43
98	98	for any business enterprise that violates section 2363 of the A ct, (4) increasing the penalty for 44
99	99	beneficiaries who fail to show commercially reasonable best efforts to meet required certified 45
100	100	business enterprise subcontracting requirements, (5) establishing minimum periods of 46
101	101	departmental suspensions and revocations for violations under the act, (6) the addition of critical 47
102	102	definitions for the terms “person” and “principal office,” and (7) the expansion of the statutory 48
103	103	definition of “beneficiary” to include non- profit entities to ensure that all prime contractors and 49
104	104	developers on government -assisted projects are subject to the Act’s CBE subcontracting and 50
105	105	reporting requirements . 51
106	106	(f) Accordingly, emergency legislation is needed to clarify and update procedures and 52
107	107	penalties under section 2363 of the A ct. 53
108	108	(g) Failure to move these amendments will have an adverse effect on agency operations 54
109	109	as well as agency compliance and enforcement mechanisms. 55 Sec. 3. The Council determines that the circumstances enumerated in section 2 constitute 56
110	110	emergency circumstances making it necessary that the Certified Business Enterprise Program 57
111	111	Compliance and Enforcement Support Emergency Amendment Act of 2024 be adopted after a 58
112	112	single reading. 59
113	113	Sec. 4. The Secretary of the Council shall transmit a copy of this resolution, upon its 60
114	114	adoption, to the Mayor of the District of Columbia. 61
115	115	Sec. 5. This resolution shall take effect immediately. 62