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