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EDGE
Statutory Authority
Executive
Order 2002-17T
EDGE
PROGRAM INITIATIVE
ENCOURAGING DIVERSITY, GROWTH & EQUITY (EDGE)
WHEREAS, the Taft Administration
is committed to making all state services, benefits and opportunities
available without discriminating on the basis of race, color, religion,
sex, national origin, disability, age or ancestry; and
WHEREAS, the State of Ohio
recognizes that a significant number of developing businesses are
owned by Ohio citizens who may be competitively underutilized because
of their social and economic status; and
WHEREAS, the State of Ohio
has a duty to secure the best available product at the lowest possible
price and can best do so by assuring that as many qualified businesses
as possible compete for every available contract; and
WHEREAS, the State of Ohio
recognizes the need to encourage, nurture and support the growth
of economically and socially underutilized businesses to foster
their development and to increase the number of qualified competitors
in the marketplace,
NOW THEREFORE, I, Bob Taft,
Governor of the State of Ohio, by virtue of the power and authority
vested in me by the constitution and the statutes of the State of
Ohio, hereby order and establish the EDGE Program Initiative, a
business assistance program for socially and economically disadvantaged
business enterprises with the goal of Encouraging Diversity Growth
and Equity in Ohio's marketplace.
Any eligible business that desires
to contract with the State under this program may apply to the state
for certification to be an EDGE business contractor, subcontractor,
material supplier, or protegé. Certified EDGE Program participants
shall be eligible for contract assistance, financial and bonding
assistance, management and technical assistance and mentoring opportunities
as follows:
- From the contracts awarded by the State for the procurement
of construction projects and design services under Chapter 153
of the Ohio Revised Code and the purchase of supplies and services
under Chapters 123 and 125 of the Ohio Revised Code, the director
of the Department of Administrative Services shall establish
agency procurement goals for contracting with EDGE Program participants
based on the availability of eligible program participants by
region or geographic area and standard industrial code.
A goal shall be a percentage level of participation tied
to some measure of percentage of contractor availability.
Goals shall be tailored to EDGE availability and individual
agency procurement opportunities. Goals shall be applied at
the contract level, relative to an overall dollar goal for
each state agency by procurement category. Procurement categories
include Construction/Architecture and Engineering, Professional
Services, Goods & Services, and Information Technology
Services.
- To the extent that any agency of the State is authorized to
make purchases, the agency shall establish agency procurement
goals based on a percentage level of participation tied to some
measure of percentage of contractor availability and eligible
expenditures.
- The Department of Administrative Services shall prescribe
such conditions under which competitive sealed bids and proposals
will be received and terms of the proposed purchase as it considers
necessary; provided that all such conditions and terms shall
be reasonable and shall not unreasonably restrict competition,
and bidders may bid upon all or any item of construction, supplies
or services listed in such notice. In prescribing the terms
of the proposed purchase, the Department of Administrative Services
may establish participation goals or a point system to assure
appropriate levels of EDGE participation by focusing on the
evaluation of bids and proposals.
- The Director of Minority Affairs for the Office of the Governor
shall provide oversight and policy guidance to all state agencies
in the implementation of this Executive Order.
- The Department of Administrative Services shall immediately:
A. Begin cross-certifying and recognizing those small business
owners, minority-owned business enterprises (MBEs) and women-owned
business enterprises (WBEs) that have federal disadvantaged
business enterprise (DBE) 8(a) status, certified MBE status,
certified historically underutilized business (HUB) status
or certification under other public contract assistance programs
with substantially similar eligibility criteria.
B. Begin designating and maintaining a list of all federally
registered DBEs that are interested in doing business with
the State of Ohio as an EDGE-certified participant.
C. Begin establishing a system of certifying Ohio small businesses
that is based on a requirement that the business owner show
both social and economic disadvantage. The Department of Administrative
Services shall establish Ohio guidelines that mirror the federal
law, where appropriate, for determining:
i. Economic disadvantage based on the relative wealth of
the company seeking certification as well as the personal
wealth of the owner(s) of the company;
ii. Social disadvantage based on one of three ways: (1)
a rebuttable presumption when the business owner shows membership
in a traditionally recognized racial minority group or shows
personal disadvantage due to color, ethnic origin, gender,
physical disability, long-term residence in an environment
isolated from the mainstream of American society, location
in an area of high unemployment; or (2) by some other showing
of personal disadvantage not common to most other small
business persons; or (3) by business location in a qualified
census tract; and
iii. Business disadvantage based on economic and business
size thresholds and eligibility criteria designed to stimulate
economic development through contract awards to businesses
located in qualified census tracks.
D. Establish standards to determine when a business should
be graduated from eligibility for the EDGE program as a result
of achieving success to such a degree that the benefits of
a state-sponsored program are no longer necessary and the
business can no longer be fairly considered to be disadvantaged.
Businesses should also be removed after a period of time,
whether or not they have graduated from the program, subject
to the following:
i. Those standards that determine success on an economic
basis shall be adjusted to reflect inflation and market
fluctuation;
ii. Graduation or removal in cases of family-owned businesses
should be judged on their individual merits and not be based
on a previous owner/family member's business success;
iii. A program extension of two years shall be provided
even though the business has graduated, provided the owner
participates in mentoring, partnering or joint venturing
with a new program participant; and
iv. A business removed for non-disciplinary reasons or
graduated from the program may re-enter the program after
one year, provided that it meets all eligibility requirements.
E. Develop by January 2005 a process for evaluating and adjusting
the initial agency benchmark of 5% established in section
7(E) of this Order. Determine what adjustments are necessary
to tailor participation goals to EDGE contractor availability
for subcontractor participation in construction contracts
and contractor or subcontractor participation in other agency
and DAS procurements within the parameters described in Section
1 of this Order.
F. Establish a point or weighted system for evaluating proposal-based
solicitations to ensure appropriate levels of EDGE contractor
or subcontractor participation in the procurement of professional
design services, information technology services and request
for proposal procurements.
G. Establish a system to disaggregate procurement data so
that the data can be tracked and analyzed by each certification
category to avoid internal disparity among Program participants.
H. Establish a waiver mechanism to waive program goals or
participation requirements for those companies that, despite
their best-documented efforts, are unable to contract with
certified EDGE participants.
I. Establish a conciliation process to mediate complaints
and to review certification appeals of EDGE Program participants.
J. Establish a process for monitoring overall program compliance
in which agency Equal Employment Opportunity officers shall
be primarily responsible for the monitoring of their respective
agencies.
K. Implement, in conjunction with the Ohio Departments of
Development and Transportation, an outreach and education
program that includes agency training and an aggressive recruiting
component to assure that all disadvantaged businesses that
might be eligible to compete for Ohio's contracting and procurement
dollars become certified to do so.
L. Establish a system to assist all other cabinet-level state
agencies in identifying and utilizing EDGE participants in
their contracting processes, including:
i. A process to assist agencies in goal setting and waivers
for their competitive procurements;
ii. The establishment of a standardized record keeping
system to assist agencies in reporting and tracking their
EDGE expenditures;
iii. The identification of data necessary for tracking
and evaluating program success including, where necessary,
subcontractor data;
iv. A process for uniform data collection; and
v. The creation of sample record keeping and data collection
forms.
M. Implement a system of self-reporting, as well as periodic
on-site inspections, which will ensure that businesses registered
as EDGE participants are actually owned and operated by individuals
who are economically and socially disadvantaged.
N. Provide to me, by December 31, 2003, and by December 31
of each year thereafter, a detailed report outlining and evaluating
progress made in implementing this executive order.
6. The Ohio Department of Development shall:
A. Conduct outreach, marketing and recruitment of EDGE Program
participants.
B. Provide assistance to the Department of Administrative
Services, as needed, to certify new program participants and
to train state agency procurement staff.
C. Provide business development services to program participants
in the developmental and transitional stages of the program,
including financial and bonding assistance and management
and technical assistance.
D. Develop a mentor-protegé program to bring non-disadvantaged
businesses into a working relationship with EDGE Program participants
in a way that commercially benefits all involved.
E. Provide a report to me, by December 31, 2003, and by December
31 each year thereafter, on the progress of their assistance
in the implementation of this executive order.
7. Every cabinet-level state agency shall, within the constraints
of statutory authority and as otherwise provided by law:
A. Take appropriate steps to foster, support and encourage
the participation of historically underutilized businesses
and encourage such businesses to compete for construction
contracts and the procurement of goods and services by including
a participation goal for construction contracts and requests
for proposals when subcontractors or sub-consultants are used.
B. Review its projected annual procurements to determine,
based on EDGE Program participant availability, which procurements
will be designated as eligible for EDGE. Once participation
goals are established, monitor and report program compliance
to the Department of Administrative Services.
C. Examine its internal agency procurement policies, procedures
and practices and remove those elements that adversely impact
small and minority-owned or women-owned businesses.
D. Examine and eliminate all unnecessary barriers to equitable
participation, including, but not limited to, the following
items: bonding and licensing requirements, excessive experience
requirements, massive procurements (unbundling contracts when
practicable), use of proprietary specifications and other
procurement-related requirements.
E. Beginning in 2003, set an initial goal that approximately
5% of eligible direct expenditures in the areas of construction,
goods and services, be awarded to EDGE Program participants.
F. Provide the Department of Administrative Services' Equal
Opportunity Division with quarterly reports and annual projections
on EDGE utilization.
Neither this Executive Order nor the EDGE Program created thereunder
is intended to replace, modify or otherwise supersede the requirements
of Ohio's Minority Business Enterprise (MBE) set-aside Program found
in section 125.081 et seq. of the Revised Code.
Effective with this order, I revoke Executive Order 97-14V and
all Executive Orders issued that are inconsistent with this Order.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have Hereunto Subscribed my name and Caused
the Great Seal of the State of Ohio to be affixed at Columbus, Ohio
this ___ day of December, Two Thousand and Two.
_____________________________ Bob Taft, Governor
ATTEST:
_______________________
Secretary of State
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