Statewide and interlocal agreement on certification of business concerns for the status of minority business enterprise.

The statewide and interlocal agreement on certification of business concerns for the status of minority business enterprise is hereby enacted and entered into with all jurisdictions or organizations legally joining therein. If, within 2 years from the date that the certification core criteria are approved by the Department of Management Services, the agreement included herein is not executed by a majority of county and municipal governing bodies that administer a minority business assistance program on the effective date of this act, then the Legislature shall review this agreement. It is the intent of the Legislature that if the agreement is not executed by a majority of the requisite governing bodies, then a statewide uniform certification process should be adopted, and that said agreement should be repealed and replaced by a mandatory state government certification process.

ARTICLE I

PURPOSE, FINDINGS, AND POLICY.—

(1) The parties to this agreement, desiring by common action to establish a uniform certification process in order to reduce the multiplicity of applications by business concerns to state and local governmental programs for minority business assistance, declare that it is the policy of each of them, on the basis of cooperation with one another, to remedy social and economic disadvantage suffered by certain groups, resulting in their being historically underutilized in ownership and control of commercial enterprises. Thus, the parties seek to address this history by increasing the participation of the identified groups in opportunities afforded by government procurement.

(2) The parties find that the State of Florida presently certifies firms for participation in the minority business assistance programs of the state. The parties find further that some counties, municipalities, school boards, special districts, and other divisions of local government require a separate, yet similar, and in most cases redundant certification in order for businesses to participate in the programs sponsored by each government entity.

(3) The parties find further that this redundant certification has proven to be unduly burdensome to the minority-owned firms intended to benefit from the underlying purchasing incentives.

(4) The parties agree that:

(a) They will facilitate integrity, stability, and cooperation in the statewide and interlocal certification process, and in other elements of programs established to assist minority-owned businesses.

(b) They shall cooperate with agencies, organizations, and associations interested in certification and other elements of minority business assistance.

(c) It is the purpose of this agreement to provide for a uniform process whereby the status of a business concern may be determined in a singular review of the business information for these purposes, in order to eliminate any undue expense, delay, or confusion to the minority-owned businesses in seeking to participate in the minority business assistance programs of state and local jurisdictions.