FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
State Rep. Jake Wheatley D-Allegheny www.pahouse.com/Wheatley

Renewed push at Capitol for reforms to benefit

small businesses and minority-owned, women-owned businesses

HARRISBURG, Feb. 28 – State Rep. Jake Wheatley, D-Allegheny, joined with fellow legislators and business owners from across the state today in renewing the call to pass reform legislation benefiting small businesses and minority-owned, women-owned and disadvantaged-owned businesses across Pennsylvania.

"I was pleased the House passed this legislation – 189-0 – in the last session, but the Senate failed to act on it. So we are here as part of the second annual Minority/Women/Disadvantaged Businesses Lobby Day to advocate for enacting these reforms into law. We all know that small businesses are the backbone of our economy and they should play a key role in our economic recovery," Wheatley said at a Capitol news conference.

"As chairman of the House Select Committee on Minority, Women, and Disadvantaged Business Enterprise Inclusion in the last session, I traveled throughout Pennsylvania and heard from numerous small-business owners who expressed the need for our Commonwealth to change. The committee then developed a report and legislative package that we believe meets that demand. It is time to pass this historic initiative to provide greater inclusion of minority-, women-, and disadvantaged-owned businesses in state contracting."

The legislation is being reintroduced and is expected to include these provisions:

• Changing small business definition: would change the definition of "small business" in the Procurement Code (Title 62) by increasing the employee limit from 100 to 250 and adding a gross revenue limit of up to $45 million.

• Statewide bonding program: would create a statewide bonding program, which would enable small businesses and disadvantaged businesses to build capacity and to bid competitively on state and other public contracts.

• Agency oversight and responsibility: would require state agencies and state-affiliated agencies and state-owned universities to follow nine best practices to significantly increase contracting opportunities for disadvantaged businesses. The entities also would have to establish an aspirational target of 25 percent of their procurement and construction dollars going to disadvantaged businesses in all state contracts and grants.

• Cabinet-level secretary: would create the cabinet level position of secretary of minority and women business development.

• Mentor/protégé program: would establish a mentor/protégé program that would help small businesses to compete successfully for prime and subcontract awards by partnering with large companies as their mentors in state contracts.

• Reciprocity of certifications: would add a reciprocity of certifications section to the Procurement Code to create greater uniformity and consistency in the Commonwealth's certification process for minority-owned, women-owned and disadvantaged business enterprises.

• Small business reserve: would require state agencies and state-affiliated agencies and state-owned universities to set 10 percent of their procurement dollars into a small business reserve for award to qualified small businesses.

• Prime contractors' performance: would require prime contractors doing business with the state to provide documentation of a good-faith effort, including 13 such activities, to ensure their genuine attempt at meeting the state’s disadvantaged business subcontractor participation requirements. 

• Prompter payment: would tighten the prompt payment requirement for contractors and subcontractors in the Procurement Code by shortening the time frame from 14 days to five.

Wheatley was joined at the news conference by fellow legislators and these speakers, who will also be panelists at a roundtable discussion in the Capitol today:

• Nichol Giles, interim director, African American Chamber of Commerce, Philadelphia;
• Reginald Williams, author, facilitator and CEO, Procurement Resources Inc., and a consultant to corporate management and government, Atlanta;
• Anthony "Nick" Nichols, president/CEO of the Western Pennsylvania Minority Supplier Development Council, Pittsburgh;
• Kris Kirk, president and owner of Mentors Consulting and Training, Pittsburgh;
• Jeffery Lawrence, president/CEO of Forefront Construction, Pittsburgh;
• Patricia M. Gingrich, president/CEO and business owner, American Personnel Managers and Consultants Inc., Camp Hill; and
• Leland Nelson, president of the African American Chamber of Commerce, Harrisburg, and president and co-founder of Dirty Dog Hauling.