The U.S. Dept. of Transportation is planning to revise its regulations covering disadvantaged business enterprises in an effort to help those small businesses better compete for contracts on aviation, highway and transit projects with federal funding.
DOT published a notice of proposed rulemaking in the Federal Register July 21 outlining the proposed changes. The DBE program is aimed at preventing discrimination and righting the ongoing impacts of historic discrimination. The proposal would clarify the official department definition of a “disadvantaged business enterprise” to align with its current guidance. Businesses that qualify as a DBE under the DOT’s regulations are at least 51% owned and controlled by someone who is a member of a historically disadvantaged group, including women, Black Americans, Hispanic Americans, Native Americans, Asian-Pacific Americans and Subcontinent Asian-Pacific Americans.