Billions of dollars are at stake as California voters decide whether to overturn a ban on affirmative action for government contracting.
to abandon their affirmative action programs in the wake of Proposition 209’s passage resulted in losses for minority- and women-owned businesses of $30 million and $20 million a year, respectively, the study suggested.
Last month, the University of California, which spends $12 billion a year on contracts for goods and services, releasedBefore affirmative action was outlawed, 10.2% of UC’s spending went to “disadvantaged business enterprises,” which include Black-, Latino- and Asian-owned companies, and 5.7% to firms owned by women.Those numbers dropped to 2.79% and 1.85%, respectively, by fiscal 2019, according to the report.
At the same time, contracts for purely state-funded roads — $7.8 billion over the same period — were not covered by any race- or gender-based outreach rules given that Caltrans’ “minority- and women-owned business enterprise” goals were disbanded in 1997.Large city public works must also take affirmative action if they get federal funds. As a result, Los Angeles’is directing 24% of its $340 million in construction contracts to Black-, Latino-, Asian- and women-owned businesses.
“Structural racism is real,” Good said. “Los Angeles is a giant economic engine, and we can play a big role in ameliorating that.”
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