On Tuesday, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) announced it had finalized rules to modernize the Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) program and the Airport Concessions DBE (ACDBE) program regulations.
Officials said the rules would improve inclusion of small, disadvantaged businesses in Congressionally mandated programs for infrastructure opportunities and airport concessions. The rules aim to modernize existing principles to improve provisions for the benefit of program participants, reduce burdens, grow firm capacity and owner wealth, and improve program integrity, visibility and data collected by the DOT.
“Our Department believes in making sure that small and disadvantaged businesses, which have historically faced discrimination, can have a fair chance to compete for federally funded transportation work,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said. “Through this rule change, we’ve addressed many of the challenges DBEs and ACDBEs have faced over the years, and we’re excited that these businesses can now more efficiently and effectively compete for infrastructure projects and airport concessions – something that’s especially important now as President Biden leads the biggest investment in American infrastructure in generations.”
Changes made to the DBE and ACDBE include provisions that will have made a direct impact on eligible firms and the contractors that hire them, like streamlining the DBE and ACDBE certification and eligibility processes; adjusting the personal net worth (PNW) cap for inflation for small business owners; formalizing guidance establishing successful COVID-19 flexibilities; modernizing the rules for participation by DBE material suppliers; addressing specific distinctive issues with the ACDBE programs; replicating the DBE program’s small business element requirements for the ACDBE program and enhancing the ACDBE goal setting and reporting requirements.
Nationwide, the program is implemented by 53 departments of transportation, over 500 transit agencies, and 3,200 eligible airport sponsors, of which nearly 400 are also ACDBE programs. Officials said there are nearly 50,000 certified DBEs and 3,500 certified ACDBEs, and many participate on federally assisted aviation, highway and transit projects as well as airport concession opportunities in nearly every jurisdiction.