The City of Santa Clarita has adopted a Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) Program to support federally funded procurements. The City strongly encourages the participation of small and Disadvantaged Business Enterprises in its federally funded projects and this site is intended to provide assistance to such businesses. Information is also presented below for prime contractors about program requirements and identifying potential DBE subcontractors.
For Disadvantaged Business Enterprises
The procurement processes are designed to promote the incorporation of certified DBE businesses. To streamline the process of certification the State has formed the Unified Certification Program. Information on this program may be found at the following site:
http://www.dot.ca.gov/hq/bep/ucp.htm
Local public agencies that perform certifications may be found at the following site:
http://www.dot.ca.gov/hq/bep/documents/Roster_of_Certifying_Agencies.pdf
Application forms may be downloaded from:
http://www.dot.ca.gov/hq/bep/business_forms.htm
DBE contractors can monitor the City’s website for current projects to identify potential prime or subcontracting opportunities. Projects will indicate if they are federally funded in the description field. DBE contractors may download project notices and request planholder’s lists from the same point of contact listed for the plans and specifications.
For more information on available training and assistance please also visit www.buildcalifornia.org.
For Prime Contractors
Federally funded projects require affirmative action on the part of prime contractors to solicit and obtain participation by DBEs. Depending on the project, there may be a minimum level of DBE participation required. Where a minimum level of participation is required the contractor must meet that level to be awarded the contract unless a review of the “good faith” effort documentation required by the bid indicates the contractor satisfactorily complied with the requirements to obtain DBE participation. To assist prime contractors in identifying potential DBE subcontractors the State has implemented the Unified Certification Program (UCP) and maintains a database of certified firms. This database may be queried from the following site:
http://www.dot.ca.gov/hq/bep/dbe_query.htm
Beginning October 2009, DBE participation must be reported and tracked in two categories; regular DBEs and underutilized Disadvantaged Business Enterprises (UDBE). Project bids will identify the participation levels for each category. As a subset of DBEs, UDBEs are those firms that are woman, Black American, Asian-Pacific American or Native American owned. All necessary reporting forms will be provided in the bid package and must be submitted with the bid.
