Public contracts: small business participation.

Existing law, the Small Business Procurement and Contract Act, requires the Director of General Services and the heads of other state agencies that enter into contracts for the provision of goods, services, and information technology and for the construction of state facilities to establish goals for the participation of small businesses in these contracts, to provide for small business preference in the award of these contracts, to give special consideration and special assistance to small businesses, and, whenever possible, to make awards to small businesses, as specified. This bill would, on and after July 1, 2011, authorize the Department of General Services to direct all state agencies, departments, boards, and commissions to establish the goal to achieve 25% small business participation in state procurements and contracts, to ensure that the state's procurement and contract processes are administered in order to meet or exceed the goal, and to report to the Director of General Services statistics regarding small business participation in his or her agency's procurements and contracts. The bill would authorize the Department of General Services to establish policies and procedures to monitor the progress of the agencies toward meeting the goal of 25% small business participation and to provide this information to the Office of Small Business Advocate. The bill would also authorize the Department of General Services to require a state agency, department, board, or commission that has not achieved its fiscal year goal to submit an implementation and corrective action plan and every year thereafter as long as that agency fails to meet or exceed the goal. The bill would also authorize the department to establish criteria for such a plan, as specified. The bill would authorize the department to undertake reasonable means to assist agencies in improving small business participation in their contracting.