TCA § 12-3-1104 — Active solicitation of bids and proposals required

All state agencies are required to actively solicit bids and proposals for equipment, supplies, personal services, professional services, consulting services, construction contracts, and architectural and engineering services from a minority-owned business, woman-owned business, service-disabled veteran-owned business, business owned by persons with disabilities, or small business in order to strive to obtain a fair proportion of procurements from any minority-owned business, woman-owned business, service-disabled veteran-owned business, business owned by persons with disabilities, or small business. The amount of fair proportion shall be recommended annually by the governor's office of diversity business enterprises to the procurement commission for its review and approval. In annually determining the amount of fair proportion, the procurement commission shall establish, based on the recommendation of the governor's office of diversity business enterprises, a separate amount of fair proportion for each of the five (5) subcategories of businesses identified in § 12-3-1102: minority-owned businesses, woman-owned businesses, service-disabled veteran-owned businesses, businesses owned by persons with disabilities, and small businesses. Nothing in this part establishes any mandatory goal or quota with respect to minority-owned businesses, woman-owned businesses, service-disabled veteran-owned businesses, businesses owned by persons with disabilities, or small businesses. Procurements shall not be deemed to be from either minority-owned business, woman-owned business, service-disabled veteran-owned business, business owned by persons with disabilities, or small business if the business with which such contracting is done is owned by or is under the controlling interest of another business which exceeds the limitations of § 12-3-1103. No minority-owned business, woman-owned business, service-disabled veteran-owned business, business owned by persons with disabilities, or small business to which a contract has been awarded shall subcontract any portion of such contract with any business which exceeds the limitations of § 12-3-1103 and continue to maintain eligibility under this part without express approval of the chief procurement officer. As used in subsection (a), “actively solicit bids and proposals” may include contacting the governor's office of diversity business enterprises; reviewing compiled directories of a minority-owned business, woman-owned business, service-disabled veteran-owned business, business owned by persons with disabilities, or small business; purchasing publication of notices within newspapers of general circulation or through electronic media; and inviting any minority-owned business, woman-owned business, service-disabled veteran-owned business, business owned by persons with disabilities, or small business to submit bids or to obtain information pertaining to the submission of bids.