10115.15
. (a) Notwithstanding Section 10115.2, when awarding
contracts for materials, supplies, or equipment, including electronic
data processing goods and services, an awarding department shall
accept the submission by a bidder of a minority, women, and disabled
veteran business enterprise utilization plan that has been approved
prior to the solicitation due date by the Department of General
Services. A business utilization plan shall be considered approved by
the Department of General Services as of the date submitted to the
department so long as the plan meets the minimum criteria established
in paragraphs (1) to (12), inclusive, and shall be valid for a
period of one year, unless the department has audited the utilization
plan, as authorized under subdivision (b), and disapproves it for
reasons specified under subdivision (c). The decision of whether to
establish a minority, women, and disabled veteran business enterprise
utilization plan shall be at the option of the vendor. If a bidder
cites an approved utilization plan in response to the minority,
women, and disabled veteran business enterprise participation
requirements of a solicitation that calls for 15 percent
minority-owned, 5 percent women-owned, and 3 percent disabled
veteran-owned business participation, then that utilization plan
shall be considered responsive to the participation goals of the
solicitation document. If a solicitation specifies higher
participation goals than those in the bidder's utilization plan, the
bidder shall meet the goals in the solicitation. At a minimum, the
utilization plan shall include the following information:
(1) A statement of the vendor's minority, women, and disabled
veteran business enterprise utilization plan, including the primary
objectives of the utilization plan.
(2) An explanation showing sufficient business reasons why the
vendor did not meet minority, women, and disabled veteran business
enterprise participation goals set forth in the vendor's minority,
women, and disabled veteran business utilization plan submitted to,
and approved by, the Department of General Services in the previous
year, if applicable. Further, if the vendor did not meet the
minority, women, and disabled veteran business participation goals in
the previous year, the vendor shall also identify remedial steps it
will take to meet the goals in the current utilization plan.
(3) A statement of the vendor's minority, women, and disabled
veteran business utilization goals for the succeeding year. At a
minimum, these utilization goals shall be equal to the statewide
participation goals set forth in subdivision (c) of Section 10115.
(4) Estimated total dollars to be subcontracted by the vendor for
sales within the United States for the succeeding year.
(5) Estimated total dollars to be subcontracted by the vendor for
sales within the State of California for the succeeding year.
(6) Total dollars expressed as a percentage of the amount
estimated pursuant to paragraph (4), intended to be subcontracted
with each of the following:
(A) Minority business enterprises.
(B) Women business enterprises.
(7) Total dollars, expressed as a percentage of the amount
estimated pursuant to paragraph (5), intended to be subcontracted
with disabled veteran-owned business enterprises.
(8) A representative listing of the products and services that the
vendor anticipates subcontracting, including an identification of
the types of subcontracting planned for minority, women, and disabled
veteran business enterprises.
(9) The name of the individual employed by the vendor who will
administer the vendor's utilization plan, including a description of
the duties of the individual.
(10) A description of the efforts that the vendor will undertake
to ensure that minority, women, and disabled veteran business
enterprises will have an equitable opportunity to compete for
contracts.
(11) A listing of the records and reports that the vendor will
maintain to demonstrate the practices and procedures that have been
adopted to comply with the requirements and goals of the utilization
plan.
(12) Affirmation that the vendor met the statewide minority,
women, and disabled veteran business enterprise utilization goals for
the previous year, if applicable.
(b) The Department of General Services shall conduct random audits
of the submitted utilization plans to determine compliance with this
article, and shall retain on file all submitted utilization plans
for auditing purposes. During any audit of a submitted utilization
plan, the Department of General Services may ask a vendor to submit a
list of all the minority, women, and disabled veteran business
enterprises included as subcontractors in the vendor's plan for the
previous year. This information shall remain confidential. Nothing in
this section shall be construed to require the Department of General
Services to audit all of the minority, women, and disabled veteran
business enterprise utilization plans submitted by individual
vendors. The Department of General Services may establish appropriate
fees to cover the actual costs of conducting random audits and
retaining on file all submitted plans.
(c) (1) At any time, the Department of General Services may
disapprove a vendor's minority, women, and disabled veteran business
enterprise utilization plan for any of the following reasons:
(A) The utilization plan fails to evidence a vendor's intention to
comply fully with the statewide minority, women, and disabled
veteran business enterprise goals for the succeeding year, as
indicated by failure of the utilization plan to contain the
information specified in subdivision (a).
(B) The utilization plan fails to evidence sufficient business
reasons for failure to achieve the minority, women, and disabled
veteran business enterprise goals set forth in a utilization plan
submitted in the previous year, if applicable.
(C) The utilization plan fails to evidence sufficient remedial
steps the vendor will take if the vendor did not meet the minority,
women, and disabled veteran business participation goals in the
previous year, if applicable.
(2) If a vendor's utilization plan is disapproved, the vendor may
not submit a new utilization plan to the department for a period of
one year from the date of disapproval. Prior to disapproval of a
vendor's utilization plan, the vendor shall be entitled to a public
hearing and to five days' notice of the time and place thereof. The
notice shall state the reasons for the hearing.
(3) A vendor that submits a minority, women, and disabled veteran
business utilization plan that is approved by the Department of
General Services, and that is subsequently awarded a contract to
which the vendor would not otherwise have been entitled, and who
fails to evidence intention to fully comply with the minority, women,
and disabled veteran business enterprise goals in the utilization
plan, or fails to evidence sufficient business reasons for failing to
achieve the minority, women, and disabled veteran business
enterprise goals set forth in the utilization plan, shall:
(A) Pay to the state any difference between the contract amount
and what the state's cost would have been if the contract had been
properly awarded.
(B) In addition to the amount specified in subparagraph (A), be
assessed a penalty in an amount of not more than 10 percent of the
amount of the contract involved.
(C) Be ineligible to transact any business with the state for a
period of not less than three months and not more than 24 months.
Prior to imposition of any sanction under this chapter, the
contractor or vendor shall be entitled to a public hearing and to
five days' notice of the time and place thereof. The notice shall
state the reasons for the hearing.