§ 16-b. Minority and women-owned business enterprise program. 1. a. In
the performance of projects pursuant to this act minority and
women-owned business enterprises shall be given the opportunity for
meaningful participation. The agency shall establish measures and
procedures to secure meaningful participation and identify those
contracts and items of work for which minority and women-owned business
enterprises may best bid to actively and affirmatively promote and
assist their participation in the projects, so as to facilitate the
award of a fair share of contracts to such enterprises; provided,
however, that nothing in this act shall be construed to limit the
ability of the agency to assure that qualified minority and women-owned
business enterprises may participate in the program. For purposes
hereof, minority business enterprise shall mean any business enterprise
which is at least fifty-one per centum owned by, or in the case of a
publicly owned business, at least fifty-one per centum of the stock of
which is owned by citizens or permanent resident noncitizens who are
Black, Hispanic, Asian or American Indian, Pacific Islander or Alaskan
natives and such ownership interest is real, substantial and continuing
and have the authority to independently control the day to day business
decisions of the entity for at least one year; and women-owned business
enterprise shall mean any business enterprise which is at least
fifty-one per centum owned by, or in the case of a publicly owned
business, at least fifty-one per centum of the stock of which is owned
by citizens or permanent resident noncitizens who are women, and such
ownership interest is real, substantial and continuing and have the
authority to independently control the day to day business decisions of
the entity for at least one year.

The provisions of this paragraph shall not be construed to limit the
ability of any minority or women-owned business enterprise to bid on any
contract.

b. In the implementation of this section, the agency shall consider
compliance by any contractor with the requirements of any federal,
state, or local law concerning minority and women-owned business
enterprises, which may effectuate the requirements of this section. If
the department or the office determines that by virtue of the imposition
of the requirements of any such law, in respect to contracts, the
provisions thereof duplicate or conflict with this act, the agency may
waive the applicability of this section to the extent of such
duplication or conflict.

c. Nothing in this section shall be deemed to require that overall
state and federal requirements for participation of minority and
women-owned business enterprises in programs authorized under this act
be applied without regard to local circumstances to all projects or in
all communities.

2. In order to implement the requirements and objectives of this
section, the agency shall establish procedures to monitor the
contractors' compliance with provisions hereof, provide assistance in
obtaining competing qualified minority and women-owned business
enterprises to perform contracts proposed to be awarded, and take other
appropriate measures to improve the access of minority and women-owned
business enterprises to these contracts.