Yet to complete his first year in office, Massachusetts Republican Gov. Charlie Baker has issued an executive order for affirmative action for LGBT-owned businesses, thus mandating that the state's Supplier Diversity Program (SDP) target a portion of its billion-dollar spending to one of the wealthiest minorities (the sexually deviant), and therefore de-emphasizing preferences for disadvantaged minority groups of common parlance (blacks, hispanics, women, etc.).
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-- From "Gov. Baker Expanding Opportunities For Disabled, LGBT Businesses" by The Associated Press 11/3/15
Baker on Tuesday announced changes to a state program to ensure that companies bidding on contracts come from a wide range of backgrounds.
Baker said his administration is committed to ensuring diversity as the state works with business suppliers and contractors to extend economic prosperity to more communities throughout Massachusetts.
Baker said the changes include what he described as a first-in-the-nation LGBT-owned business certification partnership between the state and the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce’s certification process which he said is recognized by many Fortune 1000 companies.
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From "Baker administration expands affirmative action for state contracting" by Eric Convey, Senior staff reporter, Boston Business Journal 11/3/15
The changes are part of the state's Supplier Diversity Program, which uses internal rules for agencies, and contracting power with vendors, to send work to companies whose owners have certain demographic certifications. Those certifications come in some cases from government entities and in other cases from private organizations. . . .
In dealings with vendors, the preferences are reflected during the bidding process. Generally, the state won't sign contracts with companies that haven't certified that they're either owned by members of specific groups or themselves do business with companies owned by members of certain groups. Companies that fail to make good on those commitments can be excluded from future deals with the state.
While factoring demographics into contracting decisions is longstanding practice for Massachusetts, the state may be the first in the country to single out LGBT-owned businesses for preferential treatment.
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From "Massachusetts Takes Lead on Next Frontier of LGBT Rights" by Claire Zillman, Fortune 11/3/15
The state introduced the diversity initiative in 2010 as a way to provide minority- and women-owned businesses with equal access to state contract bidding processes for construction, design, goods, and services. In 2013, businesses owned by service-disabled veterans were added to the mix.
The new policy is the result of a year of talks between the governor’s office and the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce, which will certify businesses as LGBT-owned for the state, according to Jonathan Lovitz, the NGLCC’s vice president of external affairs. (Such a classification requires that 51% or more of a company is owned by lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender individuals.)
The executive order recognizing LGBT-owned businesses is the only statewide initiative of its kind, but the NGLCC has made inroads at the local level. . . .
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From "Gov. Charlie Baker to help women, minority, veteran, LGBT-owned businesses get state contracts" by Shira Schoenberg, The Republican (Springfield, Mass.) 11/3/15
Under former Gov. Deval Patrick [Democrat], Massachusetts established a "supplier diversity program." The program provided technical assistance to businesses owned by women, minorities and disabled veterans. It required any contractor bidding on a state project that cost more than $150,000 to commit to spending a percentage of the money on diverse subcontractors or suppliers. This gave women and minority-owned businesses a competitive edge in getting work from state contracts. In fiscal year 2014, businesses certified under the supplier diversity program received $991 million in state contracts, out of approximately $4 billion in total state spending on goods and services.
Baker also announced plans to create new categories that will benefit from the supplier diversity program – businesses owned by gays and lesbians and businesses owned by people with disabilities. The state will first determine how many businesses fit those categories before setting goals for how much money must be spent with them.
The changes will apply to state contracts for goods and services. Baker plans to announce additional changes for construction contracts in the future.
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From "Governor expands diversity program for businesses" by Joshua Miller, Boston Globe Staff 11/3/15
“We should be a leader, not a laggard when it comes to creating opportunities for diverse businesses to support and service the people of the Commonwealth,” Baker said, with a notably diverse crowd of people — gay and straight; black, brown, and white; women and men — standing behind him on the Grand Staircase of the State House.
The program — which helps certain groups gain preferential access to state spending — and its expansion may seem at odds with traditional Republican orthodoxy. But speaking to reporters, Baker insisted that it does not give anyone a leg up, but rather just levels the playing field for all.
Groups of people considered disadvantaged include African Americans, Cape Verdeans, Hispanics, Asian Americans, American Indians, Eskimos, and Aleuts.
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From "Mass. Gov. Mandates Nation's First Affirmative Action Program for LGBT Contractors" by Zachary Leshin, CNSNews.com 11/12/15
[Gov. Baker's] executive order was criticized by Brian Camenker, executive director of MassResistance, a Massachusetts-based pro-family activist organization.
“Republican Gov. Charlie Baker's order including homosexual owned businesses in Massachusetts's Supplier Diversity Program is just one more example of our government being used to promote a narrow ideological agenda at the expense of the taxpayers,” Camenker said in response to a question from CNSNews.com asking him for MassResistance’s official position regarding the governor’s executive order.
“Even his far-left predecessor, Deval Patrick, did not go this far,” he added.
“When Baker told the Boston Globe that he was ‘to the left of Barack Obama on social issues’ a lot of people didn’t take him seriously. They certainly do now.”
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