With the ascension of newly minted Gov. Abigail Spanberger, Democrats in the Virginia Legislature have lost no time in introducing a bill that, if enacted, would officially codify racism in the Old Dominion.
These legislators must have missed the day in school when we learned about the Civil War.
In any event, for those who may not be “in the know” when it comes to government contracting, governments consume goods and services, just as any other firm or institution does. This includes the relatively simple services like landscaping or janitorial needs, to the more specialized, like IT hardware and cybersecurity consulting.
The new Virginia legislation, HB61 (the “Small SWaM Business Procurement Enhancement Program”), establishes a statewide goal of awarding 42% of government contracts to “certified small SWaM businesses.”
Now, if you are a regular human not well-acquainted with George Orwell-speak, you might be wondering what “SWaM” stands for. If so, you are in good company.
SWaM stands for “Small, Women-owned, and Minority-owned businesses.”
Because in the leftist world, the color of your skin or sex is a more important business consideration than the quality of your product, services, or personal perseverance.
In addition to creating yet another layer of state bureaucracy (the “Division of Procurement Enhancement within the Department of Small Business and Supplier Diversity”), HB61 effectively bars white men from bidding on state contracts under $100,000.
And then, even if a white male business owner is lucky enough to be competitive on a contract over that already high threshold, the state can still award the contract to a minority business owner whose bid is 5% higher than that of a white male business owner.
In other words, if enacted, this bill would require Virginia state agencies be racist in who they do business with.
We are a long way from 1865.
Depressingly, if Virginia approves this bill, it would not be breaking new ground but joining a bevy of other states with similarly discriminatory government contracting requirements.
Under Ohio’s “Minority Business Enterprise” program (MBE), 15% of all government contracts are set aside for “minority business enterprises,” which is shorthand for “non-white.” Specifically, Blacks or African Americans, American Indians, Hispanics or Latinos, and Asians.
A further 5% of state government contracts in Ohio are set aside for the “Encouraging Diversity Growth and Equity” program (EDGE), which defines disadvantaged not only according to the above racial categories in which non-white is automatically assumed to equal disadvantage, but also women (seemingly, both those with and without the necessary female anatomy).
The situation is equally depressing in Rhode Island, where 7.5% of government contracts must be awarded to MBEs (which here include the groups noted in Ohio, as well as Portuguese and American Indians), and 7.5% must be awarded to “Women Business Enterprises” (WBEs).
To Rhode Island’s credit, it at least appears that the “women” in question must actually be members of the female sex in order to qualify. Small favors.
Of course, the Equal Protection Project (EPP) is keeping an eye on HB61 in Virginia, as well as the laws already in effect in Ohio and Rhode Island.
If you or anyone you know has experienced racial discrimination in state government contracting because of your race or sex, please let us know by submitting your information on the linked form.
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