Connecticut passes new provisions assisting MWBEs

CT News - Published Oct 02, 2023

The State of Connecticut has passed several new provisions as part of its budget which will aid minority- and woman-owned businesses (MWBEs) in doing business with the state. The Department of Administrative Services (DAS) highlighted the changes in a press release.

These changes include: raising the contract dollar amount threshold at which contractor prequalification is required from $500,000 to $1 million, thus making more contracts available to MWBEs by obviating the bonding requirements of prequalification for those contracts; updating reporting requirements for agency expenditures with MWBEs to ensure agencies can identify their set-aside goals earlier and easier; and increasing the contract dollar threshold for minor purchases from $10,000 to $25,000, and the posting requirement for purchases which must be bid competitively from $50,000 to $100,000, thus giving MWBEs a better shot at small contracts. All these changes go into effect in Connecticut on October 1st, 2023.

"We've now made it possible for a wider variety of Connecticut business contractors, including those owned by women and minority citizens, to bid for a wider variety of state projects without having to take on some expensive and burdensome bonding requirements," said state Senator Doug McCrory in a statement.

Find the press release from DAS at https://portal.ct.gov/DAS/Press-Room/Press-Releases/2023/SBE-Prequal-amount-change.