AN ORDINANCE directing City Departments to use available tools to promote race and gender equity in contracting.

BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY OF SEATTLE AS FOLLOWS:

Section 1. Findings. The City Council finds the following: 1. Race and gender discrimination continues to create barriers for minority-owned and women-owned businesses in the City.

2. When the effects of historical and present day race and gender discrimination are overcome, those firms doing business with the City should be expected to proportionately represent the range of available contractors within the City.

3. The passage of Initiative-200 has prohibited the City from using race and gender-based preferences as methods to remedy this discrimination.

4. Economic justice is served by using all available means to enhance competitive opportunities for minority-owned and women-owned businesses.

5. The City must continue to comply with state and federal requirements of affirmative action to address the effects of race and gender discrimination.

Section 2. Goal. It is an important goal of the City that, as soon as possible, the effects of race and gender discrimination be overcome so that the races and genders of the citizens of the City are fairly represented by those who do business with the City.

Section 3. City departments should strive to use all legal means to see that minority-owned and women-owned businesses do not face unfair barriers in their competition for City contracts and in their successful performance of those contracts. Efforts by City departments should include: a. Advertising and information-sharing that extend beyond traditional media and networks. b. Use of small contract rosters to provide new avenues of access to City contracts.

c. Design and packaging of contracts and projects so that small emerging contractors can realistically compete for, and successfully perform them.

d. Flexibility in bonding, insurance, and retainage so as to minimize the effects of financial and economic discrimination against minorityowned and women-owned businesses.

e. Assist victims of discrimination in pursuing enforcement of antidiscrimination laws.

f. Monitor and report the availability and utilization of minorityowned and women-owned firms on City contracts.

Section 4. Departments shall comply with RCW 35.22.650, which requires that City contracts for any public work or improvement contain provisions requiring the contractor to: a. Actively solicit the employment of members of minority groups; b. Actively solicit bids for the subcontracting of goods or services from qualified minority businesses; c. Furnish evidence of compliance with the requirements of minority employment and solicitation; d. Consider the grant of subcontracts to said minority bidders on the basis of substantially equal proposals in the light most favorable to said minority businesses.

Section 5. This ordinance shall take effect and be in force thirty (30) days from and after its approval by the Mayor, but if not approved and returned by the Mayor within ten (10) days after presentation, it shall take effect as provided by Municipal Code Section 1.04.020.

Passed by the City Council the _____ day of ____________, 1999, and signed by me in open session in authentication of its passage this _____ day of _________________, 1999.

_____________________________________

President _______ of the City Council

Approved by me this _____ day of _________________, 1999.

___________________________________________

Mayor

Filed by me this _____ day of ____________________, 1999.

___________________________________________

City Clerk

(Seal)

JGJ/peyer July 27, 1999 CONTR-EQ (Ver. 2 ) 3