(a) Notwithstanding Section 10115.2, when awarding contracts for materials, supplies, or equipment, including electronic data processing goods and services, an awarding department shall accept the submission by a bidder of a minority, women, and disabled veteran business enterprise utilization plan that has been approved prior to the solicitation due date by the Department of General Services. A business utilization plan shall be considered approved by the Department of General Services as of the date submitted to the department so long as the plan meets the minimum criteria established in paragraphs (1) to (12), inclusive, and shall be valid for a period of one year, unless the department has audited the utilization plan, as authorized under subdivision (b), and disapproves it for reasons specified under subdivision (c). The decision of whether to establish a minority, women, and disabled veteran business enterprise utilization plan shall be at the option of the vendor. If a bidder cites an approved utilization plan in response to the minority, women, and disabled veteran business enterprise participation requirements of a solicitation that calls for 15 percent minority-owned, 5 percent women-owned, and 3 percent disabled veteran-owned business participation, then that utilization plan shall be considered responsive to the participation goals of the solicitation document. If a solicitation specifies higher participation goals than those in the bidder’s utilization plan, the bidder shall meet the goals in the solicitation. At a minimum, the utilization plan shall include the following information:

(1) A statement of the vendor’s minority, women, and disabled veteran business enterprise utilization plan, including the primary objectives of the utilization plan.

(2) An explanation showing sufficient business reasons why the vendor did not meet minority, women, and disabled veteran business enterprise participation goals set forth in the vendor’s minority, women, and disabled veteran business utilization plan submitted to, and approved by, the Department of General Services in the previous year, if applicable. Further, if the vendor did not meet the minority, women, and disabled veteran business participation goals in the previous year, the vendor shall also identify remedial steps it will take to meet the goals in the current utilization plan.

(3) A statement of the vendor’s minority, women, and disabled veteran business utilization goals for the succeeding year. At a minimum, these utilization goals shall be equal to the statewide participation goals set forth in subdivision (c) of Section 10115.

(4) Estimated total dollars to be subcontracted by the vendor for sales within the United States for the succeeding year.

(5) Estimated total dollars to be subcontracted by the vendor for sales within the State of California for the succeeding year.

(6) Total dollars expressed as a percentage of the amount estimated pursuant to paragraph (4), intended to be subcontracted with each of the following:

(A) Minority business enterprises.

(B) Women business enterprises.

(7) Total dollars, expressed as a percentage of the amount estimated pursuant to paragraph (5), intended to be subcontracted with disabled veteran-owned business enterprises.

(8) A representative listing of the products and services that the vendor anticipates subcontracting, including an identification of the types of subcontracting planned for minority, women, and disabled veteran business enterprises.

(9) The name of the individual employed by the vendor who will administer the vendor’s utilization plan, including a description of the duties of the individual.

(10) A description of the efforts that the vendor will undertake to ensure that minority, women, and disabled veteran business enterprises will have an equitable opportunity to compete for contracts.

(11) A listing of the records and reports that the vendor will maintain to demonstrate the practices and procedures that have been adopted to comply with the requirements and goals of the utilization plan.

(12) Affirmation that the vendor met the statewide minority, women, and disabled veteran business enterprise utilization goals for the previous year, if applicable.

(b) The Department of General Services shall conduct random audits of the submitted utilization plans to determine compliance with this article, and shall retain on file all submitted utilization plans for auditing purposes. During any audit of a submitted utilization plan, the Department of General Services may ask a vendor to submit a list of all the minority, women, and disabled veteran business enterprises included as subcontractors in the vendor’s plan for the previous year. This information shall remain confidential. Nothing in this section shall be construed to require the Department of General Services to audit all of the minority, women, and disabled veteran business enterprise utilization plans submitted by individual vendors. The Department of General Services may establish appropriate fees to cover the actual costs of conducting random audits and retaining on file all submitted plans.

(c) (1) At any time, the Department of General Services may disapprove a vendor’s minority, women, and disabled veteran business enterprise utilization plan for any of the following reasons:

(A) The utilization plan fails to evidence a vendor’s intention to comply fully with the statewide minority, women, and disabled veteran business enterprise goals for the succeeding year, as indicated by failure of the utilization plan to contain the information specified in subdivision (a).

(B) The utilization plan fails to evidence sufficient business reasons for failure to achieve the minority, women, and disabled veteran business enterprise goals set forth in a utilization plan submitted in the previous year, if applicable.

(C) The utilization plan fails to evidence sufficient remedial steps the vendor will take if the vendor did not meet the minority, women, and disabled veteran business participation goals in the previous year, if applicable.

(2) If a vendor’s utilization plan is disapproved, the vendor may not submit a new utilization plan to the department for a period of one year from the date of disapproval. Prior to disapproval of a vendor’s utilization plan, the vendor shall be entitled to a public hearing and to five days’ notice of the time and place thereof. The notice shall state the reasons for the hearing.

(3) A vendor that submits a minority, women, and disabled veteran business utilization plan that is approved by the Department of General Services, and that is subsequently awarded a contract to which the vendor would not otherwise have been entitled, and who fails to evidence intention to fully comply with the minority, women, and disabled veteran business enterprise goals in the utilization plan, or fails to evidence sufficient business reasons for failing to achieve the minority, women, and disabled veteran business enterprise goals set forth in the utilization plan, shall:

(A) Pay to the state any difference between the contract amount and what the state’s cost would have been if the contract had been properly awarded.

(B) In addition to the amount specified in subparagraph (A), be assessed a penalty in an amount of not more than 10 percent of the amount of the contract involved.

(C) Be ineligible to transact any business with the state for a period of not less than three months and not more than 24 months.

Prior to imposition of any sanction under this chapter, the contractor or vendor shall be entitled to a public hearing and to five days’ notice of the time and place thereof. The notice shall state the reasons for the hearing.

(Amended by Stats. 2009, 4th Ex. Sess., Ch. 19, Sec. 2. Effective July 28, 2009.)