1. a. In the performance of projects pursuant to this article minority and women-owned business enterprises shall be given the opportunity for meaningful participation. The department or the office shall establish measures and procedures to secure meaningful participation and identify those contracts and items of work for which minority and women-owned business enterprises may best bid to actively and affirmatively promote and assist their participation in the projects, so as to facilitate the award of a fair share of contracts to such enterprises; provided, however, that nothing in this article shall be construed to limit the ability of the department or office to assure that qualified minority and women-owned business enterprises may participate in the program. For purposes hereof, minority business enterprise shall mean any business enterprise which is at least fifty-one per centum owned by, or in the case of a publicly owned business, at least fifty-one per centum of the stock of which is owned by citizens or permanent resident aliens who are Black, Hispanic, Asian or American Indian, Pacific Islander or Alaskan natives and such ownership interest is real, substantial and continuing and have the authority to independently control the day to day business decisions of the entity for at least one year; and women-owned business enterprise shall mean any business enterprise which is at least fifty-one per centum owned by, or in the case of a publicly owned business, at least fifty-one per centum of the stock of which is owned by citizens or permanent resident aliens who are women, and such ownership interest is real, substantial and continuing and have the authority to independently control the day to day business decisions of the entity for at least one year.

The provisions of this paragraph shall not be construed to limit the ability of any minority or women-owned business enterprise to bid on any contract.

b. In the implementation of this section, the department or the office shall consider compliance by any contractor with the requirements of any federal, state, or local law concerning minority and women-owned business enterprises, which may effectuate the requirements of this section. If the department or the office determines that by virtue of the imposition of the requirements of any such law, in respect to capital project contracts, the provisions thereof duplicate or conflict with such law, the department may waive the applicability of this section to the extent of such duplication or conflict.

c. Nothing in this section shall be deemed to require that overall state and federal requirements for participation of minority and women-owned business enterprises in programs authorized under this article be applied without regard to local circumstances to all projects or in all communities.

2. In order to implement the requirements and objectives of this section, the department and the office shall establish procedures to monitor the contractors' compliance with provisions hereof, provide assistance in obtaining competing qualified minority and women-owned business enterprises to perform contracts proposed to be awarded, and take other appropriate measures to improve the access of minority and women-owned business enterprises to these contracts.