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Yesterday, the California High Speed Rail Authority (CHSRA) presented to its board the first draft of a policy to encourage small business and Disabled Veteran Business Enterprises (DVBE) to participate in project contracts.

The authority is aiming to achieve minimum contracting goals of 25 percent for small businesses and 3 percent for DVBE-owned businesses. The policy reflects CHSRA’s current practices; in FY2009-10, the authority reported small-business participation of 27.7 percent and DVBE participation of 7 percent for the nearly $18.5 million of contracts it awarded that year.

Federally funded projects currently do not have a small-business participation goal, according to CHSRA.

The authority also is developing an outreach program to encourage minority- and women-owned businesses to bid on contracts related to the state’s high-speed rail project. CHSRA is seeking to develop a policy that encourages broad participation while also adhering to state laws, which are race and gender neutral.