Amador County - A federal judge upheld a California Department of Transportation program that supports businesses owned by minorities and women, in a ruling announced April 6.

Matt Rocco, public information officer at Caltrans headquarters in Sacramento announced the results of the ruling recently, saying it was a "victory" for Cal-Trans. A U.S. District Court judge affirmed that the Caltrans "Disadvantaged Business Enterprises Program" was "clearly constitutional."

Rocco said Caltrans implements a Disadvantaged Business Enterprise Program "as a condition of receiving $3 billion in federal transportation funding annually. The program ensures a level playing field for disadvantaged and small businesses competing for public contracts."

Caltrans Director Cindy McKim said: "This decision affirms that Caltrans' efforts to level the playing field are constitutionally sound and will ensure that billions of dollars in federal transportation funds continue flowing to California."

Kim said: "We will continue to reach out to disadvantaged businesses and hope our program serves as a model for other states to follow."

In 2005, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, in a ruling on "Western States Paving vs. Washington State Department of Transportation," provided new guidance to states on implementation of Disadvantaged Business Enterprise programs. Rocco said "in response, Caltrans conducted a study to identify the existence and scope of discrimination, if any, in the highway transportation contracting industry in California."

The study was completed in 2007 and identified significant disparities in contract dollars awarded to firms owned by African-Americans, Asian Pacific- Americans, Native Americans, and women. To address those disparities, Caltrans proposed the use of both race-neutral and race-conscious means in its contracting programs.

In 2009, the Federal Highway Administration approved the proposal, which includes an overall goal of 13.5 percent Disadvantaged Business Enterprise Program involvement.

In June 2009, the Pacific Legal Foundation filed its complaint in federal court on behalf of Associated General Contractors of San Diego, asking the court to declare the Caltrans Disadvantaged Business Enterprise Program unconstitutional and order it halted. On March 23rd, Judge Mendez determined that the program satisfied constitutional requirements and denied the plaintiff's request.

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