The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(a) It is in the state’s interest to encourage competitive business opportunities for all of its people. Hospitals are uniquely positioned to build relationships within the communities they serve through the development, inclusion, and utilization of certified minority, women, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT), and disabled veteran business enterprises whenever possible. National companies are able to leverage buying power to save costs to the benefit of patients.
(b) By providing that each major hospital submit to the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development a report explaining the hospital’s supplier diversity statement and expressing its goals regarding certified minority, women, LGBT, and disabled veteran business enterprises, and the office placing that information on the office’s internet website, that online resource will help facilitate these supplier relationships.
(Added by Stats. 2019, Ch. 815, Sec. 1. (AB 962) Effective January 1, 2020.)