Identification of small or certified business enterprises in bids or proposals; false statements on certification; penalties

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(a)(1) Except as otherwise provided by law, a beneficiary, certified business enterprise, certified joint venture, or an individual may not:

(A) Identify a small or certified business enterprise in a bid or proposal unless it:

(i) Has obtained authorization from the small or certified business enterprise to identify the small or certified business enterprise in its bid or proposal;

(ii) Has notified the small or certified business enterprise before execution of the contract of its inclusion in the bid or proposal; and

(iii) Uses the small or certified business enterprise in the performance of the contract; or

(B) Pay the small or certified business enterprise solely for the use of its name in the bid or proposal.

(2) A violation of any provision of this subsection is a felony and is subject to a fine not to exceed $15,000, imprisonment not to exceed 5 years, or both.

(b)(1) A beneficiary, certified business enterprise, certified joint venture, or an individual shall not make false statements about whether a business is certified by the Department as a certified business enterprise or a certified joint venture.

(2) A violation of this subsection is a misdemeanor and is subject to a fine not to exceed $5,000, imprisonment not to exceed one year, or both.

(Oct. 20, 2005, D.C. Law 16-33, § 2364; as added Apr. 20, 2010, D.C. Law 18-141, § 2(p), 57 DCR 1485; May 27, 2010, D.C. Law 18-159, § 2(f), 57 DCR 3006; June 10, 2014, D.C. Law 20-108, § 2(jj), 61 DCR 3892.)

Effect of Amendments

D.C. Law 18-159 rewrote subsec. (a)(1)(A)(i); and, in subsec. (a)(2), substituted “imprisonment not to exceed 5 years,” for “imprisonment,”. Prior to amendment, subsec. (a)(1)(A)(i) read as follows: “(i) Has requested, received, or otherwise obtained authorization from the certified business enterprise to identify the certified business enterprise in its bid or proposal;”.

The 2014 amendment by D.C. Law 20-108 rewrote the section.

Emergency Legislation

For temporary (90 days) repeal of D.C. Law 20-108, § 4(c), see § 7005 of the Fiscal Year 2015 Budget Support Emergency Act of 2014 (D.C. Act 20-377, July 14, 2014, 61 DCR 7598, 20 STAT 3696).

For temporary (90 days) repeal of D.C. Law 20-108, § 4(c), see § 7005 of the Fiscal Year 2015 Budget Support Congressional Review Emergency Act of 2014 (D.C. Act 20-449, October 10, 2014, 61 DCR 10915, 20 STAT 4188).

For temporary (90 days) repeal of D.C. Law 20-108, § 4(c), see § 7005 of the Fiscal Year 2015 Budget Support Second Congressional Review Emergency Act of 2014 (D.C. Act 20-566, January 9, 2015, 62 DCR 884, 21 STAT 541).

Editor's Notes

Applicability of D.C. Law 20-108: Section 4(a) of D.C. Law 20-108 provided that applications pending as of June 10, 2014, shall not be subject to the provisions of the act.

Section 4(b) of D.C. Law 20-108 provided that, except as provided in § 2-218.46(f), contracts existing or pending as of June 10, 2014, shall not be affected by the provisions of the act.

Section 4(c) of D.C. Law 20-108 provided that the act shall apply upon the inclusion of its fiscal effect in an approved budget and financial plan, as certified by the Chief Financial Officer to the Budget Director of the Council in a certification published by the Council in the District of Columbia Register.

Section 4(c) of D.C. Law 20-108 was repealed by D.C. Law 20-155, § 7005.


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