Baton Rouge – Notice is hereby given that the Goals and Conditions of the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development's Disadvantaged Business Enterprise Program are available for public inspection and/or comment during normal business hours for the next 45 days. They are available online (see below) and at the principal offices at 1201 Capitol Access Road, Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70802.
The department has established a goal of 9.5% for the Federal Highway Administration, 0% for the Federal Aviation Administration, and 0% for the Federal Transit Administration. The methodology and specific information about how the goals were established is available for review and comment for 45 days. These goals were established based on the DBE Program as mandated by the federal regulation governing the DBE Program, 49CFR26.
Louisiana DOTD - FAA DBE Goals
The Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development has established a state DBE goal of 0% for the Federal Aviation Administration for the year beginning October 1, 2004. Supporting methodology for the goal is as follows:
There are no anticipated FAA/LADOTD contracts to be awarded in this fiscal year. All FAA grant money is going directly to the individual airports in Louisiana , which are responsible for setting their own Disadvantaged Business Enterprise goals.
As required by the regulations, LADOTD will give notice of the goals. The notice will inform the public of the goals and describe how they were selected. The goals are available for inspection during normal business hours at LADOTD headquarters in Baton Rouge for 30 days following the notice and the Department will accept comments on the goal for 45 days from the date of the notice. If any changes in the goal are appropriate as a result of public comments received, we will resubmit our amended goal statement in accordance with the regulation.
Louisiana DOTD - FHWA DBE Goals
The Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development has submitted our annual DBE Goal for the federal 2005 fiscal year. With the approval of the DBE Task Force, which includes members representing the state, FHWA, prime contractors, DBE contractors, contractor organizations, and minority organizations (see attached list), we have established a single goal for federal aid construction and design contracts. Our proposed goal is 9.5 percent. This goal encompasses DBE utilization as prime contractors and consultants, as well as subcontractors and sub-consultants on federal aid projects.
Of the 1,595 firms on our database, 1,418 are non-DBE contractors and 177 are DBE contractors. The attached chart (Section 2) presents the method used to calculate the goal. The data base used in determining the base goal was established by drawing information from our bidders list which includes all firms bidding as prime contractors; our accounting system data on contractors, suppliers and consultants which have been paid for services to the department; the Louisiana Contractors Licensing Board data base of all firms licensed to perform Highway, Street and Bridge work in Louisiana; and from information submitted by prime contractors on firms which have quoted prices for sub-contractual work. We utilized the entire certified DBE listing as ready, willing and able. We believe that we have been diligent in identifying all ready, willing and able firms.
In Step One, the base figure of 11.1 % was calculated by dividing the total DBE companies by the total of ready, willing and able companies. The adjusted goal was determined by identifying the non-DBE companies and the DBE companies available in Engineering/Consultant contracts and in Construction Contracts (See the attached chart for numbers). The total programmed contract amount, $524 million, was taken from the State Transportation Improvements Program (STIP) data. That number is broken down into $24 million for engineering and consultant contracts, and $500 million in construction contracts.
All available firms were identified in these two categories and the number of DBE firms was divided by the total number of firms to determine a ratio in each area. We then calculated that $4.48 million of the total ($24 million) of engineering contracts should be awarded to DBE firms.
In Step Two, we found it necessary to consider an adjustment to reduce the total $500 million, based upon $139 million in contracts estimated for Asphalt and Concrete Pavement. For more information on the projected estimate, see Section 2 of the binder. Historically, asphalt and concrete pavement provides little potential for DBE participation, except in hauling and other support items. We calculated that only 5% of the $139 million could actually be performed by DBEs, therefore we reduced the total in construction contracts to $368 million. Based upon the ratio of DBEs to the total number of contractors, we determined that $35.48 million should be awarded to DBE firms.
We then added the $4.48 million in engineering contracts to the $35.48 million in construction to obtain a total of $39.96 million that should go to DBE firms. We divided this amount by the total of $524 million in total programmed contract amount to arrive at an adjusted DBE goal of 7.63%. However, based upon past participation data for the past two years, we have determined that a goal of 9.5% is reasonable and achievable. In 2002, we ended the year with a goal accomplishment of 9.21%, in 2003 there was an accomplishment of 10.23%, and through the first half of 2004 an accomplishment of 8.4%.
In determining what percentage of the goal can be met through race-neutral means, DOTD took into consideration all prime contracts and subcontracts performed by DBE contractors which were obtained without benefit of goal requirements. The calculation of a race neutral goal percentage is based upon prime contracts awarded to DBE firms, subcontracts awarded to DBEs on projects with no DBE goals assigned, and subcontract work on DBE projects above and beyond the goal commitment. We anticipate that 1.0 percent of the overall goal will be met using race-neutral means and 8.5 % will be achieved through race-conscious means. This projection is based upon the race-neutral accomplishment of .91% during the past fiscal year, as shown in Section 8 of the binder.
The 9.5% goal will be posted in the lobby of the DOTD headquarters building for 30 days and advertised in the Baton Rouge Advocate, the Shreveport Sun, the Times-Picayune, the Shreveport Times, the Monroe News-Star, the Daily Journal of Commerce, and the Baton Rouge Post for public comment. Comments can be made to Ms. Frances B. Gilson, Compliance Programs Director, 1201 Capitol Access Road, Annex Bldg. Baton Rouge, LA 70802.
Louisiana DOTD - FTA DBE Goals
The Louisiana Department of Transportation has established a state goal of 0% for the Federal Transit Administration for the year beginning October 1, 2004 . Supporting methodology for the goal is as follows:
It is estimated that approximately $9,500,000 will be awarded in grants from the Federal Transit Administration in Fiscal Year 2004: $500,000 to the Crescent City Connection Division (CCCD) and $9,000,000 to Public Transportation. Of this amount, only $425,000 of the Public Transportation funds has contracting opportunities. The grant to CCCD is awarded under FTA Section 5307, and is a reimbursement for preventive maintenance of the New Orleans ferry system for 2005.
The Public Transportation contracts to be issued include the following: Transit Technical Assistance for Providers, estimated at $344,600; Rural System Management Database Design, estimated at $80,400.
In evaluating race-neutral means to achieve DBE participation, we considered the number of certified firms available to participate in the already limited contracting opportunities. Of the fourteen firms certified with Planning or Transportation Planning capabilities, only three have previously pursued FTA funded contracts or subcontracts. The remaining firms have expertise in unrelated planning specialties. We foresee no prospect of achieving DBE participation through race neutral means.
The only way we foresee any DBE participation occurring would be through assignment of specific contract goals, which we hesitate to set because of the very small number of certified firms capable of performing these specialized contracts. Usually only three or four firms, none of which are DBEs, respond to the Request for Proposals issued for the Public Transportation Section of LADOTD. Past DBE participation has been achieved by two or three certified firms performing work “carved out” of the proposal by setting a 12% goal.
As required by the regulations, LADOTD will give notice of the goal. The notice will inform the public of the goals and describe how they were selected. The goals are available for inspection during normal business hours at LADOTD headquarters in Baton Rouge for 30 days following the notice and the Department will accept comments on the goal for 45 days from the date of the notice. If any changes in the goal are appropriate as a result of public comments received, we will resubmit our amended goal statement in accordance with the regulation.