There is a Minority and Women’s Business Opportunity Office in the Department of Law. The Office is administered and controlled by the Chief of the Minority and Women’s Business Opportunity Office, who reports directly to the City Solicitor. Ord. 00-098 Ord. 16-595

The Minority and Women’s Business Opportunity Office is responsible for the administration of this subtitle. The Office’s duties include:certification of business enterprises covered by this subtitle; maintaining a directory of business enterprises certified under this subtitle; providing information and needed assistance to business enterprises covered by this subtitle to increase their ability to compete effectively for the award of City contracts; investigating alleged violations of this subtitle and, when appropriate, making written recommendations for remedial action; developing and distributing all necessary forms, applications, and documents necessary to comply with this subtitle; maintaining statistics on and reviewing regularly the progress of agencies towards achieving the annual goals for the utilization of minority business enterprises, women’s business enterprises, small business enterprises, and local business enterprises; recommending to appropriate City officials methods to further the policies and goals of this subtitle; monitoring contractors throughout the duration of their contracts to ensure that all efforts are made to comply with this subtitle; and certifying compliance with this subtitle before contracts are submitted to the Board of Estimates for award. Ord. 00-098 Ord. 00-118 Ord. 16-595

Subject to Title 4 {“Administrative Procedure Act – Regulations”} of the <cite data-path="|general">City General Provisions Article</cite>, the Office may adopt rules and regulations to carry out this subtitle. Ord. 00-098 Ord. 16-595 Text Conformed 02/14/21 By authority of Ordinance 20-431, Section 5, the Director of Legislative Reference, in consultation with the Law Department, has conformed the text of this section to refer expressly to the requirements of the recently-enacted Administrative Procedure Act that, effective January 15, 2021, governs the proposal, adoption, and publication of administrative rules and regulations.

Nothing in this subtitle abrogates the authority of the Board of Estimates to award contracts under <cite data-doc="City of Baltimore, Md., Charter" data-path="VI|§11">Article VI, § 11 of the City Charter</cite>. At its discretion, the Board of Estimates may waive minor defects and errors in a bidder’s submissions under this subtitle. Nothing in this subtitle abrogates the authority of the Department of Finance to insure that competitive bidding is used and competitive prices are obtained in purchasing materials, supplies, equipment, and services to the fullest practicable extent, under Article VII, § 17, of <cite data-doc="City of Baltimore, Md., Charter">the City Charter</cite>. Ord. 00-098 Ord. 16-595