California’s regulators reportedly try to prioritize LGBT-owned utility contractors.
Businesses can get certified as LGBT-owned by LGBT organizations to receive “supplier-diversity benefits” from the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), City Journal reported Tuesday. Would you meet the National LGBT Chamber of Commerce (NGLCC)’s qualifiers?
Neither the CPUC nor the NGLCC responded to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
The NGLCC’s qualifiers include, but aren’t limited to, affidavit-backed letters from three people outside the business attesting to the LGBT status of the applicant(s), a letter from a physician or therapist confirming their transgender status, or evidence of “discriminatory action” over their LGBT status. Discriminatory action could include an HR report, police report, or court records.
Applicants can also be qualified by presenting evidence of “completed or attempted parenting and family-building efforts” made by themselves and a same-sex partner. This could include adoption records, proof of an in-vitro fertilizationprocedure, or surrogate mother arrangements.
The CPUC regulates privately owned utility businesses. Its “Supplier Diversity Program” began in the late 1980s to set contracting goals promoting minority-owned and women-owned businesses, but gradually grew to include LGBT-owned businesses too, according to City Journal. Supplier Clearinghouse, which certifies businesses for the program, acceptsletters from organizations like the NGLCC to certify if a business is LGBT-owned.
The Supplier Diversity Program’s aimed to send approximately $633 million to LBGT-owned businesses in 2024, the CPUC reported last October. 451 businesses in the program were LGBT-certified that year, which is a 5% drop from the previous year.
(DCNF)