(a) The Legislature hereby finds and declares that the essence of the American economic system of private enterprise is free, open, and transparent competition. Only through free, open, and transparent competition can free markets, reasonable and just prices, free entry into business, and opportunities for the expression and growth of personal initiative and individual judgment be ensured. The preservation and expansion of that competition are basic to the economic well-being of this state and that well-being cannot be realized unless the actual and potential capacity of women, minority, disabled veteran, and LGBT business enterprises is encouraged and developed. Therefore, it is the declared policy of the state to aid the interests of women, minority, disabled veteran, and LGBT business enterprises in order to preserve reasonable and just prices and a free competitive enterprise, to ensure that a fair proportion of the total purchases and contracts or subcontracts for commodities, supplies, technology, property, and services for regulated public utilities, including, but not limited to, renewable energy, wireless telecommunications, broadband, smart grid, and rail projects, are awarded to women, minority, disabled veteran, and LGBT business enterprises, and to maintain and strengthen the overall economy of the state.

(b) (1) The Legislature finds all of the following:

(A) The opportunity for full participation in our free enterprise system by women, minority, disabled veteran, and LGBT business enterprises is essential if this state is to attain social and economic equality for those businesses and improve the functioning of the state economy.

(B) Public agencies and some regulated utilities that have established short- and long-range women, minority, disabled veteran, and LGBT business enterprise goals are awarding 30 percent or more of their contracts to these business enterprises.

(C) Women, minority, disabled veteran, and LGBT business enterprises have traditionally received less than a proportionate share of regulated public utility procurement contracts, especially in renewable energy, wireless telecommunications, broadband, smart grid, and rail projects.

(D) It is in the state’s interest to expeditiously improve the economically disadvantaged position of women, minority, disabled veteran, and LGBT business enterprises.

(E) The position of these businesses can be substantially improved by providing long-range substantial goals for procurement by regulated public utilities of technology, equipment, supplies, services, materials, and construction work, especially in renewable energy, wireless telecommunications, broadband, smart grid, and rail projects, from women, minority, disabled veteran, and LGBT businesses.

(F) That procurement also benefits the regulated public utilities and consumers of the state by encouraging the expansion of the number of suppliers for procurements, thereby encouraging competition among the suppliers and promoting economic efficiency in the process.

(G) That the long-term economic viability of this state depends substantially upon the ability of renewable energy, wireless telecommunications, broadband, smart grid, and rail projects to incorporate women, minority, disabled veteran, and LGBT businesses into those projects.

(2) It is the purpose of this article to do all of the following:

(A) Encourage greater economic opportunity for women, minority, disabled veteran, and LGBT business enterprises.

(B) Promote competition among regulated public utility suppliers in order to enhance economic efficiency in the procurement of electrical, gas, water, wireless telecommunications service provider, and telephone corporation contracts and contracts of their commission-regulated subsidiaries and affiliates.

(C) Clarify and expand the program for the procurement by regulated public utilities of technology, equipment, supplies, services, materials, and construction work from women, minority, disabled veteran, and LGBT business enterprises.

(Amended by Stats. 2014, Ch. 633, Sec. 2. (AB 1678) Effective January 1, 2015.)