KC contracting program for women and minority business owners ends
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Kansas City ended 45 years of contracting goals for minority- and women-owned businesses after a state lawsuit said they were discriminatory.
Why it matters: The repeal of the Minority- and Women-Owned Business Enterprise (MWBE) program changes how the city awards hundreds of millions of dollars in contracts each year, and the lawsuit that prompted it isn't over.
Driving the news: The council voted 12-0 last week to end the program and create a race- and sex-neutral small business program in its place.
Catch up quick: Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway sued the city July 22, saying the program discriminated against white men.
- The suit relies on the city's 2026 disparity study, which recommended replacing the race- and sex-based program with a neutral small business version.
- The program most recently set citywide goals of awarding 14.7% of contract dollars to minority-owned businesses and 14.4% to women-owned businesses.
What's inside: The replacement certifies businesses by size and location rather than the owner's race or sex, and gives additional consideration to veteran-owned businesses.
- The smallest certified firms get some city contracts under $400,0oo reserved just for them.
- Contracts in progress will have their MWBE goals removed, and existing certifications are expected to transition into the new system.
What they're saying: Mayor Quinton Lucas told KCUR the change was necessary because the city is "under attack from conservative legal interests."
- "Kansas Citians deserve a system based on fairness, merit, and equal treatment, not one that sorts people and spends taxpayer dollars based on race or sex," Hanaway said in announcing the suit.
- Her office said it's "encouraged" by the change but will continue the lawsuit and seek damages for contractors who allege the program cost them contracts.
The other side: "You can't simply change the title of an ordinance and take the minority and women out and put 'small business' and expect it to work," Gabe Perez, president of the trade group Unified Contractors, told KCUR.
Flashback: It's the second time this year the council has rewritten a policy under legal pressure rather than defended it in court, after it replaced its conversion therapy ban in June.
What's next: The city manager must report back on how the new program will be implemented within 30 days, and a new disparity study is due in five years.