Directs the Oregon Business Development Department to establish a program to provide grants to nonprofit and community-based organizations that assist businesses owned by minority individuals to become certified by the Certification Office for Business Inclusion and Diversity as minority-owned businesses so that the certified businesses can compete effectively for public contracts.

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83rd OREGON LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY--2025 Regular Session
Senate Bill 569
Sponsored by Senator WOODS (at the request of Loretta Smith) (Presession filed.)
SUMMARY
The following summary is not prepared by the sponsors of the measure and is not a part of the body thereof subject
to consideration by the Legislative Assembly. It is an editor’s brief statement of the essential features of the
measure as introduced. The statement includes a measure digest written in compliance with applicable readability
standards.
Digest: Tells a state agency to grant money to groups that help a business to get certified as
a minority owned business so it can have a better chance to get public contracts. Tells the agency
to figure out how to award the grants and watch how well the groups that get the money do. (Flesch
Readability Score: 63.4).
Directs the Oregon Business Development Department to establish a program to provide grants
to nonprofit and community-based organizations that assist businesses owned by minority individuals
to become certified by the Certification Office for Business Inclusion and Diversity as minority-
owned businesses so that the certified businesses can compete effectively for public contracts. Re-
quires the department to develop criteria for awarding grants and for monitoring the performance
of grant recipients.
A BILL FOR AN ACT
Relating to organizations that assist with COBID certification.
Be It Enacted by the People of the State of Oregon:
SECTION 1.
(1) As used in this section:
(a) “Minority individual” has the meaning given that term in ORS 200.005.
(b) “Minority-owned business” has the meaning given that term in ORS 200.005.
(2) The Oregon Business Development Department shall establish a program to provide
grants to qualified nonprofit or community-based organizations that assist businesses in be-
coming certified under ORS 200.055 as minority-owned businesses.
(3) The department by rule shall develop criteria for qualifying an organization to receive
grants under the program described in subsection (2) of this section. The criteria must con-
sider, at a minimum:
(a) The extent to which the organization has demonstrated a history of supporting the
development of businesses owned by minority individuals.
(b) Whether the organization provides such direct assistance as mentoring, education
and other resources.
(c) How the organization would plan to use the grant moneys to assist businesses to be-
come certified as minority-owned businesses and how effective the organization’s plan is
likely to be.
(4) The department by rule shall develop and implement methods for determining that
recipients of grant moneys under the program described in subsection (2) of this section use
the grant moneys effectively to carry out the purpose specified in subsection (2) of this sec-
tion.
(5) The department shall monitor and evaluate the extent to which recipients of grant
moneys enabled businesses owned by minority individuals to become certified under ORS
200.055 as minority-owned businesses and how any increases in certifications affected the
NOTE: Matter in boldfaced type in an amended section is new; matter [ italic and bracketed] is existing law to be omitted.
New sections are in boldfaced type.
LC 1506
SB 569
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economic resilience of communities within which the newly certified businesses operate.
(6) The department, not later than September 1, 2026, shall submit a report to the Leg-
islative Assembly as provided in ORS 192.245 that includes, at a minimum, the following in-
formation as of the date of the report:
(a) The identity of all grant recipients under the program;
(b) The amount of each grant;
(c) The number of businesses that each grant recipient contacted and assisted;
(d) The number of businesses that become certified under ORS 200.055 as minority-owned
businesses as a result of assistance from grant recipients; and
(e) An overall assessment of the effects of the grant program on rates of certification
and the economic resilience of communities within which the newly certified businesses op-
erate.
SECTION 2.
There is appropriated to the Oregon Business Development Department, for
the biennium beginning July 1, 2025, out of the General Fund, the amount of $4,000,000 for
the purpose of carrying out the provisions of section 1 of this 2025 Act.
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