Columbus council hears proposal to shift diversity office certifications to race-neutral small-business framework

Chair Nick Bankston convened a Columbus City Council public hearing on proposed revisions to Title 39 of the Columbus City Code, which governs the Office of Diversity and Inclusion (ODI), to hear presentations from the city attorney’s office and ODI on legal risks and a proposed shift toward race‑neutral procurement designations.

The proposal would add two new certifications—“small regional business enterprise” and “regional business enterprise”—and move some contracting incentives (bid discounts and incentive credits) to size-based criteria such as revenue and employee counts rather than race or gender. Director Jason Jenkins told council the change is intended to modernize ODI’s programs, expand the city’s economic footprint regionally and to preserve access to federal grant funding while continuing to certify minority‑ and women‑owned firms for statistical and cross‑certification purposes.

Deputy City Attorney Laura Baker Morris said the administration is advising the city to adjust Title 39 to reflect evolving federal law and recent case law in the Sixth Circuit and the U.S. Supreme Court. Morris said federal executive orders and litigation create a risk that continued operation of race‑ and gender‑conscious procurement goals could jeopardize federal grants and contracts; she told the hearing that potential penalties for noncompliance can include loss of federal funds and, in some circumstances cited by counsel, civil or criminal exposure for improper use of federal funds.

Why it matters

Council members and public speakers said the stakes are high for historically disadvantaged contractors and for the city’s ability to deliver services without losing federal funding. Proponents of keeping race‑conscious remedies warned that changing incentives could reduce contracting opportunities for minority‑ and women‑owned firms. Administrators argued the proposed framework is intended as…