House approves bill to collect current data on women‑ and minority‑owned businesses

The Utah House approved the second substitute of House Bill 236, a measure to create an updated state database of women‑ and minority‑owned businesses designed to help companies and institutions meet federal subcontracting goals and capture set‑aside federal contract dollars.

Representative Wheatley, the bill sponsor, said current federal and Census data are out of date and that up‑to‑date state data would help entities such as the University of Utah and other contractors meet small-business subcontracting goals. "This bill makes it possible for the state of Utah to have access to current data on the number of women owned and minority owned businesses," Wheatley said on the floor.

Floor questions addressed why the state and not the federal Small Business Administration should collect the data, how the data would be assembled and whether the fiscal note—an initial one‑time appropriation of $50,000 with $30,000 the following year—was sufficient to set up the system. The sponsor said the SBA relies on sample surveys and that this bill will establish an option for businesses to self‑report, creating a more complete state-level picture and improving the ability to qualify for 8(a) and other set‑aside programs.

Representative Mascaro, who declared a conflict of interest because she works at a nonprofit employing people with disabilities, described a past grant denial she said was linked to insufficient state-level data; other supporters argued that better data would bring federal dollars into Utah and create jobs.

The second substitute passed by a narrow margin, 39 yes, 34 no, 2 absent, and will be forwarded to the Senate for further consideration.