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Committee advances HB 2,684 to add Middle Eastern/North African group to OMWBE; amendments fail
Summary
After debating five amendments, the Technology, Economic Development and Veterans Committee voted 7–4 (2 excused) to report House Bill 2,684 out of committee with a due‑pass recommendation; the committee also reported House Joint Memorial 4012 out unanimously.
The Technology, Economic Development and Veterans Committee on Feb. 4 reported House Bill 2,684 out of committee with a due‑pass recommendation after debate on five proposed amendments, none of which were adopted.
House Bill 2,684 would add a Middle Eastern/North African (MENA) category to the Office of Minority and Women's Business Enterprises (OMWBE) certification process by identifying the group as an eligible subgroup for the office's existing socially disadvantaged business certification. Martha Whaling, committee staff, briefed members on five drafted amendments addressing how the office identifies socially disadvantaged groups, the use of disaggregated data, constitutional consistency, federal‑law conflicts and attorney general review.
Amendment Pool 188 (sponsored by Rep. Barnard and moved by Rep. Penner) would have required the office to identify specific instances of current discrimination before applying the rebuttable presumption of…
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