Bill
H 3341
The bill sets a fixed three-year SDO certification term and requires certified firms to report within 30 days any status changes that could affect eligibility.
Title: An Act relative to supplier diversity recertification
Sponsor: Representative Carlos González (10th Hampden)
Filed/Prefiled: 12/05/2024 — Introduced/read first time: 01/14/2025
Statutory location amended: Subsection (a) of Section 61, Chapter 7, General Laws (MA)
Current status (selected actions): Referred to Committee on Judiciary (01/14/2025); Referred to Committee on State Administration and Regulatory Oversight (02/27/2025); hearings scheduled/rescheduled for Oct. 2025.
Summary
- Primary purpose: To establish a fixed recertification period and reporting requirement for businesses certified by the Commonwealth’s Supplier Diversity Office (SDO).
- Core change: Amends subsection (a) of G.L. c.7, §61 by:
- Declaring SDO certification effective for three years before a required recertification; and
- Requiring certified businesses to report to the SDO, within 30 days, any change in status that would render the business non‑compliant with certification rules.
Who this affects
- Certified supplier diversity businesses (e.g., minority-, women-, veteran- or disadvantaged-owned firms) that hold SDO certification in Massachusetts.
- The Supplier Diversity Office (SDO) and state contracting/procurement officials who rely on certification status for contracting decisions.
- State agencies and prime contractors that use the certification roster to meet diversity/supplier goals.
Potential impacts and considerations
- Administrative predictability: A fixed three‑year certification term creates longer certification windows than some shorter renewal cycles, reducing frequent recertification administrative burden for small firms and the SDO.
- Compliance and oversight: The 30‑day reporting requirement places affirmative obligation on certified firms to disclose ownership/other status changes that would affect eligibility; timely reporting could improve integrity of the certified list but also imposes compliance duties on firms.
- Contracting continuity: Extending certification validity to three years may help firms maintain eligibility for multi‑year procurements without interim recertification, but failure to report disqualifying changes could affect contract awards or lead to remedial actions (not specified in the bill).
- Enforcement and penalties: The text establishes timing requirements but does not specify enforcement mechanisms, penalties, or detailed definitions of reportable “changes in status”; implementing regulations or SDO guidance would likely be needed.
Procedural/timeline notes
- Prefiled 12/05/2024; introduced 01/14/2025. Referred to Judiciary and later to State Administration and Regulatory Oversight (committee referral entries appear in the bill file). Hearings were scheduled and rescheduled for October 2025 (dates: 10/01/2025 and 10/08/2025 noted).
- Related item: HD 3785 is listed as a related/replacing docket number.
Note on included extraneous text
- The bill file also contains a lengthy South Carolina–style draft addressing discrimination on the basis of hair, facial features, and other characteristics associated with race (definitions and prohibitions for housing, education, public accommodations, and employment exceptions). That language appears to be from a different jurisdiction and is not consistent with the primary Massachusetts amendment to G.L. c.7 §61; it should be treated as extraneous to this Massachusetts bill unless the sponsor/legislative file clarifies otherwise.
Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.
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