04/09/2024

U.S. DOT final rule on DBE Program Announced

A message from ACEC VP of Infrastructure Advocacy--Matt Reiffer. He will be attending our small firms committee virtually on April 24th with additional information ACEC Ohio Small Firms Committee, please forward this information to those who may be interested in your firm.

Yesterday the U.S. Department of Transportation published the final rule making changes to the DOT Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) program.

The final rule includes most of the modifications that ACEC had supported in the proposed rule in 2022. Key provisions include:

• Increase in the personal net worth (PNW) cap from $1.32 million to $2.047 million, with regular future adjustments for inflation without the need for a rulemaking process.
• Retirement assets excluded from the PNW cap.
• Alignment of the business size standards under the DBE rules with Small Business Administration size standards for the relevant NAICS codes, with a five-year averaging period for calculating gross receipts.
• Expedited interstate certification of DBEs.

The DOT DBE website with more information is here. A summary of the major changes to the program is here.

We will be circulating additional information and educational opportunities in the coming weeks. In the meantime, feel free to contact me directly (mreiffer@acec.org, 202-682-4308) with any questions or concerns.

Thanks,

Matt