Sec. 2161.253. GOOD FAITH COMPLIANCE WITH BUSINESS SUBCONTRACTING PLAN

(a) When a state agency requires a historically underutilized business subcontracting plan under Section 2161.252, the awarded contract shall contain, as a provision of the contract that must be fulfilled, the plan that the contractor submitted in its bid, proposal, offer, or other applicable expression of interest for the contract. The contractor shall make good faith efforts to implement the plan. A contractor's participation in a mentor-protege program under Section 2161.065 and submission of a protege as a subcontractor in the contractor's historically underutilized business subcontracting plan constitutes a good faith effort under this section for the particular area of the subcontracting plan involving the protege.

(b) To the extent that subcontracts are not contracted for as originally submitted in the historically underutilized business subcontracting plan, the contractor shall report to the state agency all the circumstances that explain that fact and describe the good faith efforts made to find and subcontract with another historically underutilized business.

(c) The state agency shall audit the contractor's compliance with the historically underutilized business subcontracting plan. In determining whether the contractor made the required good faith effort, the agency may not consider the success or failure of the contractor to subcontract with historically underutilized businesses in any specific quantity. The agency's determination is restricted to considering factors indicating good faith.

(d) If a determination is made that the contractor failed to implement the plan in good faith, the agency, in addition to any other remedies, may bar the contractor from further contracting opportunities with the agency.

(e) The commission shall adopt rules to administer this subchapter.

Added by Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 1499, Sec. 2.10, eff. Sept. 1, 1999. Amended by Acts 2001, 77th Leg., ch. 1422, Sec. 13.02, eff. Sept. 1, 2001.