Caltrans Submits Plan to FHWA to Protect $3 Billion in Federal Funds, Releases Disparity Study for Federal Transportation Contracts.SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- In order to protect $3 billion in federal transportation funding and in response to the findings of a recent Disparity Study (Study), the California Department of Transportation The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) is a government agency in the U.S. state of California. Its mission is to improve mobility across the state. It manages the state highway system and is actively involved with public transportation systems in California. (Caltrans) today submitted a plan to the Federal Highway Administration The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) is a division of the United States Department of Transportation that specializes in highway transportation. The agency's major activities are grouped into two "programs," The Federal-aid Highway Program and the Federal Lands Highway (FHWA FHWA Federal Highway Administration (US DoT) ) to ensure California's compliance in federal Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE DBE abbr. Dame Commander of the British Empire DBE Dame (Commander of the Order) of the British Empire ) Program guidelines. Caltrans is required to annually submit its proposed statewide goal and supporting methodology by August 1 for FHWA approval. As a condition of federal transportation funding, states are required to employ a DBE Program. "We must do everything possible to ensure we keep our share of federal highway funds," said Caltrans Director Will Kempton. "The federal government has required the state to meet approved Disadvantaged Business Enterprise Goals, and if the state were to fail to meet those goals, we could jeopardize our federal transportation dollars. We will continue to administer state funded projects under the guidelines of Proposition 209." The Study conducted by BBC BBC in full British Broadcasting Corp. Publicly financed broadcasting system in Britain. A private company at its founding in 1922, it was replaced by a public corporation under royal charter in 1927. Research & Consulting was the result of a Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that requires specific evidence of discrimination in the public transportation contracting industry in California prior to the use of a race conscious DBE program. The Study collected data for African American African American Multiculture A person having origins in any of the black racial groups of Africa. See Race. , Asian Pacific American, Hispanic American, Subcontinent Asian American A·sian A·mer·i·can also A·sian-A·mer·i·can n. A U.S. citizen or resident of Asian descent. See Usage Note at Amerasian. A , Native American and Women-owned firms. The report identified that industry disparities between utilization and availability are most severe for African American, Asian Pacific American, Native American and Women-owned firms. The program submitted to the FHWA for implementation during Federal Fiscal Year 2008 includes an overall goal of 13.5 percent for DBE involvement. Race-conscious measures used in the program will be focused on those groups by ethnicity and gender where the study provides evidence that such groups have encountered disparate treatment. The disparity study and the submission by Caltrans to the FHWA can be found at www.dot.ca.gov. |
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