When – or at this point, if – our Legislature passes a bill that would put an extra $1 billion or so each year into the maintenance of Georgia roads and bridges, certain paving companies would profit accordingly.
If the current pattern holds, 96 percent of those firms will be white-owned. Less than 3 percent of taxpayer dollars spent will make it into the hands of companies owned by African-Americans.
The figures are not in dispute. They can be found on the state Department of Transportation website. But they are rarely mentioned in a Republican-run state Capitol where “affirmative action” ranks near the top of a list of banned phrases.
Though come to think of it, they weren’t much discussed when Democrats ruled the roost, either.
And yet the disparate numbers were front and center in a hearing this week on House Bill 170, the transportation funding bill, hosted by the Georgia Black Legislative Caucus. "They're an embarrassment. They're a bad statement to our children," said Bill Cannon, executive director of the Georgia Black Constructors Association. He noted that African-Americans make up a third of the state's population and generate 25 percent of the tax base. "My understanding is that Mississippi is doing it better than us."
A lack of capital and bonding requirements contribute to the problem. But culture plays a role in subcontracting, too, Cannon said.
“There’s a big difference between those folks that are building buildings, and those folks that are building roads. [Road builders] have their own ways of doing business. And their way of doing business does not include a serious commitment toward including minorities, the disadvantaged and women,” he said.
The chairmen of the House and Senate transportation committees were at the hearing, as was the leader of the Georgia Chamber of Commerce – the most powerful interest group behind the funding plan. Their attendance was a sign of the rare clout that has been handed to the 61 members of the black caucus by the dynamics of pushing a tax increase – or something like it – through the Legislature.
H.B. 170 remains mired in the House Transportation Committee, as Republican lawmakers try to craft a bill that can gain majority support within the House Republican caucus. But ultimately, it is likely that Democratic votes in both the House and Senate will be required for final passage.
Democrats have already won serious concessions on transit. A state law that has handcuffed MARTA for decades, requiring that it spend 50 percent of its sales tax revenue on capital improvements and 50 percent on operations, is headed for repeal. The transit agency is also poised to receive its first injection of state dollars. Ever.
"It's been a long wait. The children of Israel got here quicker than MARTA," quipped state Rep. Al Williams, D-Midland.
Only in the last two weeks has the issue of minority participation in the $1 billion annual spending package bubbled to the surface, surprising Democrats and Republicans alike. "It would be political malpractice not to bring up these numbers, said state Rep. Winfred Dukes, D-Albany, who put the black caucus hearing together.
When dealing with federal dollars, Washington requires states to create programs designed to boost participation by firms owned by minorities and women. It is why the above figures exist. Dukes and other members of the caucus want language inserted into H.B. 170 that would mandate the same when state dollars are involved.
So far, the House and Senate Democratic caucuses haven’t lined up behind the push. And the timing of the demand may be problematic.
For several months, state Rep. Calvin Smyre, D-Columbus, the longest-serving member of the General Assembly and an African-American, has served as a liaison to Democrats for Jay Roberts, chairman of the House Transportation Committee.
While he has been a longtime supporter of minority participation programs, Smyre said he was caught off-guard by the new demand. “Something of that magnitude, I wish it had gotten to me earlier,” the veteran legislator said. “I fully support the idea. How do we get there from here is the question to be answered.”
When questioned by members of the black caucus, Roberts conceded that they had a point. “Can we do better than that? Probably so,” he said.
But Roberts asked African-American legislators to leave the matter to the state DOT board. “I would caution us as a legislature from mandating anything concerning that,” he added.
The worry for supporters of H.B. 170 could be found in the abbreviated Tweet by state Sen. Vincent Fort, D-Atlanta, who left the hearing early: "Why would any GLBC member vote for plan when Afr-Am bus is excluded?"
One of the final speakers at Tuesday’s hearing was Chris Clark, president and CEO of the Georgia Chamber. Clark quickly agreed to work with black caucus members to strengthen minority participation in state contracting.
“Please help this be a Democrat and Republican solution, an urban and a rural solution,” he pleaded.
About the Author
