Close
Current temperature in Boston - 62 °
BECOME A MEMBER
Get access to a personalized news feed, our newsletter and exclusive discounts on everything from shows to local restaurants, All for free.
Already a member? Sign in.
The Bay State Banner
BACK TO TOP
The Bay State Banner
POST AN AD SIGN IN

Trending Articles

Civic leaders say Wu ignoring community input

Mass. hospitals first to reach health equity standards

Banner Art Gallery roundtable hosted at MFA ‘City Talks’ draws standing room only crowd

READ PRINT EDITION

Executive order seen boosting minority, women business office

Yawu Miller
Yawu Miller is the former senior editor of the Bay State Banner. He has written for the Banner since 1988.... VIEW BIO
Executive order seen boosting minority, women business office
Gov. Charlie Baker announces an executive order moving the Office for Access and Opportunity from Administration and Finance to the Governor’s Office. Among those looking on are (l-r) state Reps. Marcos Devers and Gloria Fox, Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Deputy Director Rasaan Hall, state Sen. Linda Dorcena Forry, Union of Minority Neighborhoods Executive Director Horace Small and state Rep. Russell Holmes.

Gov. Charlie Baker signed an executive order last week that will continue the work of a state office that opened doors for minority and women-owned businesses, moving the Office of Access and Opportunity from Administration and Finance to the Governor’s Office.

The move is widely seen as strengthening the OAO, first created under Gov. Deval Patrick in 2008. The new head of the agency, who has not yet been appointed, will report directly to the governor’s chief of staff.

Flanked by members of the Massachusetts Black and Latino Legislative Caucus, Baker said the executive order signals his administration’s commitment to minority and woman-owned business development.

“Despite a growing economy across the Commonwealth, it’s clear not all communities are seeing the same degree of benefits and new opportunities,” he said. “We have room to improve employment and procurement practices that promote diversity and are more inclusive of minorities, women, veterans and individuals with disabilities when doing business with the Commonwealth. Our goal is to help this initiative make more progress by working directly with the Governor’s Office.”

When created in 2008, the position was under the secretary of Administration and Finance. The office was formally created in January 2010, when Governor Patrick signed Executive Order 519 and produced legislation and guidelines aimed at making government more inclusive.

The office served as a focal point for efforts to expand opportunities for minority businesses and businesses run by women, veterans and people with disabilities. The former secretary of the office, Ron Marlow, drafted legislation outlining guidelines for minority business and construction participation in projects ranging from the planned expansion of the Massachusetts Convention Center to the planned construction of casinos.

Additionally, the office strengthened guidelines for minority participation on state-assisted construction projects and established the Civil Rights Impact Analysis process, which requires each executive branch to analyze how any new regulations may impact minority owned businesses and take steps to mitigate those impacts.

The office also improved guidelines for stage agencies to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act and established guidelines for the state to contract with businesses owned by disabled veterans.

“I was proud to play a role in advancing a broad agenda of civil rights through the Office of Access and Opportunity,” said Marlow. “The accomplishments of the office cut across procurement and personnel activities, policymaking and questions of access to state services.”

The Baker administration has not yet appointed a secretary for the OAO, nor have they determined the staffing level for the office.

“It’s going to depend somewhat on who we bring in,” Baker told reporters during the announcement last week.

Caucus members stood with Baker during the announcement, before leaving for a closed-door meeting with the governor. The legislators expressed support for the move to bring the OAO under the governor’s office.

“This executive order builds on the work of Governor Deval Patrick and exemplifies the importance of furthering equality within state government,” said state Sen. Linda Dorcena Forry. “I congratulate and look forward to working with Governor Baker to ensure all of the Commonwealth’s residents have full access to economic opportunity.”