Women and minority entrepeneurs may get counted

Utah's women and minority owned businesses may soon be able to identify themselves as such after a House panel gave a unanimous nod to a bill to allow them to self-identify with the Department of Commerce.

Rep. Mark Wheatley, D-Murray, sponsor of HB99, told the House Business and Labor Committee that the measure "makes it possible for the state of Utah to have current and accurate data on women and minority owned businesses." That, he said, means access to federal dollars when it comes to money tied to "goals set by the federal government to subcontract with women owned or minority owned businesses."

Wheatley said it would create an optional database of women and minority owned businesses that procurement officers could access when looking for subcontractors.

The bill, which now moves to the House for debate, has a $9,000 fiscal note to set up the system. Francine Giani, executive director of the Department of Commerce, had in the past opposed the bill because of its logistics. On Friday, she told the panel it has her support after Wheatley had worked out her concerns.