Citizenship requirement removed from laws supporting minority-owned businesses in Columbus

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) - The Columbus City Council has passed legislation making changes to the city code, in hopes of being more inclusive to minority-owned businesses.

Councilmembers Nicholas Bankston and Lourdes Barroso de Padilla sponsored legislation to amend Title 39 and Chapter 329 of the Columbus City Code. This ordinance includes six changes, proposed by the Office of Diversity and Inclusion, to clarify the code to be more inclusive and expansive. The legislation was passed Monday after deliberation among the council.

In September, the council held two public opportunities for input and staff made themselves available for inquiries regarding changes to Title 39, which governs the Office of Diversity and Inclusion. These changes are intended to ensure that all minority business owners operating legally in the United States and Ohio have equal access to certification programs within the Office of Diversity and Inclusion.

The six key changes to Title 39 include the following:

• Removes the citizenship requirement for certification
• Creates the small, regional business enterprise (SRBE) and removes the small, local business enterprise (SLBE) certification
• Clarifies that the joint venture section does not include Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs)
• Amends eligibility regarding the age of the business applying for certification
• Adds a sunset provision for the evaluation and reauthorization of Title 39 programs
• Adds a one-year moratorium on re-applying for certification after a denial

According to the city council's introduction of this legislation, these changes are intended to help broaden the pool of qualified businesses to promote partnership and access for small businesses that might not otherwise have the capacity to meet large contracts.

Bankston delivered remarks emphatically supporting the legislation after the public speaking portion drew a mixed crowd of support and disapproval.

"If you legally own and operate a business within our city you are entitled to the city resources and services that your taxpayer dollars pay for," said Bankston. "This is not controversial. Yes, a hard and difficult conversation to have, but it is not controversial. We are not expanding our services to a new group of people with this citizenship question change, but rather, we are simply clarifying that all tax-paying residents, all business owners who pay taxes to the city of Columbus, should be able to access the resources our city code affords them."

Bankston claimed that this is just one part of the council's work towards the goal of combatting what he referred to as systemic racism in the city of Columbus.

"We have work to do," said Bankston. "Fundamentally, how we are operating our system, how we are operating our city, is still embedded in systemic racism."