From John Clower, Indiana Equality Field Operations
It’s a small step. But a path breaking step for Indiana.
On October 21, 2009, Bloomington City Council voted 7-0 to approve Ordinance 09-18 (Responsible Bidder Ordinance).
The ordinance gives the City more control and better tools for awarding large contracts (worth $150,000 or more) to the lowest and most responsible bidder rather than to the lowest bidder. The ordinance does this by defining the criteria needed to meet the definition of “responsible.” In the view of Bloomington corporation counsel Kevin Robling, the new RBO is “the most progressive, gold-plated, best-written” RBO anywhere.
Unscrupulous bidders use various tricks to try to undercut responsible bidders. Among them are: wage theft; misclassifying full-time employees as “independent contractors” or 1099 employees in an effort to avoid paying into Social Security, worker’s compensation, and unemployment insurance; and secretly planning cost over-runs with the expectation that a municipality will cough up money for “add-ons.” By requiring additional documentation and by shining a light on a bidder’s history of unscrupulous practices or shoddy work, the ordinance protects employees, levels the playing field for responsible bidders, and maximizes value for the taxpayer.
Nestled within this ordinance is what amounts to an equal benefits ordinance. As the Human Rights Campaign Web site explains: ”An equal benefits ordinance requires contractors with a state or local government to offer equal benefits to its employees. To comply with such a law, a contractor that offers health insurance and other benefits to employees’ spouses must offer equivalent coverage to employees’ domestic partners.” Currently, one state (California) and at least a dozen municipalities around the country have adopted EBOs of some sort.
Part 3c of Bloomington’s RBO does the work of an equal benefits ordinance:
“3) Criteria. A ‘responsible bidder’ shall meet all the job specifications, shall comply with the following criteria, and shall submit evidence of such compliance: …c. A statement of compliance with Bloomington Municipal Code § 2.21.070(8); additionally, the bidder must include sexual orientation and gender identity in the affirmative action plan required in § 2.21.070(8).”
Contractors bidding on big city projects now have to file an affirmative action plan, inclusive of sexual orientation and gender identity, with the Bloomington Human Rights Commission. The BHRC director decides whether the plan is in compliance. Her decision can be appealed to the BHRC’s Contract Compliance Committee.
At the October 21st meeting of Bloomington City Council, RBO co-sponsor and council vice president Isabel Piedmont-Smith commented that the city prides itself on its inclusive nondiscriminatory practices and that the new ordinance is a way to “broaden” the impact of that commitment to the community at large. “We will be setting an example for other cities in Indiana,” she predicted.
Bloomington’s is not the first RBO in Indiana. Crown Point, Schneider, and Newton County got there first. But it appears to be the first EBO in Indiana and only the second in the Midwest.
To compare equal benefits ordinances around the country, visit: http://www.hrc.org/issues/workplace/benefits/equal_benefits_ordinances.htm
For the texts of Crown Point’s and Newton County’s RBOs, visit: http://www.iiiffc.org/responsible_bidding.html
