(1) The general assembly hereby finds, determines, and declares that: (a) It is imperative and the public policy of Colorado that the state procurement process be free from bias so that all qualified persons and entities may compete for state business; (b) A fair procurement process not only ensures justice and fairness in state contracting but will broaden the procurement contractor pool, which will result in efficiencies statewide and, as warranted, promote the growth of historically underutilized businesses, thereby creating jobs and stimulating the state's economy; (c) Although studies establishing discrimination in procurement for certain industries or in certain localities have been conducted, a comprehensive analysis of state contracts awarded to historically underutilized businesses has not yet been commissioned; (d) The United States supreme court has recognized that disparity studies are tools that seek to qualify and quantify past discrimination and recommend certain corrective measures as may be warranted by the study's findings; (e) If any disparities exist, such a study is essential to the ultimate achievement of a marketplace in which historically underutilized businesses are not subject to discrimination and can obtain a fair market share of contract expenditures; and (f) Therefore, it is the intent of the general assembly, consistent with the code's stated policies of ensuring the fair and equitable treatment of persons who deal with the procurement system and fostering effective broad-based competition within the free enterprise system, that an independent study be commissioned to: (I) Determine the frequency with which state contracts are awarded to historically underutilized businesses and the monetary amounts of such awards, compared to the frequency and size of contracts awarded to other businesses; and (II) To the extent that the study establishes that disparities attributable to past or present discrimination exist or inhere in the state procurement process, to recommend remedial measures to address the effects of that discrimination.
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