WisDOT announces plan to roll out recertification for DBE businesses

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After months of dormancy, the state will introduce recertification in coming weeks for the Disadvantaged Business Enterprise program.

The Wisconsin Department of Transportation plans to announce the recertification process for its DBE and Airport Concession Disadvantaged Business Enterprise program, which allow minority- and women-owned small businesses to compete for federally assisted contracts.

The program was essentially halted Oct. 3 when the U.S. Department of Transportation removed race- and sex-based standards from certification and required all DBE and ACDBE companies to recertify, WisDOT officials said. Some states, such as Minnesota, have already rolled out their own recertification processes.

WisDOT will no longer assign DBE goals to future contracts until the recertification process is completed, officials said. However, ongoing transportation projects contracted before Oct. 3 will have the same goals under which they were contracted.

During the week of Feb. 2, Wisconsin DBE and ACDBE vendors and stakeholders will receive information from WisDOT about how to apply for recertification.

WisDOT will start accepting applications on Feb. 16 and will host a webinar for businesses to learn how to submit for recertification. The agency will also publish application information and updates to its DBE website once the application process reopens.

It is unclear how many DBE and ACDBE businesses will apply for recertification or how long the review process will take. WisDOT will review applications as they are received, officials said.

In October, there were nearly 1,300 DBEs and ACDBEs were recorded in Wisconsin.

The federal DBE Program was enacted in the early 1980s during former President Ronald Reagan’s administration. The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021 revived the program and mandated 10% of all new surface transportation funding – worth more than $37 billion – would be spent through small businesses owned by people who were socially and economically disadvantaged.

U.S. DOT actions following a major court case were expected to affect thousands of disadvantaged businesses nationwide, according to federal officials. Since October, different state agencies have been developing ways for businesses to certify again with little guidance from the federal government, state transportation officials said.

Firms seeking recertification must prove their disadvantage without using race or sex as a factor, according to new federal requirements. They will instead be asked to document eligibility through personal experiences.

Two key court cases weighed on the program: Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard, where the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Harvard’s admissions program violated the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution; and Mid-America Milling Company v. U.S. Department of Transportation, where a district court agreed with highway contractors that U.S. DOT violated the Equal Protection Clause.

When sworn into office in January 2025, President Donald Trump vowed in an executive order to end diversity, equity and inclusion programs in the nation’s public sector, White House officials said.

It’s not clear what types of circumstances or economic harm would be enough for applicants to prove their disadvantage, according to Washington-based law firm PilieroMazza.

Some Midwest contractors expressed concern that even with recertification, many DBE firms would not make it through the process. Others opted out of recertification altogether.

Some Wisconsin cities, such as Milwaukee and Madison, already have programs in place to ensure underrepresented residents and small businesses are getting work on larger projects, including the city of Milwaukee’s Emerging Business Enterprise Program.