Black Caucus Pushes for More Minority Contracts

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — The Mississippi Legislative Black Caucus says state government needs to make a stronger effort to buy more goods and services from businesses owned by minorities and women.

The state agency that pushes for job creation, Mississippi Development Authority, is required by law to track the amount of state procurement awarded to minority businesses. During the budget year that ended in June 2013, the state had $2.1 billion of procurement. Only $49 million, or 2.3 percent, went to minority-owned businesses.

The Black Caucus chairman, Democratic Sen. Kenny Wayne Jones of Canton, says such a small amount is “unfair, unethical and unacceptable.”

MDA began tracking minority participation in 2010. Since then, the participation has grown by almost 20 percent, though it still represents a small slice of total state spending.