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More city contracts may be headed toward female and minority business owners in New York City, thanks to a new bill City Council Speaker Christine Quinn intends to introduce.

After a number of talks with civil rights leaders, Christine Quinn plans to propose a bill to expand the number of city jobs given to women and people of color. While there is already a law that requires city agencies to award a percentage of contracts under $1 million to women and minority business owners, larger contracts have no such requirement. The New York Times writes:

In the fiscal year 2011, for instance, the city met only 48 percent of its goals for contracts to minority- and women-owned businesses.

The city’s leeway in this area is constrained: all competitively bid contracts must be awarded to the lowest responsible bidder.

The measure that Ms. Quinn plans to introduce would set goals for all contracts, not just smaller ones. And it would require a staff member at each agency to report quarterly to the mayor’s office what progress it is making toward its goals.

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In June, at a forum of likely mayoral candidates on the subject of businesses owned by women and members of minority groups, all the participants had harsh words for the administration of Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg in this area. Asked to grade the administration’s performance, Ms. Quinn gave it a “C/C-.”

Stay tuned to BET.com for more on the council bill, and read the full article here.

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