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Boston's Morning Newsletter
Why Massachusetts fell short on its new LGBTQ state contracting target
Editor's Note: This is an excerpt from WBUR's daily morning newsletter, WBUR Today. If you like what you read and want it in your inbox, sign up here.
We have at least one more day of ceiling fan watching ahead this week, but jurors in the second Karen Read murder trial appear to be getting closer to a decision on at least some of the charges against her. You can brush up on the facts of the case here if you're just now tuning back in.
But first, the news:
Missing the mark: To cap off her first Pride Month in the corner office back in 2023, Gov. Maura Healey set a new goal to boost the number of state contracts that go to LGBTQ-owned businesses. Fast forward two years, there's still a long way to go. As GBH News first reported, the state's Supplier Diversity Office released a report last week showing the state didn't even make it halfway to its goal during the first year the benchmark was in place. WBUR's Rachell Sanchez-Smith recently spoke to Alex Eberhardt, the head of Massachusetts' LGBTQ Chamber of Commerce, to understand why and what's being done to do better.
- By the numbers: The benchmark for the 2024 fiscal year aimed for 0.3% of all discretionary state agency spending — or $22.8 million — to go to LGBTQ-owned businesses. But during that timeframe (July 2023 through June 2024) the total ended up being just $9 million. That was an increase from the $5.6 million mark set in fiscal year 2023, but only 40% of the new goal and actually less than the $9.7 million the state spent on LGBTQ businesses in fiscal year 2022.
- What went wrong? Eberhardt says the reasoning is multifaceted. Part of the shortfall might be explained by the makeup of LGBTQ-owned businesses in Massachusetts. She said the chamber includes a lot in the creative, retail, hospitality, travel and DEI sectors, as opposed to industries traditionally associated with "large-scale" state contracts, like construction, IT or business goods. For example, the state's two biggest contracting departments, Health and Human Services and MassDOT, hit only 19% and 4%, respectively, of their LGBTQ spending goals. Additionally, Eberhardt said she's working to get more of her members certified ahead time to be eligible for state contracts. "It's kind of like a passport," she said. "You don't know when you're gonna want it, but all of a sudden something pops up and you need to have it. But it takes time to come in."
- What's next: Compared to the state's benchmarks for women- or minority-owned businesses, the LGBTQ spending target is still relatively young. According to Eberhardt, it will take time to develop a network. " It's really complicated to first learn the system," she said. "My goal is to then work with the Supplier Diversity Office and build some sort of education structure so we can better educate our businesses about these opportunities for when they are certified."
- The big picture: The state-level effort comes as LGBTQ-owned businesses navigate a challenging landscape, amid a larger shift away from focusing on diversity under the Trump administration. Eberhardt said small businesses have seen "a scale back," as corporations get rid of supplier diversity offices.
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Coming this summer? Could Massachusetts finally settle on rules for cannabis cafes and other places where people can publicly consume marijuana? The acting chair of the state's Cannabis Control Commission said yesterday they're aiming to have rules by the end of next month. According to State House News Service, acting chair Bruce Stebbin said final regulations should be up for a vote "toward the last week of July."
- The big picture: Last fall, CCC rolled out a draft plan that envisions three types of licenses for "social consumption spaces." But even after the regulations are approved, there's still a lot of work to do before any such spaces open.
Another election on the calendar: Weymouth Mayor Robert Hedlund is unexpectedly stepping down in the middle of his term next month, teeing up a special election in the fall. Hedlund announced yesterday on Facebook he will resign on July 15 so that the election can occur with normally scheduled town elections. Hedlund was the mayor of Weymouth for nearly 10 years. In the meantime, the Weymouth Town Council President Michael Molisse will serve as acting mayor.
P.S.— It's last call for your ideas for a new Massachusetts state flag and seal (again). The state's second try at coming up with new official emblems asks for public input by the end of today. Recommendations should then be made to Healey by July 29. You can submit your sketches for a new cod-themed flag or cranberry bog-centric seal via this webpage.
WBUR's Hanna Ali contributed to this morning's newsletter.
