§ 17-326. Penalties.

The purpose of Orange County's minority/women business enterprise ordinance is to provide a prompt remedy for the effects of past discrimination. The county in general, and this program in particular, are damaged when a contract, or portion of a contract, to be performed by a minority/women business enterprise is not actually performed by a minority/women business enterprise in compliance with this division. Because the actual amount of such damage is not reasonably calculable, each contract will state that liquidated damages equal to the dollar value of the utilization by certified and recognized business loss to the county due to the violation, not to exceed ten (10) percent of the dollar value of the contract, shall be the amount required to compensate the county for resulting delays in carrying out the purpose of the program, the costs of meeting utilization goals through additional contracts, the administrative costs of investigation and enforcement and other damages and costs caused by the violation. The contractor will be liable to the county for such liquidated damages in the event the contractor or a subcontractor fails to perform a commercially useful function and/or operates as a front, conduit or pass-through, as defined in this division.

In addition to the foregoing, firms/persons who violate the provisions of this division or who provide fraudulent information may be subject to:

(1)

Removal from the county's vendor list;

(2)

Suspension from bidding on county contracts for up to two (2) years;

(3)

Permanent debarment from bidding on county contracts;

(4)

Termination of any present contract(s);

(5)

Withholding retainage;

(6)

A negative evaluation of good-faith effort on future projects for up to two (2) years;

(7)

Withholding payment to contractors failing to comply with the minority/women business enterprise subcontractor utilization and work force percentages set forth in the contract of the contractor's bid or proposal;

(8)

Revocation of certification.

Appeal of penalties shall be pursuant to protest and/or appeals procedures outlined in the Orange County Procurement Code, section 17-313 and any amendments thereto.

(Ord. No. 94-02, § 10, 1-11-94; Ord. No. 98-25, § 6, 10-6-98; Ord. No. 2002-01, § 9, 1-08-02)