Link to an amendment published at 89 FR 24958, Apr. 9, 2024.

(a) Except as provided in paragraph (e) of this section, if you are a primary airport that has or was required to have a concessions DBE program prior to April 21, 2005, you must submit a revisesd ACDBE program meeting the requirements of this part to the appropriate FAA regional office for approval.

(1) You must submit this revised program on the same schedule provided for your first submission of overall goals in § 23.45(a) of this part.

(2) Timely submission and FAA approval of your revised ACDBE program is a condition of eligibility for FAA financial assistance.

(3) Until your new ACDBE program is submitted and approved, you must continue to implement your concessions DBE program that was in effect before the effective date of this amendment to part 23, except with respect to any provision that is contrary to this part.

(b) If you are a primary airport that does not now have a DBE concessions program, and you apply for a grant of FAA funds for airport planning and development under 49 U.S.C. 47107 et seq., you must submit an ACDBE program to the FAA at the time of your application. Timely submission and FAA approval of your ACDBE program are conditions of eligibility for FAA financial assistance.

(c) If you are the owner of more than one airport that is required to have an ACDBE program, you may implement one plan for all your locations. If you do so, you must establish a separate ACDBE goal for each location.

(d) If you make any significant changes to your ACDBE program at any time, you must provide the amended program to the FAA for approval before implementing the changes.

(e) If you are a non-primary airport, non-commercial service airport, a general aviation airport, reliever airport, or any other airport that does not have scheduled commercial service, you are not required to have an ACDBE program. However, you must take appropriate outreach steps to encourage available ACDBEs to participate as concessionaires whenever there is a concession opportunity.

Link to an amendment published at 89 FR 24959, Apr. 9, 2024.

(a) If, as a recipient that must have an ACDBE program, the program must include provisions for a policy statement, liaison officer, and directory, as provided in part 26, §§ 26.23, 26.25, and 26.31, as well as certification of ACDBEs as provided by Subpart C of this part. You must include a statement in your program committing you to operating your ACDBE program in a nondiscriminatory manner.

(b) You may combine your provisions for implementing these requirements under this part and part 26 (e.g., a single policy statement can cover both Federally-assisted airport contracts and concessions; the same individual can act as the liaison officer for both part 23 and part 26 matters).

Link to an amendment published at 89 FR 24959, Apr. 9, 2024.

(a) You must include in your ACDBE program a narrative description of the types of measures you intend to make to ensure nondiscriminatory participation of ACDBEs in concession and other covered activities.

(b) Your ACDBE program must provide for setting goals consistent with the requirements of Subpart D of this part.

(c) Your ACDBE program must provide for seeking ACDBE participation in all types of concession activities, rather than concentrating participation in one category or a few categories to the exclusion of others.

(d) Your ACDBE program must include race-neutral measures that you will take. You must maximize the use of race-neutral measures, obtaining as much as possible of the ACDBE participation needed to meet overall goals through such measures. These are responsibilities that you directly undertake as a recipient, in addition to the efforts that concessionaires make, to obtain ACDBE participation. The following are examples of race-neutral measures you can implement:

(1) Locating and identifying ACDBEs and other small businesses who may be interested in participating as concessionaires under this part;

(2) Notifying ACDBEs of concession opportunities and encouraging them to compete, when appropriate;

(3) When practical, structuring concession activities so as to encourage and facilitate the participation of ACDBEs

(4) Providing technical assistance to ACDBEs in overcoming limitations, such as inability to obtain bonding or financing;

(5) Ensuring that competitors for concession opportunities are informed during pre-solicitation meetings about how the recipient's ACDBE program will affect the procurement process;

(6) Providing information concerning the availability of ACDBE firms to competitors to assist them in obtaining ACDBE participation; and

(7) Establishing a business development program (see part 26, § 26.35); technical assistance program; or taking other steps to foster ACDBE participation in concessions.

(e) Your ACDBE program must also provide for the use of race-conscious measures when race-neutral measures, standing alone, are not projected to be sufficient to meet an overall goal. The following are examples of race-conscious measures you can implement:

(1) Establishing concession-specific goals for particular concession opportunities.

(i) If the objective of the concession-specific goal is to obtain ACDBE participation through a direct ownership arrangement with a ACDBE, calculate the goal as a percentage of the total estimated annual gross receipts from the concession.

(ii) If the goal applies to purchases and/or leases of goods and services, calculate the goal by dividing the estimated dollar value of such purchases and/or leases from ACDBEs by the total estimated dollar value of all purchases to be made by the concessionaire.

(iii) To be eligible to be awarded the concession, competitors must make good faith efforts to meet this goal. A competitor may do so either by obtaining enough ACDBE participation to meet the goal or by documenting that it made sufficient good faith efforts to do so.

(iv) The administrative procedures applicable to contract goals in part 26, § 26.51-53, apply with respect to concession-specific goals.

(2) Negotiation with a potential concessionaire to include ACDBE participation, through direct ownership arrangements or measures, in the operation of the concession.

(3) With the prior approval of FAA, other methods that take a competitor's ability to provide ACDBE participation into account in awarding a concession.

(f) Your ACDBE program must require businesses subject to ACDBE goals at the airport (except car rental companies) to make good faith efforts to explore all available options to meet goals, to the maximum extent practicable, through direct ownership arrangements with DBEs.

(g) As provided in § 23.61 of this part, you must not use set-asides and quotas as means of obtaining ACDBE participation.

Link to an amendment published at 89 FR 24960, Apr. 9, 2024.

(a) As a recipient, you must retain sufficient basic information about your program implementation, your certification of ACDBEs, and the award and performance of agreements and contracts to enable the FAA to determine your compliance with this part. You must retain this data for a minimum of three years following the end of the concession agreement or other covered contract.

(b) Beginning March 1, 2006, you must submit an annual report on ACDBE participation using the form found in appendix A to this part. You must submit the report to the appropriate FAA Regional Civil Rights Office.

As a recipient, you must implement appropriate mechanisms to ensure compliance with the requirements of this part by all participants in the program. You must include in your concession program the specific provisions to be inserted into concession agreements and management contracts setting forth the enforcement mechanisms and other means you use to ensure compliance. These provisions must include a monitoring and enforcement mechanism to verify that the work committed to ACDBEs is actually performed by the ACDBEs. This mechanism must include a written certification that you have reviewed records of all contracts, leases, joint venture agreements, or other concession-related agreements and monitored the work on-site at your airport for this purpose. The monitoring to which this paragraph refers may be conducted in conjunction with monitoring of concession performance for other purposes.

[77 FR 36931, June 20, 2012]