City of Baltimore
Baltimore City Code

§ 28-118. Sheltered Market Program.

(a) Eligible contracts.

(1) The Chief and a contracting agency may select certain contracts that have a contract value of $250,000 or less for award to a certified SLBE, or a joint venture with a certified SLBE, through the Sheltered Market Program.

(2) The Chief and a contracting agency may select certain contracts that have a value of $50,000 or less for award to a certified Emerging SLBE firm through the Sheltered Market Program.

(b) Contract selection for the Sheltered Market Program.

In determining whether a particular contract should be bid through the Sheltered Market Program, the contracting agency and Chief must consider:

(1) whether there are at least 3 certified SLBEs or certified Emerging SLBEs that are available and capable to participate in the Sheltered Market Program for that contract;

(2) the degree of underutilization of the SLBE and Emerging SLBE contractors in the specific industry categories; and

(3) the extent to which the City's SLBE and Emerging SLBE contractor utilization goals are being achieved.

(c) Removal of contracts from the Sheltered Market Program.

A contract may be removed from the Sheltered Market Program for purposes of rebidding if:

(1) a responsive and responsible bid or response is not received for the contract; or

(2) the apparent low bid is determined by the contracting agency, with concurrence from the agency receiving the primary benefit of the contract, to be so high in price as to be not reasonable or not within the City's budgeted funding for the contract.

(d) Effect of determinations.

(1) A finding made regarding the number of available certified SLBE's or Emerging SLBE's in determining whether a contract should be bid through the Sheltered Market Program for purposes of subsection (b) of this section does not create a presumption that any bidder is a responsible bidder for purposes of subsection (c) of this section.

(2) The determination of a contracting agency, or the City's prequalification process, that a bidder is not a responsible bidder for purposes of subsection (c) of this section is final and conclusive.