Houston adding business support for LGBT

Houston became the first city in Texas on Thursday to add a certification for LGBT-owned businesses in city contracting.

Mayor Sylvester Turner signed an executive order adding the certification during an event with the National LGBT Chamber of Commerce and its Houston affiliate. The Chamber will manage the certification process.

The move ultimately could help the city direct more contracts to LGBT-owned businesses, which make up a small portion of the region’s 130,000 companies.

Some 173 businesses belong to the Greater Houston LGBT Chamber of Commerce, and 70 businesses in Texas — including 38 in Houston — have been certified by the national chamber as LGBTowned, though the organization said that number often grows after governments recognize them. The number in California tripled in one year after it added the certification.

Houston already has certifications for small businesses and businesses owned by minorities and women, as part of a remedial program intended to boost their participation in city contracting. It places goals for how much of certain contracts are directed toward those entities.

The new LGBT-owned business certification will not be included in those goals, but the executive order says the city will monitor their participation in contracts and produce an annual report about its findings.

It is possible goals could be added in the future. Marsha Murray,

the director of the city’s Office of Business Opportunity, said government programs based on sex, like those based on race or national origin, are subject to strict constitutional scrutiny, which means the city has to demonstrate that remedial action is necessary before it can enact goals.

“The city’s new initiative is the beginning step to identify and monitor the level of participation by LGBT business enterprises in city contracting,” she said.

The order also adds the businesses to the city’s firm directory, which means prime contractors will be able to seek out LGBT subcontractors. The city also is launching an outreach campaign to educate LGBT business owners about resources from the Office of Business Opportunity, such as development counseling, legal assistance, and networking events.

Turner said the certification will help Houston diversify

its vendors, which he said helps save taxpayer money by expanding the bidding process for city contracts.

“This initiative is a win for our city in so many ways,” Turner said.

Marilyn Jordan and Naomi Scales, managing partners MarFran Cleaning in Houston, which is certified by the National LGBT Chamber of Commerce, said the status has symbolic importance, as well. MarFran, like the 37 other businesses in Houston with the national certification, will be entered into the city’s firm directory now.

“What this executive order and this type of legislation says is, if you want to do business with the City of Houston, you must be willing to see and accept all of us,” Jordan said. “What it says to the LGBTQ community is, we don’t have to force fit into a group that does not address our authenticity.”

Jonathan Lovitz, a senior vice president at the National LGBT Chamber, said Houston joins a growing number of more than 20 cities

and states that have recognized the certifications.

California was the first, adopting a public mandate to include certified LGBT businesses in contracting in 2014, according to Lovitz. The state has been analyzing the data around participation and is preparing to adopt its first goals this fall.

In the meantime, the Houston businesses will benefit from programming and being included in the city’s directory, he said.

“We always talk about being invited to the table. Well, now LGBT businesses have their name on the invite to the table,” Lovitz said.

Tammi Wallace, founder and CEO of the Greater Houston LGBT Chamber of Commerce, praised the order. She said it will help show that LGBT business owners are a critical part of the city’s economic fabric.

“It’s an historic announcement on any measure, and certainly another step toward LGBTQ economic inclusion,” Wallace said.