The City Journal has an interesting article exploring California’s mandated preference for gay businesses in the energy industry. If the state hits its target, “LGBT-owned businesses” will receive $633 million in contracts. Putting aside the imposition of such agendas on companies at a time of rising energy costs, the certification process for being an LGBT business is astonishing.
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This is only one of various categories of preferential treatment under state law. It began in 1986, under Governor George Deukmejian, requiring certain CPUC-regulated utilities to submit annual “plans” for buying goods and services from woman- and minority-owned companies.
The specific LGBT preference began under former Gov. Jerry Brown in 2014, but was expanded by Gov. Gavin Newsom in 2019 to encourage energy companies to favor LGBT businesses.
The law is based on the protected class status under state law rather than proof that LGBT business people are discriminated against in the energy field or that LGBT owners make substantially less than straight owners.
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