Okla. Stat. tit. 74, § 74-5013.2: Expenditures from Minority Business Development Program

Fund - Contracts.

A. The Oklahoma Department of Commerce shall expend so much as

appropriated to the Minority Business Development Program Fund as

may be necessary to accomplish contractual responsibilities for job

creation and enhancement and business creation and expansion of

Oklahoma minority-owned businesses. The Department may contract

with organizations which support minority businesses for these

purposes only after:

1. An applicant organization has submitted an approved business

plan;

2. An applicant organization has demonstrated through education

and experience capabilities of offering management tools and

technical assistance to minority-owned businesses;

3. An applicant organization has demonstrated that it can

provide financial capacity and responsibility to manage a program to

aid minority-owned businesses in the manner set out herein;

4. A panel of peer reviewers has received applications and

recommended such applications for contracting;

5. The Department has given due consideration to those

applicants that demonstrate an ability to attract matching funding

from other governmental or private or charitable organizations;

6. The Department has given due consideration to those

applicants that demonstrate an ability to aid minority-owned

businesses located in communities with a population of less than ten

thousand (10,000); and

7. The Department has developed, adopted and published

additional criteria, upon receipt of advice and comment from

qualified peer reviewers.

B. Any contract entered into pursuant to this section shall

require quarterly reports of activities and expenditures upon forms

prescribed by the Department. Said quarterly reports shall be

reviewed by Oklahoma Futures. The Department or Oklahoma Futures

may disallow expenditures and withhold funds accordingly, if reports

reflect failure to comply with approved applications. All

contractors shall submit annual audits as required by the Department

of Commerce which may be paid from allocated, appropriated funds.

The Department may utilize an amount not to exceed twenty percent

(20%) of appropriated funds for administration of the minority-owned

business program.

C. Contracts entered into by the Oklahoma Department of

Commerce for the purpose of implementing the Minority Business

Development Program shall be exempt from the requirements of the

Oklahoma Central Purchasing Act.