Maryland’s 29% Promise — Measured by Results, Not Rhetoric Before Minority Business Enterprise became a program, it was a fight. It was leaders like Parren J. Mitchell who secured federal minority set-asides not for applause, but for structural access to public contracts that had long been denied to Black-owned firms. MBE was not created for branding. It was created to correct exclusion. In that spirit, BMORENews launches the first annual Maryland State MBE Accountability Scorecard — a data-driven look at where Maryland stands relative to its own benchmark. This is not about personalities.This is about performance. The Benchmark: Maryland’s 29% Standard Statewide MBE Participation Goal: 29% In effect, since at least FY2014, when statewide tracking began Applies to: 70+ participating state agencies and departments For more than a decade, 29% has been Maryland’s publicly stated aspirational goal for Minority Business Enterprise participation in state procurement. That is the standard. The 2026 Snapshot (Using FY2023 Data) Total qualifying procurement spending: $6.8 billion Total MBE awards: $1.2 billion Overall MBE participation rate: 17.85% Gap from 29% goal: 11.15 percentage points For more than a decade, Maryland has not consistently met its 29% benchmark. This is not an interpretation.It is arithmetic. Key Metrics – FY2023 Metric Value Total qualifying expenditures $6.8 billion Total MBE awards $1.2 billion Overall MBE participation rate 17.85% Statewide participation goal 29% Goal gap 11.15 percentage points Agencies meeting/exceeding 29% 9 units Certified vs. Participating: The Inclusion Gap MBE firms receiving state payments in FY2023: 1,516 Certified MBE firms in FY2023: Thousands statewide Certified MBE firms as of 2025 milestone: 10,000+ In FY2023, only 1,516 certified MBEs received state payments, even as certification numbers continued to grow. Certification is increasing.Participation is not keeping pace. The gap between certification and contract awards remains significant. Certification alone does not equal economic inclusion.Dollars awarded do. Prime vs. Subcontract Access Awards to MBE prime contractors: 31% of total MBE awards Awards to MBE subcontractors: 69% of total MBE awards A substantial share of MBE participation continues to occur through subcontracting rather than prime contracts. Subcontracting creates opportunity.Prime contracting builds scale, stability, bonding capacity, and long-term firm growth. If minority firms remain concentrated in subcontract roles, structural equity remains limited. Future scorecards will track: Prime contract participation rates Black-owned prime participation, where publicly reported Reductions in subcontract dependency Contract unbundling efforts Access matters.Ownership of opportunity matters more. Local Evidence: Baltimore City’s Disparity Data Baltimore City’s 2022 Disparity Study found that African American professional services firms received just 4.11% of contract dollars in that category, despite significantly higher availability in the marketplace. The pattern is consistent: Availability does not automatically translate into utilization. Enforcement and procurement design determine outcomes. Transparency & Accountability: What This Scorecard Will Track To strengthen performance, this scorecard will monitor: Overall MBE participation percentage Black-owned prime participation, if publicly available Number of participating agencies meeting the 29% goal Enforcement and compliance reporting transparency Contract unbundling activity Transparency is not confrontation. It is governance. The Standard Remains The 29% aspirational goal has…