The 2026 Maryland State MBE Accountability Scorecard

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

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 been Maryland’s benchmark since at least FY2014.

For more than a decade, performance has fallen short. That is documented trend data.

This scorecard exists to measure movement — not to inflame debate.

Progress will be acknowledged.
Persistent gaps will be measured.

Maryland set the standard.
The work now is to meet it.

BMORENews will publish this Maryland State MBE Accountability Scorecard annually.