Civil Rights

Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit District DBE Program Policy Statement

The Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit District (SMART) has established a Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) program in accordance with regulations of the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), 49 CFR Part 26. SMART has received or plans to receive Federal financial assistance from the Department of Transportation, and as a condition of receiving this assistance, SMART has signed an assurance that it will comply with 49 CFR Part 26.

It is the policy of SMART to ensure that DBEs, as defined in Part 26, have an equal opportunity to receive and participate in DOT-assisted contracts. It is also our policy:

1. To ensure nondiscrimination in the award and administration of DOT-assisted contracts;
2. To create a level playing field on which DBEs can compete fairly for DOT-assisted contracts;
3. To ensure that the DBE Program is narrowly tailored in accordance with applicable law;
4. To ensure that only firms that fully meet 49 CFR Part 26 eligibility standards are permitted to participate as DBEs;
5. To help remove barriers to the participation of DBEs in DOT-assisted contracts; and
6. To assist the development of firms that can compete successfully in the market place outside the DBE Program.

SMART has disseminated this policy statement to the SMART Board and all of the relevant components of our organization. We have distributed this statement to DBE and non-DBE business communities that perform, or are anticipated to perform, work for us on DOT-assisted contracts via a Symposium for Contractors, Engineers, Architects, Vendors and others interested in SMART’s capital projects, held in Petaluma, California on June 8, 2008, publication on the SMART website, the Marin Independent Journal and the Santa Rosa Press Democrat.

Lillian Hames
General Manager
Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit District
July 16, 2009

SMART’s Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) Program
(click to download)