NOTICE OF HEARING AND COMMENT DUE DATEThe Commission hereby schedules a hearing to begin at 10:00 a.m., on Tuesday,July 9, 2019, at the Reginald F. Lewis Museum, 830 E. Pratt Street, Baltimore, Maryland 21202.
The purpose of the hearing is:
(1) to consider the report from the Commission’s Technical Staff (“Staff”)that summarizes the data from the 2018 Maryland Supplier DiversityProgram Annual Reports (“2018 Annual Reports”) filed with theCommission by the Reporting Companies,1 including any issues that mayhave come to Staff’s attention during its review of the 2018 AnnualReports (“Staff Report”);
(2) to hear comments from each Reporting Company on the Staff Report andto discuss with representatives of each Company2 the status of theCompany’s efforts t o w a r d s implementing the MOU, including goals,d ata collection, resolution of disputes, etc.;
(3) to hear comments from interested persons on the theme of this year’sconference, “Economic Inclusion.” While significant achievements in theSupplier Diversity program has been made, the Commission recognizesthe importance of attracting diverse suppliers outside of the energy andutilities industries to participate in supplier diversity programs. Personsmay wish to identify the hurdles that diverse suppliers face as part of thebidding/contracting process and address methods to assist ReportingCompanies that have not reached their 25 percent goal and to encouragenon-participating utilities to participate in the program; and
(4) to review the data the Commission requested in its October 5, 2019 PublicDetermination that the Reporting Companies continue to collect dataregarding indirect spend and contracts with veteran-owned Lesbian, Gay,Bisexual, and Transgender-owned (“VOBE and LGBT”) businesses, andto revisit the recommendations the Utility Forum made in 2017 that theMOU be amended to include Tier II indirect spend and to expand thediverse spend categories to include VOBE or LGBT-owned firms.
The Staff shall submit an original and seventeen paper copies, and an electronic copy, of its Staff Report to Terry J. Romine, Executive Secretary, Maryland Public Service Commission, William Donald Schaefer Tower, 6 St. Paul Street, 16th Floor, Baltimore, Maryland 21202 by June 25, 2019. Five of the paper copies shall be three-hole punched.
By Direction of the Commission,/s/ Terry J. RomineTerry J. RomineExecutive Secretary