Harris County commissioners are set to discuss the county's minority- and women-owned businesses equity program over a week after a federal court issued a decision that the city of Houston's version of the program was unconstitutional.
The big picture
Harris County Precinct 3 Commissioner Tom Ramsey added the item to the agenda after U.S. District Judge David Hittner, the ruling judge on the case, said the city of Houston's program violated the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment.
Run by the Harris County Department of Economic Equity and Opportunity, the program was established in November 2020 by commissioners to provide equity among women- and minority-owned businesses for county contracts. The program aimed to have at least 30% of county contracts awarded to women- and minority-owned businesses on an annual basis after a survey found those businesses only received 9% of county contracts despite making up roughly 28% of the business market.
As previously reported by Community Impact, a white couple from Spring filed a lawsuit in 2023 against the city of Houston after stating that they had to pay $143,000 to a minority-owned competitor to finish part of the work on their five-year, $1.3 million contract with the city, which resulted in the judgment.
Also on the agenda
Commissioners will also receive an update on third quarter projections for the Harris County fiscal year 2026-27 budget. During the presentation, the budget office will also look at identifying "high-value, underutilized county real estate assets to sell or lease to generate general fund revenue for the FY27 budget."
Precinct 1 Commissioner Rodney Ellis also requested a presentation of any generated revenues and expenses to the county as a result of the 2026 FIFA World Cup that took place over the summer.
Ramsey also put forth an item to approve an interlocal agreement with the Houston Parks Board to design a potential shared-use path connecting the Cypress Creek Greenway to the Spring Creek Greenway.
Stay tuned
Harris County Commissioners Court meetings are held at 9 a.m. in Downtown Houston. The administration building is located at 1001 Preston St., Houston. Meetings are also available to livestream here.
