The City of Orlando has taken the steps to replace its Minority and Women-Owned Business Enterprise (MWBE) Program with a more comprehensive Small and Local Business Preference Program, fundamentally altering how the City allocates resources, including contracts, to local businesses. 

The change comes in response to political and legal pressures related to federal and state legislation focused on race and gender-based practices. This necessitated the City to develop a neutral framework that is based on the size and location of the business as opposed to the race or gender of the business owner.

Orlando's new small and local business program emphasizes certification, bid preferences, and subcontracting goals for small qualifying vendors, along with additional benefits to businesses located within the city or its immediate areas. 

Proponents believe this will help keep a greater percentage of procurement dollars within the local economy and also reduce their legal exposure. However, some advocates for MWBEs believe that this model may reduce the targeted remedies for a long history of disparities.

A shift in procurement practices is taking place across the country and in the cities. For example, Orange County recently discontinued its MWBE program and has started an SBE program that emphasizes small and local businesses rather than specific demographic categories, as has been done by many other cities, including Philadelphia. 

As a result, contractors in Orlando will have to monitor the recent changes to these programs closely, including eligibility requirements, documentation requirements, and bid preferences, in order to be competitive with other contractors.