Case Name: CHARLES E. BURKETT AND ASSOCIATES, INC., Appellant, v. DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION, Appellee
Court: Florida District Court of Appeal
Jurisdiction: Florida
Decision Date: 1994-05-13
Citations: 637 So. 2d 47
Docket Number: Nos. 92-2482, 93-686
Parties: CHARLES E. BURKETT AND ASSOCIATES, INC., Appellant, v. DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION, Appellee.
Judges: DIAMANTIS, J., concurs.
Reporter: Southern Reporter, Second Series
Volume: 637
Pages: 47–49

Head Matter:
CHARLES E. BURKETT AND ASSOCIATES, INC., Appellant, v. DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION, Appellee.
Nos. 92-2482, 93-686.
District Court of Appeal of Florida, Fifth District.
May 13, 1994.
Theodore E. Mack, Cobb, Cole & Bell, Tallahassee, for appellant.
Thornton J. Williams, Gen. Counsel, and Thomas F. Capshew, Asst. Gen. Counsel, Tallahassee, for appellee.

Opinion:
HARRIS, Chief Judge.
The issue in this case is the validity of the rules of the Department of Transporta tion which have the effect of requiring that before a minority or woman owner may be certified as a Disadvantaged Business Enterprise in order to compete for set-aside contracts, such minority or woman owner must, in addition to merely being the owner, also have the technical capability, knowledge, training, education or experience required to make decisions in the critical areas of operation.
The rules implemented by the Department are consistent with and patterned after the rule promulgated pursuant to the Federal Surface Transportation and Uniform Relocation Act of 1987 (the Federal Act) to address the same problem of lack of minority and women participation in government construction contracts on the national level:
(3) The minority or women owners shall also possess the power to direct or cause the direction of the management and policies of the firm and to make the day-to-day as well as major decisions on matters of management, policy and operations .
49 C.F.R. § 23.53.
Where the empowering provision of a statute permits an agency to make rules and regulations necessary to carry out the provisions of the act [see section 337.139, Florida Statutes (1991) ], the validity of such rules and regulations will be sustained so long as they are reasonably related to the purposes of the legislation and are not arbitrary or capricious. General Telephone Co. of Florida v. Florida Public Service Commission, 446 So.2d 1063 (Fla.1984).
We find the rules of the Department to be neither arbitrary nor capricious and that they are reasonably related to the purpose of the legislation, which is to encourage minorities and women to actively participate in the construction services professions.
AFFIRMED.
DIAMANTIS, J., concurs.
GRIFFIN, J., concurs specially, with opinion.