DOT civil rights office briefs House Transportation Committee on DBE, ADA and outreach work

Rashad Joseph, a manager with the Department of Transportation and Public Facilities' Civil Rights Office, told the House Transportation Committee on March 24 that his office manages statewide programs to certify disadvantaged businesses, oversee airport concessions compliance, enforce ADA requirements and coordinate Title VI public engagement.

Joseph said the office is based in Anchorage and currently has nine employees (15 when fully staffed). "The DBE program is designed to help women and minorities gain work within state agencies," he told the committee, describing a certification process that includes on-site reviews and examination of tax and financial records.

Why this matters: the DBE and ACDBE programs tie directly to federal funding and procurement goals. Joseph warned the committee that changes at the federal level have disrupted familiar certification rules and created a heavy recertification workload. "The interim final rule has catastrophically messed a lot of things up," he said, referring to an October federal rule that removed race and gender as automatic criteria for DBE status and now requires individualized narratives of disadvantage.

Joseph described how the office enforces performance and ownership requirements: certification agents conduct on-site reviews, examine documentation showing who operates equipment or performs the work and may deny certification when paperwork and practice do not match. Certified firms receive additional training and the office can pay 50% of certain training costs. He also said the office keeps federal reviewers informed through annual reporting and goal adjustments.

The presentation covered related programs: the Airport Concessions DBE (ACDBE) program, which Joseph said requires an inventory of airport concessions and close FAA reporting; the Small Business Element/Concessions (SBEC) work that helps firms prepare bids; and an on-the-job training (OJT) program and career fair that Joseph said drew 700 students last year and had about 750 registered for an April 8 event at the Alaska Fairgrounds.

Committee members asked practical questions about enforcement and public response. Joseph said the office receives calls from the public about inaccessible bus stops and sidewalks after heavy snow and routes those complaints to maintenance staff. On construction sites, the office documents failures to provide alternate pedestrian routes and works with traffic and maintenance staff to correct problems. He said the office uses PROWAG and ADAAG standards and ArcGIS-based inventories to support federal compliance reviews.

Joseph also described Title VI public-engagement requirements. "When we go to events we look for certain things to ensure translation services and nondiscrimination notices are available," he said, noting the office periodically reviews web pages, contracts and mailed notices to keep nondiscrimination language current.

The committee thanked Joseph for the briefing; no formal committee action was taken on the presentation. Joseph closed by urging interested members to refer constituents to the Civil Rights Office for accessibility complaints and noting the office continues outreach and training across the state.

Ending: The committee did not vote on any DOT actions today; members reserved follow-up questions and thanked DOT for the briefing.