3376

LAWS OF MARYLAND

Ch. 840

(2)  "Secretary" means the Secretary of General
Services, the Secretary of [the Department of] Transportation, or
the President of the University of Maryland.

(3)  "Small business" has the meaning established by
the Secretary in rules and regulations, subject to the criteria
set forth in subsection (b) of this section.

(4)  "Small business [set-aside] PREFERENCE" means a
purchase request for which the Secretary invites bids from a list
of qualified bidders including small businesses.

(5)  "Predetermined percentage preference" means the
percentage, not to exceed 5 percent, set by a Secretary, by which
the bid [or offer] of the lowest responsive and responsible small
business may exceed the bid [or offer] of the lowest responsive
and responsible bidder [or offeror] that is not a small business.

(b)  (1) Each Secretary shall adopt rules and regulations
specifying the criteria for qualification as a small business.

(2)  The criteria for qualification may vary from
industry to industry to reflect different industry
characteristics.

(3)  One of the criteria to be used in establishing
qualifications shall be a maximum number of employees for each
class of businesses.

(c)  (1) Each Secretary shall adopt rules and regulations
specifying procedures for:

(i) [Compiling] COMPILING and maintaining a
comprehensive bidder's list of small businesses;

(ii) [Locating] LOCATING potential sources for
various products and services and affirmatively seeking to locate
potential minority business enterprise sources for various
products and services;

(iii) [Assisting] ASSISTING small businesses in
complying with the procedures for bidding on State contracts;

(iv) [Examining] EXAMINING requests from using
authorities for purchase of products or services to help
determine which invitations to bid are to be designated small
business [set-asides] PREFERENCES;

(v) [Simplifying] SIMPLIFYING procurement
specifications and terms in order to increase the opportunities
for small business participation;

(vi) [Investigating] INVESTIGATING the
responsibility of bidders on small business [set-asides]
PREFERENCES; and