by Valerie Lizárraga
Today, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB)’s updates to the Uniform Grants Guidance released on April 4, 2024 officially go into effect. These are some of the most substantial changes to the Uniform Grants Guidance—which determines how states, localities, tribal governments, and other federal grantees can spend federal money—in decades.
A coalition of national and regional advocacy groups, labor unions, and community organizations, known as the Local Opportunities Coalition, for years led the efforts to advocate for updates to these federal grant guidelines and on April 4, 2024 the White House’s OMB announced the revisions to the Uniform Grants Guidance. These revisions include many of the coalition’s recommendations, which marks a historic step in transforming how communities can use the trillions in federal funds flowing to states and cities.
With local and state governments now able to attach strong worker and community benefits to their federally-funded projects, the revised guidance is poised to uplift workers and local communities by providing access to quality jobs that aid the transition to a green economy and address urgent climate issues.
The updates allow grantees to attach job quality, racial and gender equity incentives, and encourage private contractors to uplift local economies in public contracts. Some of the significant revisions in the updated Uniform Grants Guidance include:
- Removing the ban on geographic preference so states and cities can prioritize workers and small businesses in their communities
- Allowing recipients of federal funds to advance family-sustaining jobs by rewarding bidders for job quality metrics such as wages and benefits, which can include implementing scoring mechanisms like Jobs to Move America’s U.S. Employment Plan
- Allowing for hiring efforts targeted to disadvantaged communities, including workers of color and women, to advance equity and access to quality jobs
- Requiring federal grantees to conduct cost-benefit analyses before contracting out public services to private firms
- Encouraging federal grantees to purchase goods and services from private contractors that emphasize environmentally sustainable practices and products
Now, local and state governments will have the ability to advance good jobs, equity, and community benefits in the public procurement process for federally-funded projects. We look forward to seeing how these changes will further maximize outcomes and benefits for communities, workers, and small businesses.