Virginia HB61 — SWaM Mandate Bars Non-Certified Businesses from Contracts Under $100K

Virginia House Bill 61, championed by Governor Abigail Spanberger, mandated that 42% of state government contracts be awarded to certified SWaM (Small, Women-owned, and Minority-owned) businesses. Contracts under $100,000 were set aside exclusively for SWaM-certified vendors, structurally excluding white male-owned small businesses from bidding on a major tranche of state procurement. Critics argued the scheme constituted explicit race and sex discrimination in government contracting and may face constitutional challenge under Equal Protection principles established in Adarand Constructors v. Peña (1995) and reaffirmed by SFFA v. Harvard (2023).

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