(a) The department shall encourage mentor-protege agreements between prime contractors and subcontractors whereby protege firms may receive appropriate developmental assistance from the mentor firm to enhance protege firms’ capabilities to perform as subcontractors and suppliers.

(b) In encouraging establishment of mentor-protege relationships, the department may consider offering incentives to prime contractors including, but not limited to, a credit against participation goals required by Article 1.5 (commencing with Section 10115) of Chapter 1 of Part 2 of Division 2 of the Public Contract Code.

(c) This section shall be known and may be cited as the Polanco Mentor-Protege Program of 1993.

(Added by Stats. 1993, Ch. 433, Sec. 8. Effective September 24, 1993.)