Ms. O'Connor, thank you for your outstanding explanations of this regulatory process and your earnest courtesy to me – and thus our Chamber of Commerce – yesterday.

  Our Charlottesville Regional Chamber of Commerce supports the proposed regulatory amendment (7VAC 13-20) relating to Certification of Virginia Small, Women-Owned and Minority-Owned Businesses.

 This proposed regulatory improvement recognizes diverse ownership organizational structures employed by various Small, Women-Owned and Minority-Owned Businesses and remedies previous regulatory determinations with a fuller, more complete understanding of modern business ownership structures.

This proposed regulation modification to recognize “qualifying individual(s)” who own parent firms of subsidiary firms, strengthens the fundamental statutory charge that Small, Women-Owned and Minority-Owned Businesses “… ownership by women, minority, or individual owners (in the case of a small business) must be real, substantial, and continuing going beyond the pro forma ownership of the business.”  This proposed regulation is a needed and welcome improvement that in fact and in practice, recognizes various business structures employed by firms in today’s competitive business environment and which do not lessen Virginia’s statutory requirements.

Again, our Chamber fully supports the proposed regulatory change (7VAC 13-20). 

Thank you.