SD33 - Annual Report of the Virginia Small Business Commission


Executive Summary:
A. COMMISSION BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Small businesses dominate the Virginia business scene. Over 60 percent of Virginia's businesses have fewer than five employees. And, businesses with fewer than 100 employees provide jobs for over half of Virginia's workforce. Yet, small businesses are acutely challenged in an economy trending toward larger and larger companies. Because of their size, small businesses frequently encounter difficulty accessing capital, developing effective marketing strategies, utilizing technology, and providing competitive health care benefits. These challenges prompted the Virginia General Assembly to establish a permanent legislative commission for small business.

Senate Bill 673 and House Bill 1759, approved by the 1994 Session of the General Assembly and signed into law, established the Virginia Small Business Commission. Establishing the Commission was the recommendation of a 1994 joint subcommittee studying ways to assist small business pursuant to Senate Joint Resolution 128 of 1993. The Commission's enabling legislation (Appendix A) gave it the following responsibilities:

• Evaluate the impact of existing statutes and proposed legislation on small businesses.

• Assess the Commonwealth's small business assistance programs and examine ways to enhance their effectiveness.

• Provide small business owners and advocates with a forum to address their concerns.

• Report annually its findings and recommendations to the Governor and the General Assembly.

The Commission is comprised of 14 members, including six members from the House of Delegates, four members from the Senate and four at-large members appointed by the Governor. The at-large members are required to be individuals with small business experience or expertise.

The following General Assembly members were appointed in 1995 to serve on the Commission: Senators Stanley C. Walker of Norfolk, Elliot S. Schewel of Lynchburg, Janet D. Howell of Reston, and J. Brandon Bell of Roanoke; Delegates A. Victor Thomas of Roanoke, Glenn R. Croshaw of Virginia Beach, Franklin P. Hall of Richmond, Vincent F. Callahan, Jr. of McLean, Robert S. Bloxom of Mappsville and I. Vincent Behm, Jr. of Hampton. 1995 Gubernatorial appointees were Robert A. Archer of Salem, Thomas E. Inman II of Williamsburg, Jorge M.P. Ponce of Centreville and Bernice E. Travers of Richmond.

B. SUMMARY OF THE COMMISSION'S 1995 ACTIVITIES

Senator Stanley C. Walker of Norfolk was elected Commission Chairman; Delegate A. Victor Thomas of Roanoke was elected Vice-Chairman. During its inaugural year, the Commission convened three meetings--including two public hearings--in three separate regions of the state: Richmond in Central Virginia, Norfolk in the Tidewater area, and Herndon in Northern Virginia.

One of the Commission's statutory missions is to provide small business owners and advocates with a forum to address their concerns. The business community used the two public hearings to address an array of issues, including the business professional and occupational licensing (BPOL) tax.

The Commission also received briefings on (i) small business financing programs and (ii) innovative small business opportunities, including National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) high technology small business partnering program.