Va. Minority Business Commission starts Wednesday

Bill that created group was effective July 1

Published July 1, 2020 by Sydney Lake

Pictured from left: Cameron Bertrand, Marcus Calabrese, Marckel Bonds, Leigh Henderson, Valerie Gains, Frankie Edmondson, Pat Foster, Jason Miyares, Benny Zhang and Latoya Breckenridge. Photo courtesy Newport News Office of the Commissioner of the Revenue. — Pictured from left: Cameron Bertrand, Marcus Calabrese, Marckel Bonds, Leigh Henderson, Valerie Gains, Frankie Edmondson, Pat Foster, Jason Miyares, Tiffany Boyle, Benny Zhang and Latoya Breckenridge. Photo courtesy Newport News Office of the Commissioner of the Revenue.

With the initiation of a swath of bills passed during the most recent Virginia General Assembly session, the bill that creates the Minority Business Commission went into effective Wednesday, July 1.

The Minority Business Commission will provide policy input and operational guidance to the General Assembly with a goal of addressing challenges facing minority business owners. Gov. Ralph Northam’s signature on the budget bill funded and authorized the creation of the commission.

The legislation to create the commission was first introduced as HB 124, patroned by Del. Jason Miyares, R-Virginia Beach, and co-patroned by Dels. Joshua Cole, D-Fredericksburg; Shelly Simonds, D-Newport News; Alfonso Lopez, D-Arlington; Clinton Jenkins, D-Suffolk; Kenneth Plum, D-Reston; Glenn Davis, R-Norfolk and Sen. Monty Mason, D-Williamsburg.

HB 124 patrons worked with Tiffany Boyle, Newport News commissioner of the revenue, and regional and state leaders in the minority business community to develop the concept and content of the bill. HB 124 didn’t pass, but the provision creating the commission was later added to HB 30 (the budget bill), which eventually passed, says Marcus A. Calabrese, public information officer for Boyle’s office.

Participating organizations and representatives in the commission include:

Virginia Beach Minority Business Council
Richmond Minority Business Office
Virginia Asian American Chamber of Commerce
Williamsburg Chamber of Commerce
Richmond NAACP
York-Jamestown-Williamsburg NAACP
Newport News Commissioner of the Revenue Office
Portsmouth Commissioner of the Revenue Office
Councilman Benny Zhang
Former Councilwoman Shannon Kane

“What began as a conversation has become a commission which will take the best practices and lessons learned from the participating organizations and our supporting legislators,” Boyle said in a statement.

Appointments to the Minority Business Commission have not yet been made, but Speaker of the House Del. Eileen Filler-Corn, D-Fairfax, will be the one to make the appointments, says Calabrese.