                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

POWERS OF DIRECTOR (§ 2.2-1606)

As deemed necessary or appropriate to better fulfill the duties of the
Department, the Director may:

1. With the participation of other state departments and agencies, develop
comprehensive plans and specific program goals for small, women-owned, and
minority-owned business programs; establish regular performance monitoring and
reporting systems to assure that goals of state agencies and institutions are
being achieved; and evaluate the impact of federal and state support in
achieving objectives.

2. Employ the necessary personnel or subcontract, according to his discretion,
with localities to supplement the functions of business development
organizations.

3. Assure the coordinated review of all proposed state training and technical
assistance activities in direct support of small, women-owned, and
minority-owned business programs to ensure consistency with program goals and to
avoid duplication.

4. Convene, for purposes of coordination, meetings of the heads of departments
and agencies, or their designees, whose programs and activities may affect or
contribute to the purposes of this chapter.

5. Convene business leaders, educators, and other representatives of the private
sector who are engaged in assisting the development of small, women-owned, and
minority-owned business programs or who could contribute to their development
for the purpose of proposing, evaluating, or coordinating governmental and
private activities in furtherance of the objectives of this chapter.

6. Provide the managerial and organizational framework through which joint
undertakings with state departments or agencies or private organizations can be
planned and implemented.

7. Recommend appropriate legislative or executive actions.

8. Adopt regulations to implement certification programs for small, women-owned,
and minority-owned businesses and employment services organizations, which
regulations shall be exempt from the Administrative Process Act (&#xA7; 2.2-4000
et seq.) pursuant to subdivision B 2 of &#xA7; 2.2-4002. Such certification
programs shall allow applications for certification to be submitted by
electronic means as authorized by &#xA7; 59.1-496 and the applicant to affix
thereto his electronic signature, as defined in &#xA7; 59.1-480. Such
certification programs shall deny certification to vendors from states that deny
like certifications to Virginia-based small, women-owned, or minority-owned
businesses and employment services organizations or that provide a preference
for small, women-owned, or minority-owned businesses and employment services
organizations based in that state that is not available to Virginia-based
businesses. The regulations shall (i) establish minimum requirements for
certification of small, women-owned, and minority-owned businesses and
employment services organizations; (ii) provide a process for evaluating
existing local, state, and private sector certification programs that meet the
minimum requirements; and (iii) mandate certification without any additional
paperwork of any small, women-owned, or minority-owned business that has
obtained (a) certification under any federal certification program or (b)
certification under any other certification program that is determined to meet
the minimum requirements established in the regulations, and of any employment
services organization that has been approved by the Department for Aging and
Rehabilitative Services. All employment services organization certifications
shall remain in effect until the Department is notified by the Department for
Aging and Rehabilitative Services that such organization is no longer approved.
The regulations shall also require as a prerequisite for approval that any
out-of-state business applying for certification in Virginia as a small,
women-owned, or minority-owned business have the equivalent certification in the
business&#8217;s state of origin. An out-of-state business located in a state
that does not have a small, women-owned, or minority-owned business
certification program shall be exempt from the requirements of this provision.
The regulations shall establish a process for businesses that are denied initial
certification as a small, women-owned, or minority-owned business to appeal such
denial on the basis that the Department made a mistake in denying the
business&#8217;s application for certification.

9. Establish an interdepartmental board in accordance with &#xA7; 2.2-1608 to
supply the Director with information useful in promoting minority business
activity.

HISTORY: 2013, c. 482; 2017, cc. 380, 573; 2018, c. 681; 2021, Sp. Sess. I, c.
149.