The regular session adjourned sine die on Monday, February 8th. Governor Northam called a Special Session immediately following which commenced on that Wednesday and will adjourn sine die on Monday, March 1.
ICYMI: Governor Ralph Northam announced the results of the Commonwealth’s disparity study, which demonstrate the need for narrowly tailored race- and gender-conscious measures to increase equitable opportunities for woman- and minority-owned businesses in state contracting. The outcomes of the study will guide the Northam Administration’s ongoing work with General Assembly leaders to increase supplier diversity and equity in the state procurement process. Read the executive summary of the 2020 disparity study here.
To encourage woman- and minority-owned business participation in the procurement process, the Commonwealth will support a substitute to House Bill 1784, patroned by Delegates Jeion Ward and Rodney Willett and Senators Jennifer McClellan and Mamie Locke. This bill would establish an overall goal of 23.1 percent discretionary spending with woman- and minority-owned businesses. This percentage represents the average of the participation of woman- and minority-owned businesses in state procurement work over the past five years and their availability for state procurement work. This would apply to discretionary spending in categories from which the Commonwealth derives procurement orders, prime contracts, and subcontracts. This legislation also codifies Governor Northam’s goal of procuring at least 42 percent discretionary spending from SWaM-certified businesses.
In addition, the bill establishes a new division at the Department of Small Business and Supplier Diversity (DSBSD) that will work closely with the Department of General Services (DGS), Virginia’s primary procurement agency, to ensure that the SWaM-certified business goal of 42 percent and the woman- and minority-owned business goal of 23.1 percent are met each year, and there is appropriate monitoring of prime contractor compliance.
The study found that 13.4 percent of total state contracts were awarded to woman- and minority-owned businesses from 2014 to 2019. The most recent disparity study was published in 2011, found that only 2.82 percent of all state contracts were awarded to woman- and minority-owned businesses. While these results show improvement, the 2020 study also found that woman- and minority-owned businesses would be expected to receive 32.8 percent of state contracting dollars based on their availability to provide goods and services to the Commonwealth, demonstrating that there is more work to do.
The full results from the 2020 disparity study are available here.
The substitute bill is HB 5002 in which we have been working with the Administration to ensure that there is more equity in contract awards and administered in a way that can be fairly and effectively implemented.
Below, you will find an update of the organization’s “Active”, “Monitor”, and “Dead” lists.
ACTIVE
These bills are being actively lobbied by Williams Mullen, AIA Virginia, and ACEC Virginia. This does not necessarily mean we are testifying before committees on all of these bills. It could mean that we are engaged in conversations with bill patrons or other industries that can alter the legislation’s outcome.
HB 1811 – Helmer – Virginia Public Procurement Act; preference for energy-efficient and water-efficient goods.
HB 2001 – Helmer – State and local buildings, certain; building standards.
HB 2227 – Kory – Uniform Statewide Building Code; amendments, energy efficiency and conservation.
HB 5002 – Ward – Small Business & Women-owned & Minority-owned Business Procurement Enhancement Programs; establish.
SB 1209 – Petersen – Subcontractor’s employees; liability of general contractor for wages.
SB 1305 – McPike – Virginia Public Procurement Act; public works contracts, subcontractor workforce requirements.
SB 1384 – Surovell – Virginia Public Procurement Act; local arbitration agreements.
MONITOR
AIA Virginia is watching bills placed in this category. Often, we are watching bills because they are of interest and we want to remain informed. When this is the case, it is often another organization taking the lead due to its specific expertise and political relationships. If amendments are introduced that make a bill in this category detrimental to our profession, then it is moved to the ACTIVE list and we engage. There are some bills that AIA Virginia does not take a position on. An example of this would be bills that define “small business”. Because of the composition of our membership, we would not want to take action that would hurt any of our members.
HB 1800 – Torian – Budget Bill.
HB 1849 – Simonds – Virginia Public Procurement Act; participation in apprenticeship training programs, etc.
HB 1935 – Watts – Income tax, state; conformity with the Internal Revenue Code.
HB 2063 – Mullin – Virginia Overtime Wage Act; overtime compensation employees, penalties.
HB 2071 – Convirs-Fowler – Transportation funding; statewide prioritization process, resiliency.
HB 2137 – Guzman – Paid sick leave; employers to provide to certain employees.
HB 2177 – Torian – Capital outlay plan; repeals existing six-year capital outlay for projects to be funded.
HB 2178 – Torian – Commonwealth of Virginia Higher Educational Institutions Bond Act of 2021; created.
HB 2221 – Hayes – Environmental permits; community and environmental justice outreach.
HB 2288 – Williams Graves – Va. Public Procurement Act; construction contracts, requirement to submit list of subcontractors.
HB 2327 – Krizek – Prevailing wage rate; public contractors.
SB 1100 – Howell – Budget Bill.
SB 1109 – Stanley – Voter referendum; issuance of state general obligation bonds for school facility modernization.
SB 1155 – Howell – Capital outlay plan; repeals existing six-year capital outlay for projects to be funded.
SB 1209 – Petersen – Subcontractor’s employees; liability of general contractor for wages.
SB 1284 – Favola – Commonwealth Clean Energy Policy; established.
SB 1350 – Lewis – Transportation funding; statewide prioritization process, resiliency.
DEAD
The following depicts the bills of interest to AIA Virginia that were introduced but were not successful. This list is expected to grow as the General Assembly advances.
HB 1741 – Campbell, R.R. – Va. Public Procurement Act; contract clause requiring subcontractor reporting of certain payments.
HB 1755 – Carter – Right to work; repeals provisions of Code that refers to denial or abridgement.
HB 1784 – Ward – Small Business Procurement Enhancement Program; established, report.
HB 1787 – McNamara – Income tax, state; establishes an exclusion for Paycheck Protection Plan loan forgiveness.
HB 1794 – Davis – Collective bargaining; prohibited considerations during negotiations.
HB 1857 – Subramanyam – Virginia Public Procurement Act; architectural and professional engineering term contracting.
HB 1937 – Rasoul – Green New Deal Act; establishes a moratorium, effective January 1, 2022, etc.
HB 1974 – Rush – Architects & professional engineers; exemptions from license requirements for onsite sewage systems.
HB 2015 – Ayala – Essential workers; hazard pay, employer to provide personal protective equipment, civil penalty.
HB 2016 – Ayala – Paid family and medical leave program; Virginia Employment Commission required to establish.
HB 2093 – O’Quinn – School Construction Fund and Program; created and established.
HB 2103 – Reid – Certain public & private employers to provide earned paid sick time.
HB 2143 – Miyares – COVID-19 virus; immunity from civil claims related to the transmission of or exposure to the virus.
HB 2237 – McQuinn – Virginia Public Procurement Act; project labor agreements, transportation projects.
HB 2246 – LaRock – State agencies; automatic workforce management verification software.
HB 2259 – Scott – Governor; issuance of licenses to persons denied by regulatory board. [OPPOSED]
HB 2306 – VanValkenburg – Va. Public Procurement Act; contract clause requiring subcontractor reporting of certain payments.
HJ 552 – Levine – Recurrent inland and urban flooding across the Commonwealth; joint subcommittee to study.
SB 1186 – Hashmi – Landfill siting; historic preservation.
SB 1224 – Boysko – Uniform Statewide Building Code; amendments, energy efficiency and conservation.
SB 1330 – Boysko – Paid family and medical leave program; Virginia Employment Commission to establish.
SB 1352 – Lewis – Flood Control and Commonwealth Flood Control Board, Department of; established, report.
SB 1362 – Lewis – Employers; reporting outbreaks of COVID-19.
SB 1419 – Marsden – Project labor agreements; public interest.
SB 1449 – Chase – COVID-19 immunization; prohibition on requirement, employment discrimination prohibited.
SB 1450 – Chase – COVID-19 vaccination; discrimination in employment prohibited.
If you have any questions, please feel free to submit them to Corey Clayborne, FAIA at cclayborne@aiava.org