RICHMOND, Va. (WTVR) – A busy day ahead for lawmakers at Virginia’s Capitol. One bill in particular under consideration today, that some say could fix a problem involving women and minority owned businesses in the Commonwealth.
That bill, SB 651, would compel Governor Bob McDonnell to administrate the recommendations made from the 2011 Commonwealth of Virginia Disparity Study.
The disparity study conducted by the state last year concluded that Virginia did not provide equal opportunities to minority and women owned businesses.
The NAACP has scrutinized the way the state does business with minority groups, stating that the majority of state and local contracts are awarded to other businesses.
The bill passed a State Senate vote 23-17. It now heads to the House of Delegates.
King Salim Khalfani, the Executive Director of the Virginia State Conference NAACP is calling for a rally to support the bill Monday morning,
“We have over 3000 businesses registered with the state, so we do need our share. …so do women, so do Asians, so do Latinos and white women…they are a majority, but are considered a minority…we are fighting over 2 percent, while the others get 98 percent of the 5 billion,” he said.
That rally will be held at 10 a.m, at 9th and Broad Street in downtown Richmond, in front of the Virginia General Assembly building.
This rally comes at a pivotal time for the General Assembly. Both the House and Senate only have until Tuesday night at midnight to finish work on their respective bills. Then on Wednesday they can only work on bills passed by the other chamber.
Negotiations on the budget, however, will continue throughout the rest of the sixty day session.
Look for an update at CBS 6 news at noon and online at WTVR.com.
