House Co-Sponsorship Memoranda

House of Representatives
Session of 2015 - 2016 Regular Session

Posted:	September 10, 2015 11:37 AM
From:	Representative Donna Oberlander and Rep. Pam Snyder
To:	All House members
Subject:	Certification of Minority-owned, Woman-owned and Veteran-owned Businesses in Pennsylvania

In the very near future, we plan to introduce legislation providing for the certification of Pennsylvania-based minority-owned, woman-owned and veteran-owned businesses by the Department of General Services. The Commonwealth currently restricts Pennsylvania owned diverse businesses from being recognized as such if they exceed certain criteria set in law and policy. (i.e. employee limits and maximum annual sales) which contradicts the efforts of this Commonwealth by stifling the growth of these businesses. Our legislation would certify all minority-owned, women-owned. and veteran-owned business which have met the standards of the Commonwealth’s third party verifiers. Many diverse businesses in Pennsylvania are certified by our neighboring states, but cannot get verified in the Commonwealth. This legislation will help correct this inconsistency and enhance the ability of Pennsylvania owned businesses to grow and compete in the national economy. This legislation will ensure these businesses are properly certified and that our Commonwealth is doing all it can to promote the diverse businesses and to increase their competitiveness outside of Pennsylvania. Please join us in co-sponsoring this important piece of legislation.
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Introduced as HB1653