Test Drive Our New Site! We have some improvements in the works that we're excited for you to experience. Click here to try our new, faster, mobile friendly beta site. We will be maintaining our current version of the site thru the end of 2024, so you can switch back as our improvements continue.
Legislation Quick Search
Advanced Search
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
07/27/2024 01:34 AM
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
https://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/Legis/CSM/showMemoPublic.cfm?chamber=H&SPick=20230&cosponId=41151
Share:
Home / House Co-Sponsorship Memoranda

House Co-Sponsorship Memoranda

Subscribe to PaLegis Notifications
NEW!

Subscribe to receive notifications of new Co-Sponsorship Memos circulated

By Member | By Date | Keyword Search


House of Representatives
Session of 2023 - 2024 Regular Session

MEMORANDUM

Posted: July 6, 2023 11:30 AM
From: Representative Greg Scott
To: All House members
Subject: Supporting Our Diverse and Veteran-Owned Local Businesses
 
With thousands of local businesses across Pennsylvania competing for state and local government bidding opportunities, the encouragement of minority, women, and veteran-owned local businesses is essential to creating a more equitable playing field. Facing numerous challenges, like reduced access to loans and lines of credit, these businesses are continually trying their best to provide the people of Pennsylvania with the goods and services they demand.
 
As elected officials, we must ensure that we give back in any way we can to our great communities, especially those that help to enrich the lives of our constituents. My legislation would recognize these efforts by providing equitable opportunities to our small diverse businesses and veterans. For veterans, this legislation would establish contract-specific goals and oversight for veteran business enterprises and allow the Department of General Services to complete a disparity study ever five years on the availability and use of veteran business enterprises.
 
In addition, the legislation would rename “small disadvantaged businesses” as “small diverse businesses” to better align with current program terminology. To further address the concerns of our diverse local businesses, the legislation would also create the Small Diverse Business Program to similarly assist our great local businesses in operating as equitably as they can. Lastly, the current classification of a “small business” would be updated to allow the Department of General Services to set size requirements on an industry-by-industry basis to more accurately reflect the many different types of businesses that perform work for the state.
 
Please join me in co-sponsoring this commonsense legislation to provide more equitable opportunities to these wonderful veteran-owned and diverse local businesses.
 


Introduced as HB2256