Virginia Law

The following words and terms when used in this chapter shall have the following meanings unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:

"Affiliate" means a business that is connected in some way, whether financially or legally, to a business that has applied to the department for certification as a small, women-owned, or minority-owned business (see the federal Small Business Administration regulations, 13 CFR Part 121). The following requirements, conditions, and factors are applicable:

1. Businesses are affiliates of each other when, either directly or indirectly:

a. One business controls or has the power to control the other;

b. A third party controls or has the power to control both;

c. An identity of interest between or among parties exists such that affiliation may be found; or

d. One business or company has ownership, direct or indirect, of 10% or more of the voting stock of another business. (See the Investment Company Act, 15 USC § 80a-2.)

2. In determining whether affiliation exists, it is necessary to consider all appropriate factors, including common ownership, common management, and contractual relationships. Affiliates must be considered together in determining whether a concern meets small business size criteria and the statutory cap on the participation of firms in the small, women-owned, or minority-owned business certification program.

"Agent" means a person that (i) has the authority to act on behalf of a principal in transactions with third parties; (ii) is subject to the principal's control; and (iii) does not have title to the principal's property.

"Appeal" means a written request by an applicant to reconsider a denial or revocation of certification.

"Applicant" means any business that applies to the department for certification or recertification as a small, women-owned, or minority-owned business.

"Application" means the documents the department requires the applicant to submit in the course of certification or recertification, including the application form the applicant submits under penalty of perjury, which may include any additional documentation that the department requests that the applicant submit, and any information or report that the department generates during or upon completion of an onsite visit.

"Broker" means a person who acts as an intermediary between a buyer and seller.

"Business" means any legal entity organized in the United States or a commonwealth or territory of the United States that regularly engages in lawful commercial transactions for profit.

"Certification" means the same as that term is defined in § 2.2-1604 of the Code of Virginia.

"Certified" means the status accorded to an applicant upon the department's determination that the applicant has satisfied the requirements for certification as a small, women-owned, or minority-owned business.

"Control" means the power to direct the operation and management of a business as evidenced through governance documents and actual day-to-day operation.

"Corporation" means a legal entity that is incorporated under the law of a state, the United States, or a commonwealth or territory of the United States.

"Day" means any day except Saturday, Sunday, and legal state holidays unless otherwise noted.

"Dealer" means a person or business that has the exclusive or nonexclusive authority to sell specified goods or services on behalf of another business.

"Department" means the Department of Small Business and Supplier Diversity.

"Director" means the Director of the Department of Small Business and Supplier Diversity or his designee.

"Expiration" means the date on which the director specifies that a certified business will cease to be certified.

"Franchise" means a contractual arrangement characterized by the authorization granted to someone to sell or distribute a company's goods or services in a certain area.

"Franchisee" means a business or group of businesses established or operated under a franchise agreement.

"Gross receipts" means the amount reported as gross receipts of sales by the applicant on line 1 or 1(A) of the applicable federal income tax return as filed with the United States Internal Revenue Service.

"Individual" means a natural person.

"Joint venture" means a formal association of two or more persons or businesses for the purpose of carrying out a time-limited, single business enterprise for profit, in which the associated persons or businesses combine their property, capital, efforts, skills, or knowledge, and in which the associated persons or businesses exercise control and management and share in profits and losses in proportion to their contribution to the business enterprise.

"Limited liability company" means a specific type of legal entity that is in compliance with the applicable requirements of the law of its state of formation.

"Manufacturer's representative" means an agent whose principal is a manufacturer or group of manufacturers.

"Minority individual" means the same as that term is defined in § 2.2-1604 of the Code of Virginia.

"Onsite visit" means a visit by department representatives to the applicant's physical place of business to verify the applicant's representations submitted to the department in the course of certification or recertification.

"Ownership" means an equity, a partnership, or a membership interest in a business.

"Partnership" means an association of two or more persons to carry on as co-owners a business for profit.

"Person" means a natural person or a business.

"Principal" means a person who contracts with another to act on the contracting person's behalf subject to that person's control.

"Principal place of business" means the physical business location where the business maintains its headquarters, where the business's books and records are kept, and where the natural persons who direct, control, and manage the business's day-to-day operations are located. If the offices from which management is directed and where the business records are kept are in different locations, the department will determine the principal place of business.

"Pro forma" means as a matter of form or assumed information.

"Recertification" means the process by which a business applies to the department for renewed or continued status as a certified business.

"Record" means the materials submitted in support of an application for certification or recertification, which may include the application, supporting documentation, and additional materials obtained by the department in the course of the application, certification, or recertification process.

"Sole proprietorship" means a business whose assets are wholly owned by a single person.

"Virginia-based business" means a business that has its principal place of business in Virginia.