Small Business Commission: Executive Summary of Interim Activity (2025 Interim)

Summary

Executive summary of the Small Business Commission's 2025 interim activity, prepared under § 30-183 of the Code of Virginia. It states that the Virginia Small Business Commission met on June 18, 2025 and October 23, 2025, with Delegate David Reid presiding as chair. At the June meeting, presentations covered the state of small business in Virginia from Intuit Data Analysis Platform speakers, small business distillers from Scott Harris of Catoctin Creek Distilling Company, and small business movie and television jobs from the Virginia Production Alliance. The October meeting was a roundtable on 2026 legislative planning that listed retail franchise agreements, the sales and use tax dealer discount and credit card swipe fees on sales tax.

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Executive
Summary

Small Business Commission
Executive Summary of 202 5 Interim Activity
http://dls.virginia.gov/commissions/sbc.htm

Pursuant to the powers and duties authorized under § 30-183 of the Code of Virginia, the Virginia
Small Business Commission (the Commission) held two meeting during the 2025 interim with
Delegate David Reid, chair, presiding. Materials presented at the meetings are accessible through
the Commission's meetings webpage.
The Commission's first meeting occurred on June 18, 2025, and the second meeting occurred on
October 23, 2025. Pursuant to HJR 687, which was enacted by the 2019 Session of the General
Assembly, the Commission studied information and policy proposals related to matters affecting
small businesses.
Commission Members
Delegate David A. Reid, Chair Delegate Josh Thomas
Senator Tammy Brankley Mulchi, Vice- Delegate Thomas C. Wright Jr.
Chair Jay M. Atkinson
Senator Lamont Bagby Melissa A. Ball
Senator T. Travis Hackworth Harshad Barot
Senator Christopher T. Head Giuseppe Lanzone
Delegate Kelly K. Convirs-Fowler Thomas Leonard
Delegate Debra D. Gardner Lee Vogler
Delegate Delores Oates

June 18, 2025, Meeting
The Commission met in Richmond for its first interim meeting of 2025. The meeting began with
introductions and the election of Delegate David A. Reid as chair and Senator Tammy Brankley
Mulchi as vice-chair.1 Following the election, the Commission adopted a virtual meeting policy.
Materials presented at the meeting are accessible through the Commission's website.

State of Small Business in Virginia
Erik Rettig, Senior Manager of Global Policy and Regulatory Affairs, Intuit Data
Analysis Platform
Simon Worsfold, Head of Data Communications, Intuit Data Analysis Platform
Mr. Rettig and Mr. Worsfold discussed the current state of small businesses in Virginia. Intuit
Data Analysis Platform tracks small business employment and revenue in Virginia as well as

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Members Present: Delegate David A. Reid (chair), Senator Tammy Brankley Mulchi (vice-chair), Senator
Lamont Bagby, Senator Christopher T. Head, Delegate Kelly K. Convirs-Fowler, Delegate Debra D. Gardner,
Delegate Delores Oates, Delegate Joshua E. Thomas, Delegate Thomas C. Wright, Jr., Jay M. Atkinson, Melissa
A. Ball, Harshad Barot, Giuseppe Lanzone, Lee Vogler
Members Absent: Senator T. Travis Hackworth, Thomas Leonard
other jurisdictions. More detailed information can be found in Intuit's "Small Business Index"
published monthly, quarterly, and annually. Mr. Rettig and Mr. Worsfold also mentioned the
notable increase in the use of artificial intelligence and its impact on productivity. Policy themes
include (i) increasing digital adoption, (ii) accessing credit, and (iii) reducing barriers to entry.

Update on Small Business Distillers in Virginia
Scott Harris, Founder and General Manager of Catoctin Creek Distilling Company
Mr. Harris spoke on behalf of the Virginia Spirits Board. He noted that marketing and economic
research undertaken by the Virginia Spirits Board in 2022 found that distilleries contributed $1.1
billion to the Virginia economy and 86 of those distilleries are small business distilleries.
Because of its relation to the agriculture and tourism industries, Mr. Harris considers whiskey to
be an agricultural product. By way of example, he mentioned that the byproduct of whiskey
production is cow feed that is donated to Virginia farmers ensuring that there is no waste. Mr.
Harris also discussed the impacts of tariffs on the distillery industry and how the uncertainty of
tariff implementation makes small business operations difficult internationally due to
competition with Mexico, Canada, and Europe. He reported that a Quebec distribution contract
was cancelled due to trade tariff uncertainty. Additionally, generational differences may be
reflecting a decreased interest in alcohol, but Mr. Harris pointed out that interest in alcohol
generally ebbs and swells over time.

Small Business Movie and Television Jobs in Virginia
Ramona Taylor, Virginia Production Alliance
Steve Taylor, Virginia Production Alliance
Ms. Taylor discussed small business movie and television jobs in Virginia. The Virginia
Production Alliance is a trade organization that advocates for the interests of film and media
professionals in Virginia. Ms. Taylor noted that there are many small businesses in a number of
different industries that remain in business due to the film industry. Not only does the film
industry bring direct revenue to the Commonwealth through the creation of jobs, but it also
brings indirect revenue due to film marketing—people want to visit the places in Virginia that
they see in movies. Virginia films feed Virginia families by supporting Virginia businesses. Mr.
Taylor spoke more specifically on the impact that the film industry has on small businesses,
noting that 90 percent of the small businesses hired for film production in Virginia have fewer
than 10 employees. Virginia is currently 35th in the nation of the states that have a film
incentive. Delegate Joshua E. Thomas asked a question regarding the goal for the expansion of
Virginia's film incentive, and Mr. Taylor mentioned that extending the sunset date through
legislation to avoid the expiration of the incentive would be immensely helpful, as well as
expanding the amount of available funds through the Governor's Motion Picture Opportunity
Fund. Mr. Taylor explained that increasing the amount of grants and incentives for the film
industry will effectively send a message to film professionals that Virginia is ready to be a site
for film production.

Legislative Priorities for the 2026 Session
Delegate Reid transitioned the meeting to a discussion of potential topics for the Commission to
investigate for legislation for the 2026 Session. Senator Christopher T. Head mentioned he
would like the Commission to discuss SB 798 (Head, 2025 Session) that provides that retail
franchise agreements be governed by the laws of the Commonwealth and prohibits any person

Page 2 of 3 Virginia Division of Legislative Services
from offering or entering into a franchise agreement that includes competition restrictions that
extend beyond termination or expiration of the franchise agreement unless such settlement is
approved by a court of competent jurisdiction. Senator Mulchi also mentioned that she would
like the Commission to discuss SB 983 (Mulchi, 2025 Session) that provides that the dealer
discount deduction for state retail sales and use tax that the dealer accounts for in submitting his
return and paying the amount due will be six percent of the first three percent of the tax imposed.

October 23, 2025, Meeting
The Commission met in Richmond for its second interim meeting of 2025. The meeting began
with opening remarks from Delegate David A. Reid, chair, presiding.2 Materials presented at the
meeting are accessible through the Commission's website.

2026 Legislative Planning — Roundtable Discussion
Commission members engaged in a roundtable discussion regarding a number of different topics,
including:
1. Retail franchise agreements; governing law; competition restrictions (SB 798 — 2025;
Sen. Head);
2. Sales and use tax; dealer discount (SB 983 — 2025; Sen. Mulchi);
3. Credit card swipe fees on sales tax; and
4. Item 3-5.07 #1h (2023 Budget Amendment — Restore the Dealer Discount).

For more information, see the Commission's website or contact the Division of Legislative
Services:
Ashley Binns, Senior Attorney, DLS Marvi Ali, Senior Attorney, DLS
abinns@dls.virginia.gov mali@dls.virginia.gov
804-698-1812 804-698-1816

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Members Present: Delegate David A. Reid (chair), Senator Tammy Brankley Mulchi (vice-chair), Senator
Lamont Bagby, Delegate Kelly K. Convirs-Fowler, Delegate Debra D. Gardner, Delegate Delores Oates, Delegate
Joshua Thomas, Delegate Thomas C. Wright, Jr., Thomas Leonard, Jay M. Atkinson, Melissa Ball
Members Absent: Senator T. Travis Hackworth, Senator Christopher T. Head, Harshad Barot, Giuseppe Lazone,
Lee Vogler

Virginia Division of Legislative Services Page 3 of 3

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