History

The following provides an overview of the history of the VBC, which advocates in support of public policy that will enhance free enterprise and economic development in Virginia. The Council’s focus has remained on education, transportation, fiscal policy reform and infrastructure investment since the organization's inception in 1979. The following provides some key milestones over the history of the VBC.

VBC advocates to protect Virginia’s Right to Work statute.

Positioning Virginia for a healthy economic recovery tops Council priorities (2021).

VBC urges increased investment to better market Virginia for business (2018 – present).

Council supports development of customized workforce recruitment and training incentive program (2018).

Expansion of Virginia’s International Trade Programs supported by Council (2018).

VBC urges policymakers to address critical teacher shortage (2018).

Council passes resolution in support of work-based learning for all Virginia high school students (2017).

VBC supports State Council on Higher Education in Virginia’s (SCHEV) Strategic Plan (2016-2017).

VBC supports regional GO Virginia Initiative (2016 - present).

VBC supports workforce credentials grant program to meet the demands of the Virginia workforce (2016 - present).

VBC supports landmark transportation package (2013).

Enhancement of Virginia’s ports tops VBC priorities (2012).

VBC supports new investment in transportation and higher education (2005-2008).

VBC plays integral role in reforming Virginia’s budget and tax structure (2004).

Council instrumental in establishment of Council on Virginia’s Future (2003).

VBC helps to create the Council for Virginia’s Future (2001).

Council commissions study, “Virginia's Fiscal Future: A Long-Term Perspective” (1998).

VBC provides leadership in enactment of Virginia's Standards of Learning (SOLs) (1995).

VBC helps to create the Virginia Foundation for Research and Economic Education (Virginia FREE) (1988).

Throughout the history of the VBC, the organization has been firmly committed to protecting Virginia’s Right to Work law. The Council recognizes that repealing the Right to Work statute now would, without question, put existing and future employers at a distinct disadvantage in competition with other Right to Work states, including our border states of North Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky and West Virginia. Given concerns about the impact of repeal of the Right-to-Work law, including that many companies are likely to refuse to even consider investment in states where the freedom of association embodied in Right to Work statutes is not protected, the VBC has been vocal in its support of protecting this critical law.

The Council recognized that COVID-19 created a new set of economic challenges and opportunities for the Commonwealth. Forecasts at the time indicated that Virginia would not return to pre-COVID employment levels until 2023, leaving roughly 200,000 Virginians without work in the interim without decisive action. By investing in a portfolio of targeted economic development initiatives through a collaboration of Commerce and Trade agencies and authorities, The Council believed that Virginia could accelerate the path to recovery by adding tens of thousands of additional jobs each year. For these reasons, the Council supported:

Expand Virginia’s Talent Accelerator Program
Restore funding in the Virginia Jobs and Investment Program (VJIP)
Expand Business Ready Sites Program
Create the office of education and labor market alignment
Honor Major Employment Investment project commitment.

In contrast with competing states, Virginia has an economic development marketing budget of zero in 2018. In contrast, most peer states (e.g., Georgia, Florida, Ohio) have multi-million-dollar economic development marketing budgets, in addition to their marketing budgets for tourism, which enable them to improve perceptions and awareness among corporate decision-makers. While Virginia had funds for person-to-person business development, as well as some lead generation and international country representation, the Commonwealth had minimal funding to maintain a modern economic development website, purchase third-party advertising in trade publications, cultivate earned media with leading business publications, or produce and distribute marketing publications to corporate executives. While Virginia has a diverse set of assets that make it attractive for many businesses, awareness of these strategic advantages was very low. To improve perceptions of and drive interest in the Commonwealth as an attractive business destination, the VBC supports increased investment to implement robust branding, lead generation, and site consultant cultivation programs.

The VBC recognized that Virginia’s higher education system, K12 schools, and educational attainment were ranked among the top 10 states in the country and that the Commonwealth’s workforce system has made substantial strides in recent years. However, Virginia was lacking a crucial piece of its overall workforce system that other competitor states offer as part of their workforce development program portfolio. For this reason, the Council supported the creation of a world-class, turnkey, customized workforce recruitment and training incentive program with direct delivery of services for eligible economic development projects. Through a program of this kind, industry experts could be provided to work closely with company subject matter experts to design and deliver turnkey workforce solutions, including recruitment, screening, development of customized program together, contingent upon funding availability.

The VBC was concerned that VEDP’s highly regarded trade development programs were oversubscribed, with the number of companies being served limited by resource constraints. Accordingly, Virginia was leaving job creation opportunities on the table. These trade programs are popular initiatives that help businesses of all sizes throughout Virginia reach the international market. To address this, the Council urged investment of an additional $1.8 million each year to support more companies and create more jobs by growing international trade programs serving Hampton Roads, Northern Virginia, and STEP channels, expanding the marquee VALET program, and expanding the Global Defense Program. This allowed VEDP to go from enrolling approximately 320 companies in its trade programs each year to enrolling about 500 companies in the future, resulting in an estimated 5,000 10,000 trade-supported jobs annually in Virginia over the next decade.

The VBC urged members of the Virginia General Assembly and State Board of Education to take steps to address the teacher shortage in Virginia, which had reached a crisis level. In a resolution and letter to policymakers, the Virginia Business Council recognized that the teacher shortage is a critical issue that, left unaddressed, will jeopardize its members and other companies in their ability to recruit the qualified workforce they need, and ultimately compromise their economic success and that of residents in Virginia. The Council expressed support for policies and initiatives designed to reduce teacher shortages by increasing the supply of potential teachers in Virginia and improving the retention of existing qualified teachers, including:

Removing unnecessary obstacles to entering the teaching profession;
Better preparing teachers for the challenges of today’s classrooms;
Providing teachers with the tools and support they need to succeed; and
Strengthening teachers’ total compensation.

In its communication to policymakers, the Council, as a leader in the business community, also committed to working in partnership with educators and administrators to implement solutions that address the shortage of teachers in the Commonwealth.

As a part of the VBC’s workforce development initiative, the Council passed a resolution expressing support for the implementation of the Profile of a Virginia Graduate and affirms its commitment to expansion of opportunities for all students to access work-based learning experiences during their high school experiences. In the resolution, the Council further commits to exploring how businesses and educators can collaborate to (1) identify, develop and share infrastructure, tools and resources for educators, students and businesses to enable a streamlined, scalable, efficient process to support the delivery of work-based learning opportunities throughout Virginia. Finally, the Council also expressed support for expansion of the network of employers committed to supporting work-based learning experiences, working in partnership with educators in Virginia.

The VBC has been and continues to be a strong supporter of higher education in the Commonwealth. In order to attract new jobs and regain its status as one of the best states for business, Virginia needs a well-trained workforce. We must be able to recruit the best and the brightest to Virginia and, to do that, we need to offer the best schools in the world to families looking to relocate. Our state institutions of higher learning play a critical role in preparing our future workforce. To this end, the Council strongly supports the four primary goals of SCHEV’s Strategic Plan, which are:

Provide affordable access for all.
Optimize student success for work and life.
Drive change and improvement through innovation and investment.
Advance the economic and cultural prosperity of the Commonwealth and its regions.

The VBC was among the first supporters of the business-led, bipartisan GO Virginia initiative that has provided a new framework for the strengthening the economy in each region of Virginia through enhanced collaboration by business, education and local government. This initiative has made great progress since being adopted in 2016 to demonstrate the need for more cooperation and collaboration to improve the economy in every region of Virginia.

The demand for the GO Virginia project grants had been strong, with more than $5 million in grants already awarded up to the end of 2017. To build on that success, in 2018, the VBC specifically supported increased investment in diversifying the state’s economy and the creation of more, higher paying jobs through GO Virginia. As a result, the FY19-20 budget included an increase of $15 million over the biennium in the state’s investment in this valuable program. This took the total funding for the grants to $64 million at that time.

The VBC has been among the strongest supporters of the New Economy Workforce Credentials Grant Program, a pay-for-performance program that targets resources toward workforce needs in high-demand fields. This program was developed recognizing that at least half of that jobs at that time required more than a high school diploma, but less than a four-year degree and that tens of thousands of high-paying jobs were unfilled because applicants lacked the skills to do the work. The Council and its members have led efforts to support this program given its focus on better aligning resources with needs in the workforce, and strong connectivity with local businesses in high-demand fields, such as information technology, advanced manufacturing, skilled trades, health care and logistics/transportation.

The VBC played an integral role in supporting the landmark transportation legislation that will enable significant investment in the Commonwealth’s transportation construction and maintenance for decades to come. “Virginia’s Road to the Future” legislation is the state’s first comprehensive transportation funding plan approved in 27 years. Following on the heels of nearly three decades of inaction on the critical challenges facing transportation funding in Virginia, this historic bi-partisan legislation supported by Republicans and Democrats from each chamber will provide more than $3.4 billion in additional statewide transportation funding, more than $1.5 billion in additional funding for Northern Virginia, and more than $1 billion in additional funding for Hampton Roads, over the next five years alone.

The VBC recognizes the ports in Virginia are significant economic drivers for the Commonwealth. The Port of Virginia was one of the first to recognize that on top of its geophysical advantages, expanded terminal infrastructure and on-dock rail access were necessary to prepare for a wider Panama Canal and a new class of vessels. Unlike many of its East Coast competitors, Virginia is not limited by shallow water or overhead obstructions (bridges). Further, the Port of Virginia is home to the most technologically advanced container terminal in the Americas, has both of the East's Class I railroads on dock and is within a day's drive of two-thirds of the nation's population. All this being said, the Council believed that Virginia must be diligent in its continued focus on preparing the ports to leverage the economic opportunities today and that will come in the future. To encourage and facilitate this growth, the VBC supported proactive efforts by the Commonwealth and the Virginia Port Authority/Virginia International Terminals (VPA/VIT) to do the following:

Review and reform bureaucratic processes that inhibit the efficiency and competitiveness of the VPA/VIT operations vs. other ports.
Establish economic development zones where companies engaged in maritime commerce can operate income tax-free for their first two years in operation.
Continue implementation of port-related tax credits enacted in the 2011 legislative session that encourage shipping through the ports.
Increase the amount of cargo shipped from the ports by rail from the current 30% to 50%, to alleviate highway traffic.
Plan and fund highway improvements that facilitate the movement of increased container volumes without exacerbating existing congestion.
Continue the enhancement and growth of the Port of Richmond.
Continue pursuit of federal funding for the development of the Craney Island Marine Terminal.
Pursue innovative solutions to increase the throughput of containerized and break-bulk cargo, as well as agricultural and energy products, at the ports.

During this period, the Governor and General Assembly advanced some important transportation initiatives that enabled additional one-time investments, expansion of public-private partnerships, land use reforms and additional taxing authority for certain local governments. However, initiatives to provide significant new sustainable revenue for investment in Virginia's critical transportation infrastructure needs were not enacted. In 2008, the Governor and General Assembly agreed on a major $2.6 billion higher education bond package for capital projects at Virginia's colleges and universities.

The VBC played an integral role in support of further reform of the Commonwealth's budget and tax structure to address the long-term structural imbalance in the budget. The Council supported a package of proposals that increased some taxes and decreased others with the overall result of an additional $1.4 billion in new revenue to sustain investment in core government services. Addressing the structural imbalance in Virginia's budget also preserved the Commonwealth's AAA bond rating.

The Council on Virginia's Future was created to develop a vision and long-term goals for Virginia's future and a performance leadership and accountability system for state government that supports achievement of the vision. The Council worked to provide a long-term focus on high priority issues, create an environment for improved policy and budget decision-making, increase government accountability and transparency, improve government performance, and engage citizens in dialogue about Virginia's future. The Council served as an advisory board to the Governor and the General Assembly that supports the development and implementation of a roadmap for Virginia's future. Implementation is the responsibility of elected and appointed officials, regional and community leaders, and the people of Virginia. It played a leadership role for positive change by providing a forum where legislative, executive branch and citizen leaders can come together to conduct work that transcends election cycles, partisanship, limited organizational boundaries, and short-term thinking.

The Council, in cooperation with other major business organizations, created the Coalition for Virginia's Future (CVF) to help improve state government efficiency and accountability.

The study analyzed Virginia's current and projected revenue and demand for infrastructure and services for the period 1998 through 2008. The study concluded that tax relief required by statute, combined with anticipated increased demand for services and infrastructure investment, would produce a short fall of at least $1 billion in Virginia's budget by FY2001. The study provided a framework for discussion of the need to reconsider public policy priorities, including reducing spending and/or increasing taxes to maintain a balanced state budget.

The Council provided critical business leadership in the enactment of Virginia's Standards of Learning (SOLs) for public schools across the Commonwealth. These standards represent a broad consensus of what parents, teachers, school administrators, academics, and business and community leaders believe schools should teach and students should learn.

Virginia FREE is an independent association committed to protecting and strengthening Virginia's prosperous business environment through the political process. Virginia FREE provides a wealth of objective, non-partisan information on political candidates and the voting records of legislators on issues of importance to Virginia's business community. Virginia FREE's information and programs help foster a business community prepared to take the lead in electing legislators who advance free enterprise and responsible, pro-business government.