Virginia Gov Youngkin vetoes Dem bill forcing diversity disclosure requirements on businesses [Video]

FIRST ON FOX: Republican Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin on Thursday vetoed legislation requiring companies to disclose their internal diversity when applying for tax breaks or state incentives.

The legislation — recently passed by the Virginia state legislature by slim party-line votes — would require the state’s Major Employment and Investment (MEI) Commission to consider the diversity of an applicant business’ board of directors when approving MEI incentive projects. Youngkin said such a requirement would harm investment in the state and simultaneously overlook the achievements of minority groups.

“The Commission’s role is to scrutinize financing for individual incentive packages, not assessing whether a business adheres to a requirement akin to a demographic-based quota,” Youngkin said in a statement shared with Fox News Digital. “Such requirements could deter companies from investing in the Commonwealth, especially privately or family-owned enterprises which may find themselves wholly precluded.”

“The quota-like system overlooks the achievements of women and minorities in their own right,” he continued. “Both …