News
The Virginia General Assembly completed its final piece of business on Monday, June 29th. With passage of the Governor's fourteen amendments to the budget conference report, the 2026-2028 biennial budget was approved. That budget goes into effect July 1st.
Senate Democrats remain committed to having data centers pay their fair share in taxes, and this budget is but a beginning to discussions on how that eventually happens in the Commonwealth. The Joint Subcommittee on Tax Policy will meet in the interim to take a deeper dive into reforms for data centers.
The biennial budget does, however, remain focused on the needs and priorities of the people we represent. It reflects the Senate Democrats' commitment to affordability: lowering costs for working families, strengthening public education as well as access and affordability for higher education, expanding access to healthcare, and making strategic investments in communities across the Commonwealth. Some specific items in the budget include:
Education & Wages: Funds 4% pay raises for teachers and 3.5% pay raises for state employees for each of the next two fiscal years.
Data Center Tax: Imposes a temporary energy-consumption tax on the state's largest data centers, projected to bring in $1.1 to $1.2 billion for the biennium.
Healthcare & Contingency: Includes $150 million in ACA Premium Assistance, a $350 million Medicaid Reserve Fund, and a $225 million Federal Contingency Fund to protect residents from federal cuts.
Public Safety & Local Impact: Allocates $75 million to the Virginia State Police and $16 million for the Safer Communities Program, which directly expands to Hampton, Danville, Hopewell, Newport News, and Petersburg.
Housing: Directs $60 million to housing initiatives, including $40 million to the Virginia Housing Trust Fund and $11.5 million for the Virginia Eviction Reduction Program.
Utilities: Creates a regulatory provision tied to Virginia's reentry into the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), estimated to provide Dominion Energy customers with a $3 monthly rebate. This is very important for weatherization and flooding prevention projects across the Commonwealth.
For more information on the budget, go to: https://budget.lis.virginia.gov
Looking forward to the 2027 General Assembly session, I join Senator L. Louise Lucas in her data center listening tours which have thus far traveled to Hampton, Manassas, Virginia Beach, Chesterfield, Charlottesville, and Goochland. More listening tours are being scheduled; so if you want your voice heard on the data center issue, look for one coming to a location near you.
Please contact the office if there is any additional information needed on any matter impacting the 23rd Senate District.