Data center laws in Virginia

Certain data from water users; water use consumption for domestic, commercial, and industrial purposes and from data centers. Requires any water user required to register water withdrawal and use data to the State Water Control Board that provides water to another person offsite to include in its report, submitted on its regular reporting schedule, the total volume of potable water and, reported separately, the total volume of reclaimed water, as defined in the bill, provided during each month for each of the following categories: (i) a data center with an air permit issued by the Department of Environmental Quality and (ii) to the extent available without utility billing system modifications, (a) domestic purposes, (b) commercial and industrial purposes, separately or combined as available, and (c) all other non categorized purposes. The bill has a delayed effective date of January 1, 2027. This bill is identical to HB 496. As published by the legislature, found through LegiScan.

Joint Commission on Technology and Science analysis; blockchain, digital asset mining, and cryptocurrency; report. Directs the Joint Commission on Technology and Science to conduct an analysis of and make recommendations regarding the use of blockchain technology, digital asset mining, and cryptocurrency in the Commonwealth. The bill requires the Commission to submit its findings to the Chairmen of the House Committees on Appropriations and Communications, Technology and Innovation and the Senate Committees on Finance and Appropriations and General Laws and Technology no later than December 1, 2024. Joint Commission on Technology and Science analysis; blockchain, digital asset mining, and cryptocurrency; report. Directs the Joint Commission on Technology and Science to conduct an analysis of and make recommendations regarding the use of blockchain technology, digital asset mining, and cryptocurrency in the Commonwealth. As published by the legislature, found through LegiScan.

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Illegal gambling; exemptions. Exempts from the provisions of Code prohibiting illegal gambling the placement or operation of or communication to and from data center equipment in the Commonwealth associated with the hosting of lottery games duly authorized by another state or jurisdiction and regulated and operated consistent with and exclusively for the benefit of such state or jurisdiction, provided that wagering on such games is legally authorized in such other state or jurisdiction and the individuals wagering on such games are required by the laws or regulations of such other state or jurisdiction to be physically located within the geographic bounds of such other state or jurisdiction at the time the wager is initiated or placed. As published by the legislature, found through LegiScan.

Illegal gambling; exemptions. Exempts from the provisions of Code prohibiting illegal gambling the placement or operation of or communication to and from data center equipment in the Commonwealth associated with the hosting of lottery games duly authorized by another state or jurisdiction and regulated and operated consistent with and exclusively for the benefit of such state or jurisdiction, provided that wagering on such games is legally authorized in such other state or jurisdiction and the individuals wagering on such games are required by the laws or regulations of such other state or jurisdiction to be physically located within the geographic bounds of such other state or jurisdiction at the time the wager is initiated or placed. As published by the legislature, found through LegiScan.

Data centers and cloud computing; sales tax exemption; grant fund. Creates the Cloud Computing Cluster Infrastructure Grant Fund for the purpose of providing grants to qualified companies, defined in the bill as a company, including its affiliates, that enters into a memorandum of understanding with the Virginia Economic Development Partnership Authority and is expected to (i) make or cause to be made a capital investment of at least $50 billion and (ii) create at least 1,500 new full time jobs that pay an average annual wage of at least one and one half times the prevailing average wage in the locality where the job is located. The bill requires that, in order to become a qualified company, a company successfully complete a qualification process that includes an endorsement from the MEI Commission and approval in the appropriation act for the amount of grants that are to be provided. Data centers and cloud computing; sales tax exemption; grant fund. As published by the legislature, found through LegiScan.

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MEI Project Approval Commission; review procedures. Adds to the incentive packages for economic development, film, and episodic television projects that require MEI Project Approval Commission (the Commission) review and approval any incentive package in which one of the incentives being sought includes a cash payment of more than $3.5 million from any fund prior to any performance metrics being met by the proposed project. The bill clarifies that in calculating whether the value of proposed incentives exceeds $10 million and thus requires review under current law, the value of existing nondiscretionary tax credits, tax incentives, and grants shall not be considered, with the exception of the sales tax exemption for data centers and the motion picture tax credit. In addition, the bill provides that economic development projects that propose to relocate or expand operations in one area of the Commonwealth while closing or reducing operations in another area of the Commonwealth shall be subject to Commission review only if the value of the proposed incentives exceeds $2.5 million. MEI Project Approval Commission; review procedures. As published by the legislature, found through LegiScan.

The rest is on the bill page.

Data centers and cloud computing; sales tax exemption; grant fund. Creates the Cloud Computing Cluster Infrastructure Grant Fund for the purpose of providing grants to qualified companies, defined in the bill as a company, including its affiliates, that enters into a memorandum of understanding with the Virginia Economic Development Partnership Authority and is expected to (i) make or cause to be made a capital investment of at least $50 billion and (ii) create at least 1,500 new full time jobs that pay an average annual wage of at least one and one half times the prevailing average wage in the locality where the job is located. The bill requires that, in order to become a qualified company, a company successfully complete a qualification process that includes an endorsement from the MEI Commission and approval in the appropriation act for the amount of grants that are to be provided. Data centers and cloud computing; sales tax exemption; grant fund. As published by the legislature, found through LegiScan.

The rest is on the bill page.

Property tax; data centers. Provides that if data center fixtures are taxed as part of the real property where they are located, they shall be valued based on depreciated reproduction or replacement cost, rather than based on the amount of income they generate. As published by the legislature, found through LegiScan.

Property tax; data centers. Provides that if data center fixtures are taxed as part of the real property where they are located, they shall be valued based on depreciated reproduction or replacement cost, rather than based on the amount of income they generate. As published by the legislature, found through LegiScan.

Sales and use tax exemption for data centers. Reduces the job creation requirement to qualify for the sales and use tax exemption for data centers in a distressed locality from 25 to 10 jobs and reduces the required capital investment from $150 million to $70 million for such data centers. The bill also redefines what criteria are used to identify a distressed locality; under the bill, a locality qualifies as distressed if it has an unemployment rate that is greater than the statewide unemployment rate and a poverty rate that exceeds the statewide poverty rate. The bill requires all data centers claiming the exemption to report certain information to the Virginia Economic Development Partnership Authority (the Authority) and the Department of Taxation, in collaboration with the Authority, to aggregate and publish such information biennially. As published by the legislature, found through LegiScan.

Sales and use tax exemption for data centers. Reduces the job creation requirement to qualify for the sales and use tax exemption for data centers in a distressed locality from 25 to 10 jobs and reduces the required capital investment from $150 million to $70 million for such data centers. The bill also redefines what criteria are used to identify a distressed locality; under the bill, a locality qualifies as distressed if it has an unemployment rate that is greater than the statewide unemployment rate and a poverty rate that exceeds the statewide poverty rate. The bill requires all data centers claiming the exemption to report certain information to the Virginia Economic Development Partnership Authority (the Authority) and the Department of Taxation, in collaboration with the Authority, to aggregate and publish such information biennially. As published by the legislature, found through LegiScan.

Personal property tax; computer equipment and peripherals used in data centers. Creates a separate classification of tangible personal property, for valuation purposes, for computer equipment and peripherals used in a data center. The classification specifies that the computer equipment and peripherals shall be valued by means of a percentage or percentages of original cost or by any other method that reasonably may be expected to determine fair market value. This bill is identical to HB 828. As published by the legislature, found through LegiScan.

Personal property tax; computer equipment and peripherals used in data centers. Creates a separate classification of tangible personal property, for valuation purposes, for computer equipment and peripherals used in a data center. The classification specifies that the computer equipment and peripherals shall be valued by means of a percentage or percentages of original cost or by any other method that reasonably may be expected to determine fair market value. This bill is identical to SB 268. As published by the legislature, found through LegiScan.

Sales and use tax exemption; certain data centers. Extends the sunset date for the sales and use tax exemption for certain data centers from June 30, 2020, to June 30, 2035, and eliminates the sunset date of June 30, 2020, for provisions of the existing law that allow the owner of the data center to count the jobs created and investments made by tenants to count toward the overall jobs and investment criteria for the exemption. If an entity previously created 50 new jobs at a data center in the Commonwealth in order to qualify for the exemption, those 50 jobs may be relocated to a new data center in the Commonwealth with a capital investment of at least $500 million on or after July 1, 2016, and count toward the new jobs requirement for the new data center to qualify for the exemption. The bill also makes a technical correction regarding a subdivision that is erroneously set out twice in the Code. As published by the legislature, found through LegiScan.

Personal property tax; classifications. Provides that if an item of tangible personal property falls within multiple classifications for local taxation, the rate of taxation is the lowest rate assigned to such classifications. Current law provides that such personal property tax treatment applies only to motor vehicles and to computer equipment and peripherals used in a data center. As published by the legislature, found through LegiScan.

Sales and use tax exemption; certain data centers. Extends the sunset date for the sales and use tax exemption for certain data centers from June 30, 2020, to June 30, 2035, and eliminates the sunset date of June 30, 2020, for provisions of the existing law that allow the owner of the data center to count the jobs created and investments made by tenants to count toward the overall jobs and investment criteria for the exemption. If an entity previously created 50 new jobs at a data center in the Commonwealth in order to qualify for the exemption, those 50 jobs may be relocated to a new data center in the Commonwealth with a capital investment of at least $500 million on or after July 1, 2016, and count toward the new jobs requirement for the new data center to qualify for the exemption. The bill also makes a technical correction regarding a subdivision that is erroneously set out twice in the Code. As published by the legislature, found through LegiScan.

Apportionment of corporate income tax; taxpayers with enterprise data center operations. Requires taxpayers with certain enterprise data center operations to use a formula for apportioning taxable income to the Commonwealth based on multiplying their incomes by the sales factor. The apportionment formula would apply only to taxpayers that have entered into a memorandum of understanding with the Virginia Economic Development Partnership Authority to make a new capital investment of at least $150 million in an enterprise data center on or after July 1, 2015, and such taxpayer would begin using the formula in the taxable year that the Virginia Economic Development Partnership Authority certifies that the investment has been completed. The provisions of the bill would be effective for taxable years beginning July 1, 2016, and would be phased in with the apportionment formula having a 100 percent sales factor by July 1, 2017. As published by the legislature, found through LegiScan.

Apportionment of corporate income tax; taxpayers with enterprise data center operations. Requires taxpayers with certain enterprise data center operations to use a formula for apportioning taxable income to the Commonwealth based on multiplying their incomes by the sales factor. The apportionment formula would apply only to taxpayers that have entered into a memorandum of understanding with the Virginia Economic Development Partnership Authority to make a new capital investment of at least $150 million in an enterprise data center on or after July 1, 2015, and such taxpayer would begin using the formula in the taxable year that the Virginia Economic Development Partnership Authority certifies that the investment has been completed. The provisions of the bill would be effective for taxable years beginning July 1, 2016, and would be phased in with the apportionment formula having a 100 percent sales factor by July 1, 2017. As published by the legislature, found through LegiScan.

Tangible personal property tax; computer equipment and peripherals used in data centers. Creates a separate classification, for purposes of permitting localities to set a lower personal property tax rate, on computer equipment and peripherals used in a data center. As published by the legislature, found through LegiScan.

Tangible personal property tax; computer equipment and peripherals used in data centers. Creates a separate classification, for purposes of permitting localities to set a lower personal property tax rate, on computer equipment and peripherals used in a data center. As published by the legislature, found through LegiScan.

Sales and use tax exemption; certain computer equipment and enabling software. Expands the sales and use tax exemption for the purchase or lease of computer equipment or enabling software by data centers by extending it to tenants of the centers, and by including jobs created not only by the data center operator but also by the tenants of the data center in collectively meeting the level of new jobs required for eligibility for the exemption. As published by the legislature, found through LegiScan.

Sales and use tax exemption; certain computer equipment and enabling software. Expands the sales and use tax exemption for the purchase or lease of computer equipment or enabling software by data centers by extending it to tenants of the centers, and by including jobs created not only by the data center operator but also by the tenants of the data center in collectively meeting the level of new jobs required for eligibility for the exemption. As published by the legislature, found through LegiScan.

Sales and use tax exemption; certain computer equipment used in large data centers. Lowers the new job threshold to receive the sales and use tax exemption from 50 new employees to 25 for a data center located in either a locality with an unemployment rate at least 150 percent of the state average or located in an enterprise zone. As published by the legislature, found through LegiScan.

Cloud Computing Cluster Infrastructure Grant Fund; reclaimed water usage. Requires data center operators applying for grant payments from the Cloud Computing Cluster Infrastructure Grant Fund to utilize reclaimed water, defined in the bill, for water dependent cooling processes at data center and cloud computing cluster operations facilities. The bill gradually increases the reclaimed water utilization requirement at such facilities from 60 percent of all water dependent cooling processes beginning on July 1, 2027, to 100 percent on and after July 1, 2031. As published by the legislature, found through LegiScan.

Department of Environmental Quality; siting of large data centers; site assessment; standards; civil penalties. Requires a locality, prior to any approval of a rezoning application, special exception, or special use permit for the siting or major expansion of a large data center, as those terms are defined in the bill, to conduct an initial public hearing regarding such siting or expansion and to require the applicant to perform a site assessment including certain specified information and to submit such site assessment to the locality and the Department of Environmental Quality (the Department). The bill directs the locality to hold a second public hearing upon such submission. The bill requires the Department to review such site assessment to ensure compliance with site assessment standards established by the Department, including standards for noise impacts, light pollution and illumination at night, water usage and source impacts, air emissions, traffic and other construction phase impacts, and other impacts of proximity to residential units and schools. As published by the legislature, found through LegiScan.

The rest is on the bill page.

Local approval of data centers; temporary moratorium. Prohibits final approval of any application for a rezoning, special exception, special use permit, site plan, or plan of development for the siting of a new data center by a locality until the earlier of (i) the fulfillment of all pending requests for interconnection to distribution service by an electric utility customer that is a data center or (ii) July 1, 2028. As published by the legislature, found through LegiScan.

Department of Education; local composite index school funding formula; data center revenue. Requires the Department of Education, in coordination with the Department of Taxation, no later than December 1, 2026, to revise the local composite index school funding formula to include as a factor in the calculation of required local effort any local revenue generated by any data center, as defined in relevant law, in the local school division, including real property taxes and business personal property taxes attributable to the operation of any such center, while also ensuring that no local school division that does not have such a data center is disadvantaged by any such revision. The bill requires the Department to submit such revised formula to the General Assembly no later than December 1, 2026, for approval pursuant to the general appropriation act enacted during any regular or special session during the 2026 calendar year before utilizing and making calculations according to the formula and provide that if the General Assembly grants such approval, the Department of Education shall apply such revised formula effective beginning with the 2028-2030 biennium. As published by the legislature, found through LegiScan.

Data center tax revenue; local residential renewable energy incentive program; tangible personal property tax reimbursement; penalty. Authorizes the governing body of any county, city, or town that collects real or personal property taxes for any real or personal property owned by a data center to create a local residential renewable energy incentive program, through which funds shall be used to reduce existing utility bills for residential customers, to reduce reliance upon fossil fuel power generation facilities, to reduce the need for construction and placement of new transmission lines, and to minimize future electricity costs for residential customers. The bill provides that 15 percent of new data center revenue, defined in the bill, shall be spent toward residential solar and battery storage investment and 15 percent of new data center revenue shall be spent toward providing pro rata reimbursements for residents' tangible personal property tax assessments for any qualifying vehicle. As published by the legislature, found through LegiScan.

The rest is on the bill page.

Certain data from water users; water use consumption of data centers. Requires any water user that provides water to a data center, as defined in the bill, and is required to register certain water withdrawal and use data with the State Water Control Board to report to the Board, on a monthly basis or as frequent a basis as practicable, the total volume of water, including the portion that is reclaimed water, provided to such data center during the reporting period. As published by the legislature, found through LegiScan.

Department of Environmental Quality; study of aggregate air pollution; data center generators; report. Directs the Department of Environmental Quality to conduct a three year study to research and model a variety of scenarios regarding aggregate air pollution in areas with a large volume of data centers and provide recommendations for future handling of minor air permits for data center generators and the need for increased air quality monitoring in the Commonwealth. The Department is directed to report its findings and any recommendations to the Chairs of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources and the House Committee on Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources and the Secretary of Natural and Historic Resources by October 1, 2029. As published by the legislature, found through LegiScan.

Virginia's Great Outdoors Act established; data center land conservation tax; land preservation distributions and appropriations. Creates a data center land preservation tax on and after January 1, 2027, in an amount equal to $3 per square foot of each data center facility footprint, as defined in the bill, and directs no less than $250 million of revenues from the tax to be distributed for various land protection and preservation purposes, including into the Virginia Tribal Commitment Fund, as created in the bill. The bill also repeals provisions requiring the Governor to include in the budget bill or in his amendments to the general appropriation act a recommended appropriation from the general fund, up to $20 million, for land preservation as follows: (i) 80 percent of the unissued credits to the Virginia Land Conservation Fund, of which at least 50 percent must be used for acquisitions with public access; (ii) 10 percent to the Virginia Battlefield Preservation Fund; and (iii) 10 percent to the Virginia Farmland and Forestland Preservation Fund. As published by the legislature, found through LegiScan.

State Corporation Commission; cost allocation proceedings for certain electric utilities. Directs the State Corporation Commission to conduct proceedings to review cost allocation among different customer classifications for certain electric utilities. For Dominion Energy and Appalachian Power, the Commission is directed to determine if the cost allocation of transmission costs require customers that are not data centers to unreasonably subsidize the transmission costs attributable to serving customers that are data centers by January 1, 2027. For Dominion Energy, the Commission is directed to determine if the current allocation of generation and distribution costs require customers that are not data centers to unreasonably subsidize the generation and distribution costs attributable to serving customers that are data centers by January 1, 2028. As published by the legislature, found through LegiScan.

Retail sales and use tax; commercial and industrial exemptions; disclosure of data center operator exemption. Requires the Department of Taxation to annually publish a report including the name of all data center operators receiving a retail sales and use tax exemption, and for each such data center operator, (i) the amount of exemption claimed, (ii) whether the required job creation and capital investments goals set by a data center operator's memorandum of understanding have been met, and (iii) its employment levels and average annual wages paid to its employees. As published by the legislature, found through LegiScan.

Department of Energy; energy generation and storage by data centers; work group; report. Directs the Department of Energy to convene a work group to study the cost and feasibility of (i) energy generation by data centers, (ii) the use of such energy generation to serve as backup or primary generation for data centers, and (iii) the use of energy storage resources by data centers in the Commonwealth. The work group shall also examine the potential for partnerships with public universities to support the development of advanced energy technologies. The work group shall submit a report of its findings and recommendations to the General Assembly by September 1, 2026. As published by the legislature, found through LegiScan.

Retail sales and use tax; commercial and industrial exemptions; data centers. Limits, beginning July 1, 2026, the retail sales and use tax exemption for computer equipment or enabling software to (i) the purchase or lease of equipment or enabling software for use in a data center, provided that such purchase or lease takes place prior to the start of operations for such data center, or (ii) the purchase or lease of equipment or enabling software as part of a refresh cycle of an existing data center. The bill defines "refresh cycle" to mean purchases or leases made to replace, repair, or upgrade the equipment or enabling software that improve the energy efficiency of such equipment or software. As published by the legislature, found through LegiScan.

Virginia's Great Outdoors Act established; land preservation distributions and appropriations. Creates a data center land preservation tax on and after January 1, 2027, in an amount equal to $3 per square foot of each data center facility footprint, as defined in the bill, and directs no less than $250 million of revenues from the tax to be distributed for various land protection and preservation purposes, including into the Virginia Tribal Commitment Fund, as created in the bill. The bill also repeals provisions requiring the Governor to include in the budget bill or in his amendments to the general appropriation act a recommended appropriation from the general fund, up to $20 million, for land preservation as follows: (i) 80 percent of the unissued credits to the Virginia Land Conservation Fund, of which at least 50 percent must be used for acquisitions with public access; (ii) 10 percent to the Virginia Battlefield Preservation Fund; and (iii) 10 percent to the Virginia Farmland and Forestland Preservation Fund. As published by the legislature, found through LegiScan.

Sales and use tax exemption; data centers. Requires data center operators to meet certain energy efficiency standards in order to be eligible for the sales and use tax exemption for data center purchases. Under the bill, a data center operator shall be eligible for the exemption only if such operator demonstrates that (i) its facilities either have a power usage effectiveness score of no greater than 1.2 or, for data centers co located in buildings with other commercial uses, achieve an energy efficiency level of no less than the most efficient 15 percent of similar buildings constructed in the previous five years and (ii) by January 1, 2028, it will procure carbon free renewable energy and associated renewable energy certificates equal to 90 percent of its electricity requirements or its electricity will be otherwise derived from non carbon emitting, renewable sources. As published by the legislature, found through LegiScan.

Electric utilities; electric distribution infrastructure serving data centers. Prohibits the costs associated with the construction or extension of any electric distribution infrastructure that primarily serves the load of a data center, including the costs of any associated land acquisition, from being recovered from any other customer. As published by the legislature, found through LegiScan.

Data centers; rainwater harvesting systems. Requires any new construction or substantial expansion, as defined in the bill, of a data center, as defined in the bill, to (i) include a rainwater harvesting system sufficient to capture rainwater runoff from at least 30 percent of the total roof surface area of such data center and (ii) use such harvested rainwater for non potable water needs, as defined in the bill, including irrigation or the dissipation of heat from any component of such data center. The bill also requires any such system to be designed, installed, and periodically inspected by a person certified by the American Society of Sanitary Engineering and authorizes the State Board of Health to promulgate regulations in collaboration with the Department of Environmental Quality as necessary to effectuate the provisions of the bill. As published by the legislature, found through LegiScan.

Electric utilities; cost recovery; costs substantially related to serving data center customers. Prohibits the recovery of costs incurred by an electric utility that (i) are substantially related to the provision of electric service to data center customers and (ii) would not have been incurred but for the demand of such data center customers from being included in any rates or charges approved by the State Corporation Commission under current law, unless such rates and charges are designed to recover, or substantially recover, such costs solely from data center customers. Under the bill, "data center customers" are data centers with a peak demand of 100 megawatts or greater. As published by the legislature, found through LegiScan.

Data centers; industrial zoning. Requires a locality to review and amend its zoning ordinance to (i) designate data centers as industrial uses for zoning purposes; (ii) review the locations of zones allowing data centers by right, and adjust the zoning map, if needed, considering proximity to residential areas; (iii) review the minimum requirements in the zoning ordinance, such as setbacks and building heights, for the purpose of mitigating negative impacts on residential or other sensitive areas and consider adding requirements specific to data centers as needed; (iv) identify optimal areas for data center development in the locality, including locations that are suitable from the locality's perspective as well as the industry's perspective; (v) consider zoning ordinance changes to reduce the likelihood of noisy data centers, including through limiting allowable locations and requiring sound modeling, and prohibit the constant low frequency noise of data centers from reaching residential areas; and (vi) require commitments from data centers making zoning requests to sufficiently mitigate negative impacts on any nearby residential areas. As published by the legislature, found through LegiScan.

The rest is on the bill page.

Department of Environmental Quality; data centers; use of emergency generation unit; disclosure requirements. Directs the Department of Environmental Quality to require each data center that operates an emergency generation unit, as those terms are defined in the bill, to report on a publicly accessible website within 24 hours the times when such emergency generation unit will be in operation. As published by the legislature, found through LegiScan.

Bank franchise tax; retail sales and use tax; tangible personal property tax; data centers. Provides that on and after July 1, 2026, if any tenant of a data center is a bank, then the retail sales and use tax exemption for data center computer equipment shall not apply to the data center operator and any tenants of the data center. The bill also adds computer equipment and peripherals of all banks used in a data center to personal property that is taxable for banks subject to the bank franchise tax in lieu of most other taxes. As published by the legislature, found through LegiScan.

Siting of data centers; local authority. Provides that a locality, in considering any land use application required for the siting of a data center, may (i) require and consider water use estimates for proposed data center developments; (ii) require sound modeling studies for proposed data center developments; (iii) establish and enforce maximum allowable sound levels for operational data center facilities, including the use of alternative low frequency metrics, and include such requirements in zoning ordinances; and (iv) require and consider power load demand estimates for a proposed data center development. As published by the legislature, found through LegiScan.

Sales and use tax exemption; data centers. Requires data center operators to meet certain wage rate standards in order to be eligible for the sales and use tax exemption for data center purchases. Under the bill, a data center operator shall be eligible for the exemption only if such operator ensures that every building service employee, as defined by the bill, employed at the data center is compensated at a rate that is no less than the standard building service employee rate, as defined by the bill. The bill requires the Virginia Economic Development Partnership Authority to audit any qualifying person claiming this exemption to determine whether such person is in compliance with the wage requirements. Upon three violations of the wage requirement, the Department of Taxation shall revoke any such exemption received by a data center operator or tenant and require repayment. As published by the legislature, found through LegiScan.

Retail sales and use tax; commercial and industrial exemptions; data centers. Provides that, between July 1, 2025, and July 1, 2030, the retail sales and use tax exemption for computer equipment or enabling software purchased or leased for use in a data center shall not apply for such equipment if it is purchased or leased for use in a data center that is constructed after July 1, 2025, in Planning District 8. As published by the legislature, found through LegiScan.

Retail sales and use tax; data center exemption expiration; distribution of revenues. Provides for a sunset on the data center retail sales and use tax exemption, and any extensions thereof, on and after July 1, 2025. The bill requires that the revenues generated by the expiration of the exemption be distributed for school construction and road and bridge construction. As published by the legislature, found through LegiScan.

Retail sales and use tax; exemption for data centers; reports. Requires a data center operator, in order to be eligible for the existing data center sales and use tax exemption to (i) beginning July 1, 2030, purchase a certain percentage of the data center's annual electric load from clean energy resources, (ii) beginning July 1, 2030, demonstrate sufficient investment in energy efficiency measures to provide system wide benefits, and (iii) beginning July 1, 2027, use only backup generators that meet certain emissions standards. The bill requires the Commission on Electric Utility Regulation to examine the cost and feasibility of data centers using onsite backup and primary generation that is not diesel fired and report its findings and recommendations to the General Assembly no later than December 1, 2025. As published by the legislature, found through LegiScan.

The rest is on the bill page.

Classification of tangible personal property; computer equipment and peripherals used in data centers; facilities housing systems used to engage in digital asset mining business activities. Provides that, for purposes of the separate tax classification of tangible personal property for computer equipment and peripherals used in a data center, a data center includes facilities housing systems used to engage in digital mining business activities, defined in the bill. As published by the legislature, found through LegiScan.

Sales and use tax exemption; data centers. Requires data center operators to meet certain energy efficiency standards in order to be eligible for the sales and use tax exemption for data center purchases. Under the bill, a data center operator shall be eligible for the exemption only if such operator demonstrates that (i) its facilities either have a power usage effectiveness score of no greater than 1.2 or, for data centers co located in buildings with other commercial uses, achieve an energy efficiency level of no less than the most efficient 15 percent of similar buildings constructed in the previous five years and (ii) by January 1, 2028, it will procure carbon free renewable energy and associated renewable energy certificates equal to 90 percent of its electricity requirements or its electricity will be otherwise derived from non carbon emitting, renewable sources. As published by the legislature, found through LegiScan.

Electric utilities; electric distribution infrastructure serving data centers. Prohibits the costs associated with the construction or extension of any electric distribution infrastructure that primarily serves the load of a data center from being recovered from any other customer. As published by the legislature, found through LegiScan.

Siting of data centers; parks, schools, and residential areas. Requires that any local government land use application required for the siting of a data center, as defined in the bill, be approved only for areas that are one quarter mile or more from federal, state, or local parks, schools, and property zoned or used for residential use. As published by the legislature, found through LegiScan.

Data centers; industrial zoning. Requires a locality to review and amend its zoning ordinance to (i) designate data centers as industrial uses for zoning purposes; (ii) review the locations of zones allowing data centers by right, and adjust the zoning map, if needed, considering proximity to residential areas; (iii) review the minimum requirements in the zoning ordinance, such as setbacks and building heights, for the purpose of mitigating negative impacts on residential or other sensitive areas and consider adding requirements specific to data centers as needed; (iv) identify optimal areas for data center development in the locality, including locations that are suitable from the locality's perspective as well as the industry's perspective; (v) consider zoning ordinance changes to reduce the likelihood of noisy data centers, including through limiting allowable locations and requiring sound modeling, and prohibit the constant low frequency noise of data centers from reaching residential areas; and (vi) require commitments from data centers making zoning requests to sufficiently mitigate negative impacts on any nearby residential areas. As published by the legislature, found through LegiScan.

The rest is on the bill page.

School boards; entitlement to one time fee from certain data centers. Provides that any school board that governs a school division that contains a public school located within three miles of a data center, as such term is defined in relevant law, that received its certificate of occupancy from the relevant locality after July 1, 2025, is entitled to a one time fee of $250,000 to be paid by the owner of such data center no later than 90 days after the issuance of such data center's certificate of occupancy by the locality. As published by the legislature, found through LegiScan.

Electric utilities; data center cost allocation. Directs the State Corporation Commission to initiate proceedings to determine if the current allocation of costs among different customer classifications of electric utilities requires customers that are not data centers to unreasonably subsidize the costs of customers that are data centers. If the Commission determines that the current allocation of costs requires customers that are not data centers to unreasonably subsidize the costs of customers that are data centers, the bill directs the Commission to promulgate such rules as necessary to eliminate or minimize such unreasonable subsidies to the maximum possible extent. The bill directs the Commission to complete such proceedings prior to January 1, 2026. As published by the legislature, found through LegiScan.

Siting of data centers; property classified for industrial use. Requires that any local government land use application for the siting of a data center shall only be approved if such application is for a data center located on property classified by local ordinance for industrial use. The bill applies only to such applications submitted on or after July 1, 2025. As published by the legislature, found through LegiScan.

Data centers; noise abatement. Provides that any local government land use application required for the siting of a data center shall be approved only in accordance with certain notice and noise abatement requirements. The bill provides that residents within a half mile radius of the parcel shall receive notice of the proposed data center and that the data center operator shall hold two neighborhood meetings. The bill requires a data center operator to design and build the data center to incorporate sound mitigation methods sufficient to prevent the sound levels emanating from the data center from exceeding the ambient noise levels that were observed in a baseline study, as determined by a third party acoustic engineer. As published by the legislature, found through LegiScan.

The rest is on the bill page.

Siting of data centers; site assessment. Allows a locality, prior to any approval for the siting of a data center, to perform a site assessment to examine the effect of the data center on water usage and carbon emissions within the locality. As published by the legislature, found through LegiScan.

Electric utilities; electric distribution infrastructure serving data centers. Prohibits the costs associated with the construction or extension of any electric distribution infrastructure that primarily serves the load of a data center from being recovered from any other customer. As published by the legislature, found through LegiScan.

Study; Department of Housing and Community Development; revenue sharing program for localities hosting data center infrastructure; report. Directs the Department of Housing and Community Development to study creating a revenue sharing program for localities hosting data center infrastructure for data centers located in other localities. As published by the legislature, found through LegiScan.

Department of Energy; data center energy usage. Requires each data center located in the Commonwealth to make a quarterly energy source report to the Department of Energy's Division of Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency that identifies the amount of energy, disaggregated by the source of energy, consumed by the data center in the previous quarter. The bill requires the Division to publish aggregate deidentified data from such reports on its website. The bill also directs the Secretary of Commerce and Trade to convene a work group to estimate the future energy demands of the data center industry in the Commonwealth. The bill requires the work group to include representatives from the Department of Energy, the Virginia Economic Development Partnership Authority, the State Corporation Commission, the data center industry, electric utilities, and other interested stakeholders. The Secretary is required to report the findings of the work group to the General Assembly by November 30, 2024. As published by the legislature, found through LegiScan.

Siting of data centers; impacts on resources and historically significant sites. Provides that any local government land use application required for the siting of a data center shall only be approved in areas where the data center will (i) have a minimal impact on historic, agricultural, and cultural resources and (ii) not be within one mile of a national park, state park, or other historically significant site. As published by the legislature, found through LegiScan.

Siting of data centers; site assessment. Requires a locality, prior to any approval for the siting of a data center, to require disclosure of water and power usage at full build out and perform a site assessment to examine the effect of the data center on water usage, the regional electric grid, and carbon emissions as well as any impacts on agricultural, historic, and cultural resources within the locality. As published by the legislature, found through LegiScan.

Stormwater management regulations; enterprise data center operations. Directs the State Water Control Board to adopt regulations that require certain stormwater management techniques for land disturbances related to the construction, expansion, or operation of an enterprise data center operation, as defined in the bill, that is located within one mile of any land owned or operated as a unit of the National Park Service or designated as a Virginia State Park or state forest. As published by the legislature, found through LegiScan.

Electric utilities; data center demand; allocation of costs among customer classes. Directs the State Corporation Commission to ensure that any plan, petition, or proposal from a utility to meet demand associated with data centers considers generation, transmission, and distribution system costs so as to meet such demand at the lowest aggregate reasonable cost. The bill also directs the Commission to initiate a proceeding, on or before December 31, 2024, (i) to determine if the current allocation of costs among customers and the different classifications of customers of electric utilities results in customers that are data centers receiving unreasonable subsidies from other customers or classifications of customers and (ii) if it determines unreasonable subsidies exist, to amend such allocation of costs. As published by the legislature, found through LegiScan.

Sales and use tax exemption; data centers. Requires data center operators to meet certain energy efficiency standards in order to be eligible for the sales and use tax exemption for data center purchases. Under the bill, a data center operator shall be eligible for the exemption only if such operator demonstrates that (i) its facilities either (a) have a power usage effectiveness score of no greater than 1.2 or (b) for data centers co located in buildings with other commercial uses, achieve an energy efficiency level of no less than the most efficient 15 percent of similar buildings constructed in the previous five years and (ii) it will procure carbon free renewable energy and associated renewable energy certificates from facilities equal to 90 percent of its electricity requirements or that its electricity will be otherwise derived from non carbon emitting, renewable sources. As published by the legislature, found through LegiScan.

Sales and use tax exemption; data centers. Requires data center operators to meet certain energy efficiency standards in order to be eligible for the sales and use tax exemption for data center purchases. Under the bill, a data center operator shall be eligible for the exemption only if such operator demonstrates that (i) its facilities either (a) have a power usage effectiveness score of no greater than 1.2 or (b) for data centers co located in buildings with other commercial uses, achieve an energy efficiency level of no less than the most efficient 15 percent of similar buildings constructed in the previous five years and (ii) it will procure carbon free renewable energy and associated renewable energy certificates from facilities equal to 90 percent of its electricity requirements or that its electricity will be otherwise derived from non carbon emitting, renewable sources. As published by the legislature, found through LegiScan.