There are now two weeks left until government aficionados across Virginia celebrate Fiscal New Year. However, the General Assembly has not yet agreed on a budget as negotiations continue over a proposal to end a tax exemption granted to data centers.
The House of Delegates had been scheduled to meet on Thursday but the Virginia Political Newsletter reported yesterday that has been canceled.
“The work of the 2026 Special Session I continues and, when appropriate, the Speaker will give at least a 48-hours’ notice, pursuant to House Resolution No. 2069, for when the House will meet next,” reads a note from the Clerk’s Office of Communication.
The Senate is next scheduled to convene on Monday, June 22 at 10 a.m.
The latest version of the House version of the budget bill was released on June 12 and the executive summary describes it as a “compromise package.” Take a look at a summary here. The first item addressed in this document is “data center accountability.”
“The package includes explicit direction for the establishment of a Commission to thoroughly evaluate the direct and indirect costs and benefits of the data center industry, with a report and recommendations for legislative bill and budgetary changes to address financial, energy, and air/ water/noise impacts in time for consideration by the 2027 General Assembly,” the summary reads.
This report would be due on November 1.
The House proposal would authorize all localities across the Commonwealth to hold referenda asking voters if they would support a one-percent sales tax. Localities in the Northern Virginia Regional Commission would be able to use that funding to pay for mass transit.
The Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee met yesterday and went through the Senate’s proposal. One of the key features is an impact fee on data centers that would generate $582.1 million in FY27 and $1.164 billion in FY2027. As a result, the Senate proposal offers more funding for education.
For more background:
Usually this newsletter ends with articles from other journalists and it still will. But I’ve not been able to dig through the documents for an article but want you to know what’s going on with the budget.
- Speaker Scott says Virginia should honor its word on business deals, including with data centers, Michael Pipe, Radio IQ, June 5, 2026
- Spanberger, Virginia legislators inch closer to legal recreational marijuana market in the state budget, Brad Kutner, Radio IQ, June 8, 2026
- Virginia’s business reputation at the center of state budget impasse, Jahd Khalil, VPM, June 10, 2026
- Spanberger backs House budget during caucus meeting, Brandon Jarvis, Virginia Political Newsletter, June 11, 2026
- New House budget strips environmental standards for data centers, creates commission instead, Shannon Heckt, June 12, 2026
- Spanberger, legislators come to marijuana retail compromise, Kate Andrews & Beth JoJack, Virginia Business, June 16, 2026
- Spanberger, legislators roll out retail weed plan, set to launch in July 2027, Samantha WIllis, June 16, 2026
- State Senate drops tax exemptions in budget fight, introduces ‘impact fees’ for data centers, Elizabeth Beyer, Cardinal News, June 16, 2026
Before you go: The goal of Town Crier Productions is to increase awareness about what is happening at the local, regional, state, and federal government levels. Please share the work with others if you want people to know things. Paid subscribers cover the cost of conducting research for this article which was originally published in the June 17, 2026 edition of Charlottesville Community Engagement. You can either subscribe through Substack or make a charitable contribution.
Discover more from Information Charlottesville
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
