Virginia General Assembly in Full Swing

Posted on by Chris Miller

This text was taken from an email alert sent out on Jan. 17, 2026. Sign up for email alerts →

PEC staff at the Virginia State Capitol.

Dear Supporter,

I hope you’ve had a good start to the year and are staying cozy as some winter weather sets in this weekend. Our advocacy team is already hard at work as the 2026 Virginia General Assembly gets underway in Richmond. Unlike last year’s short legislative session, we are entering a “long” 60-day session. This extended timeframe is critical, as lawmakers must not only navigate a high volume of bills but also adopt a new two-year (biennial) state budget.

With both the state and nation undergoing political transitions, it is more important than ever that you use your voice as a constituent to speak with or write to your legislators about the issues that matter to you. We have a new governor, many new members of the General Assembly, and a new urgency for states to solve a greater range of conservation, environmental, housing and energy issues.

I’d like to highlight one upcoming opportunity to engage directly:

  • Data Center Reform Lobby Day: Join us at the State Capitol on Monday, Feb. 9 to urge state lawmakers to take action on the unchecked growth of data centers. Learn more and register →

Below, I’ve provided an overview of the topics that PEC has its eye on this session: data center reform, land conservation and public access, renewable energy, housing and local land use authority. Then, I’ve included information about several opportunities to lobby with other advocates on these critical issues. 

Keep an eye out for an email from me in the coming weeks regarding the status of key bills.

Priority Topics

Data centers and transmission lines in Loudoun County.

Data Center Reform

The outsized impacts of data centers in our communities will again make data center reform a priority for PEC and our partners in the Virginia Data Center Reform Coalition this year. Our efforts will be focused on our four pillars of data center reform — state oversight, ratepayer protection, enhanced transparency, and mitigating impacts — but we will also be closely monitoring other trends we expect to see this year, including legislation intending to address pollution from backup generator use and demand response proposals. 

There are numerous great bills that we’ll be advocating for this session, but one keystone bill that could provide critically needed state oversight with review of grid and community impacts is HB155 sponsored by Delegate Thomas. We hope this year will be the year this bill gets the attention it deserves.

The four pillars of data center reform:

  • State Oversight: Establishing a state-level regulatory review process to mitigate regional impacts on land, water and air.
  • Ratepayer Protection: Ensuring the industry pays its fair share so residents don’t subsidize billions in infrastructure costs.
  • Enhanced Transparency: Requiring statewide reporting on energy use, water consumption and emissions.
  • Mitigation of Impacts: Supporting higher efficiency standards and exploring the reduction of state tax exemptions to fund conservation programs.

I also encourage you to read our recent press release calling for a pause on data center approvals in Virginia until there is better planning and accountability. You can follow all the data center bills we are monitoring through our online bill tracker. 

Conservation & Public Access

Various conservation programs allow Virginia to realize the many public benefits of protected lands — including clean water and air, wildlife habitat protection, carbon sequestration, flood mitigation, robust rural economies, and reduced costs from sprawl. These state programs are the tools through which PEC accomplishes much of our conservation work, making land conservation an accessible and viable option for landowners and communities. In the upcoming legislative session, PEC is supporting sustained and increased state funding for the conservation programs below. Read more →

  • Land Preservation Tax Credit - Among the most successful land conservation programs in the U.S., this program provides tax credits equal to 40% of the value of donated land or conservation easements and is responsible for protecting over 1 million acres in Virginia.
  • Virginia Land Conservation Foundation - Run by the Department of Conservation and Recreation to purchase conservation easements, this grant program protects farms, forests, parks and historic landscapes for the benefit of the public. These grants are a major source of funding that PEC uses to help landowners conserve their farms and forestland.
  • Virginia Working Lands Fund - This state-funded grant program run by the Office of Working Lands Preservation within the Department of Forestry provides funding to help localities and landowners place working farms and forestlands under conservation easements. Localities with farmland preservation programs can use these grants as one tool to leverage federal funding available through the Natural Resource Conservation Service to acquire Agricultural Land Easements. Read more →
  • Virginia’s Great Outdoors Act - A comprehensive dedicated funding program for a variety of conservation priorities, including many already field tested in Virginia, the Our Virginia Outdoors coalition has been through three years of partnership-building, and hopefully will get over the finish line this coming year to dedicate $250 million annually to conservation programs, including all of the above initiatives and more. 

In addition to conservation funding, other issues we will be watching this session include:

  • Oak Hill - PEC has been an advocate for the expansion of public access through land acquisition and for investment in outdoor recreation in state parks and other opportunities. Establishing Oak Hill in Loudoun County as Virginia’s newest state park remains a priority.
  • Wildlife corridors - Within PEC’s nine-county service area, major wildlife corridors along Shenandoah National Park and the Potomac, Rappahannock and James rivers are essential for migratory species like black bears, bobcats, wood turtles and brook trout. In addition to our work to conserve land along these corridors, PEC supports building wildlife crossings to allow wildlife to more safely traverse landscapes split by highways. The General Assembly has an opportunity to establish a Wildlife Corridor Grant Fund that would support wildlife crossings and data collection about wildlife-vehicle collisions to inform better road planning. Read more →
  • Invasive species - Invasive plants harm our ecosystems by choking out native species and reducing the food and habitat available for species that have evolved to rely on native varieties. Removing invasive plants and replacing them with native species is an important part of good land stewardship, and PEC will be tracking any potential legislation this session that aims to address invasive plants. Read more →

Energy & Climate

To mitigate the worst effects of climate change and ensure a stable, healthy environment for future generations, Virginia must transition from greenhouse gas-emitting fossil fuels to clean energy. This transition must be done thoughtfully, with care to protect the state’s natural resources. Committed to shaping and advancing Virginia’s clean energy future, PEC will be watching the following issues this session:

  • Rooftop solar, distributed generation and agrivoltaics - Distributed generation is one of the quickest and simplest ways to add renewable energy to the grid. A range of bills this session will aim to expand the potential of rooftop solar, solar on the built environment, battery storage, small-scale agrivoltaics, while lessening burdens on localities for rooftop solar permitting. Read more →
  • Large-scale solar - While utility-scale solar is an important part of the energy mix, it is critical that it is well-sited and thoughtfully developed. Improving technologies and practices, such as all-terrain trackers and agrivoltaics, can be part of the solution but must be deployed within the contexts of the region. Read more →
  • Battery storage - Storage is critical in Virginia to increase the efficiency of the existing renewables on the grid and, as a result, protect natural resources and mitigate new generation and transmission impacts. Further direction that ensures local stakeholder engagement in crafting a model ordinance will help ensure that existing and newer long duration energy technology is developed responsibly. Read more →

Housing & Local Authority

PEC has always championed local engagement in planning and protection of resources in your community. In response to the housing affordability crisis hitting the nation, there are a number of bills proposed this year to provide more affordable housing. We are advocating for smart growth bills that provide support and tools for localities to incentivize and require affordable housing, such as SB74, which would allow all localities in the commonwealth to require more affordable housing from developers rather than just select few jurisdictions having this ability.

  • Local authority - PEC continues to monitor attempts to reduce local land use authority. We feel that local comprehensive plans, developed in consultation with local elected and appointed officials, are best positioned to determine the mix, location and compatibility of land uses. When bills arise that seem to limit that authority, PEC works to minimize the impacts and to retain maximum local flexibility.
  • Housing - Safe, secure and affordable housing makes our communities stronger and more sustainable, especially when it’s built to promote dense, walkable cities. PEC and the Coalition for Smarter Growth, a project of PEC, hope to see legislation that supports smart growth and transit-oriented development that will reduce greenhouse gas emissions from long commutes and mitigate the ecological impacts of sprawl.

How to Get Involved

While this session unfolds over the next 60 days, here are some of the ways you can take action:

The Virginia Conservation Network has compiled some top-level priorities in the Our 2026 Common Agenda Environmental Briefing Book, the most comprehensive overview of Virginia’s environmental policy landscape. The Piedmont Environmental Council and the Coalition for Smarter Growth are proud to have co-authored six papers on conservation, responsible development and clean energy.

Thanks as always for your attention to these critical policy issues. 

Sincerely,

Chris Miller, President
[email protected]