The Piedmont Environmental Council (PEC) supports HB1515, introduced by Delegate Irene Shin last Friday. This bill aligns with PEC’s data center reform efforts to pause approvals of hyperscale data center proposals.
General Assembly
Find out more about what we are tracking during Virginia’s annual legislative session.
HB155/SB619 Could Create Real Data Center Reform
We believe that passing HB155/SB619 is the single most important step Virginia can take this year to ensure a smarter digital future. Please use our advocacy page to send a letter to your state legislators today.
Virginia General Assembly in Full Swing
Our advocacy team is already hard at work as the 2026 Virginia General Assembly gets underway in Richmond.
Video: “The Hidden Costs of the Cloud: Data Centers and AI in Virginia”
Virginia is undergoing an unprecedented economic, technological, and environmental transformation, all centered around the activities of one industry: data centers.
2026 Data Center Reform Legislation
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 during this year’s Virginia General Assembly session.
Virginia Conservation Network’s Our 2026 Common Agenda Environmental Briefing Book
The Piedmont Environmental Council and the Coalition for Smarter Growth are proud to have co-authored six of the 47 briefing papers in Virginia Conservation Network’s Our 2026 Common Agenda Environmental Briefing Book…
Join Us at the State Capitol on Feb. 9 for Data Center Reform!
The Virginia Data Center Reform Coalition will once again host our Data Center Reform Lobby Day in Richmond, VA, providing a unique opportunity to meet face-to-face with your legislators and make your voice heard on critical data center issues impacting you and your community each day.
General Assembly Snapshot: 2026
The Virginia General Assembly will convene for a 60-day session beginning Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. PEC staff have co-authored several briefing papers that form the framework of the Virginia Conservation Network’s legislative priorities. Below, we break down some of the key issues we are tracking in the upcoming session.
Data Center Reform Campaign Continues
In the pre-dawn hours in a Haymarket parking lot, a few dozen people huddled in record cold temperatures as they made their way to the warm glow of a charter bus. Their destination: Richmond. Their mission: convince legislators to enact data center reform during the 2025 General Assembly session.
General Assembly Update – Spring 2025
Every day, Piedmont Environmental Council staff engage at the local, state and federal level to shape public policy with an eye toward protecting natural resources and advancing sustainability. These efforts include the annual Virginia General Assembly, which convened on Jan. 8 for a short session during which legislators introduced and considered over 2,000 pieces of legislation.