Bill Commons

VA SB 552

dead

Siting of large data centers; site assessment, standards, civil penalties.

Virginia · 2026 Regular Session · upper

Quick answers

Did VA SB 552 pass?

No. VA SB 552 did not pass — it was defeated or died in the legislative process (2026-02-02). Latest recorded action (2026-02-02): Failed to report from Local Government with amendments (7-Y 7-N 1-A)

What is VA SB 552 about?

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. The bill permits the Department to issue a notice of any violation of its provisions to a large data center, to require corrective or supplemental mitigation actions as a condition of continued approval, and to assess civil penalties against or revoke any approval for a large data center that continues such violation for more than 60 days after receiving such notice. The bill authorizes the Office of the Attorney General to bring an action against a large data center for injunctive or other appropriate relief to enforce the bill's provisions. Certain provisions of the bill have a delayed effective date of July 1, 2027. In addition, the bill directs the Department to develop site assessment standards for large data centers by July 1, 2027.

Who sponsors VA SB 552?

Glen H. Sturtevant, Jr. is the primary sponsor of VA SB 552.

Description

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. The bill permits the Department to issue a notice of any violation of its provisions to a large data center, to require corrective or supplemental mitigation actions as a condition of continued approval, and to assess civil penalties against or revoke any approval for a large data center that continues such violation for more than 60 days after receiving such notice. The bill authorizes the Office of the Attorney General to bring an action against a large data center for injunctive or other appropriate relief to enforce the bill's provisions. Certain provisions of the bill have a delayed effective date of July 1, 2027. In addition, the bill directs the Department to develop site assessment standards for large data centers by July 1, 2027.

Introduced
2026-01-14
Latest action
2026-02-02 — Failed to report from Local Government with amendments (7-Y 7-N 1-A)
Bill type
bill
Last updated
—

Sponsors

  • Glen H. Sturtevant, Jr.primary

Committees

Not provided by source.

Action timeline

  1. 2026-01-14

    Prefiled and ordered printed; Offered 01-14-2026 26105166D

    filing,introduction

  2. 2026-01-14

    Referred to Committee on Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources

    referral-committee

  3. 2026-01-27

    Failed to report (defeated) in Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources (7-Y 7-N)

    committee-failure

  4. 2026-01-27

    Reported from Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources and rereferred to Local Government (9-Y 5-N)

    committee-passage

  5. 2026-02-02

    Referred to Committee on Local Government

    referral-committee

  6. 2026-02-02

    Senate committee amendments offered

  7. 2026-02-02

    Failed to report from Local Government with amendments (7-Y 7-N 1-A)

    committee-failure

Versions

Documents

Votes

  • S VOTE:

    2026-01-27 · pass · 13-1

    Member-level votes (15)
    • David W. Marsden: yes
    • Mark D. Obenshain: yes
    • Richard H. Stuart: yes
    • William M. Stanley, Jr.: yes
    • David R. Suetterlein: yes
    • T. Travis Hackworth: not voting
    • Angelia Williams Graves: yes
    • Russet Perry: yes
    • Stella G. Pekarsky: yes
    • Timmy French: yes
    • Saddam Azlan Salim: yes
    • Tammy Brankley Mulchi: yes
    • Danica A. Roem: yes
    • Kannan Srinivasan: yes
    • Michael J. Jones: no

  • Reported from Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources

    2026-01-27 · fail · 7-7

    Member-level votes (15)
    • David W. Marsden: yes
    • Mark D. Obenshain: no
    • Richard H. Stuart: yes
    • William M. Stanley, Jr.: no
    • David R. Suetterlein: yes
    • T. Travis Hackworth: not voting
    • Angelia Williams Graves: no
    • Russet Perry: yes
    • Stella G. Pekarsky: yes
    • Timmy French: no
    • Saddam Azlan Salim: yes
    • Tammy Brankley Mulchi: no
    • Danica A. Roem: yes
    • Kannan Srinivasan: no
    • Michael J. Jones: no

  • Reported from Local Government with amendments

    2026-02-02 · fail · 7-7

    Member-level votes (15)
    • Jeremy S. McPike: no
    • William M. Stanley, Jr.: no
    • T. Travis Hackworth: no
    • David R. Suetterlein: yes
    • Glen H. Sturtevant, Jr.: yes
    • Lashrecse D. Aird: no
    • Schuyler T. VanValkenburg: abstain
    • Danica A. Roem: yes
    • Angelia Williams Graves: no
    • Tara A. Durant: yes
    • J.D. "Danny" Diggs: yes
    • Stella G. Pekarsky: no
    • Kannan Srinivasan: yes
    • Luther Cifers, III: yes
    • Jennifer B. Boysko: no

Related bills

No related bills recorded for this bill.

Official source

https://lis.virginia.gov/bill-details/20261/SB552

Attribution

Data from openstates_bulk_csv, retrieved 2026-07-24T05:35:59.552682Z

Inspect retained evidence for changes recorded after evidence tracking began:

Source and document changesStatus and relationship changes

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