Sen. Danica Roem

Maddy summaryThis is a commemorative resolution honoring the late Henry Levander Marsh, III, a former public servant. It does not create new laws or affect any policies, rights, or funding. The resolution formally recognizes his contributions through a ceremonial vote by both legislative chambers. It passed unanimously in the Senate and House in early February 2025, as documented in the official actions.

Zoning; data centers; water use. Authorizes a locality to include in its zoning ordinance provisions for (i) requiring proposed data center developments to submit water use estimates and (ii) considering water use when making rezoning and special use permit decisions related to data center development.

Cloud Computing Cluster Infrastructure Grant Fund; performance agreement. Removes the authority to make commitments related to accelerated permitting, property tax classifications, and other such issues in an agreement between a qualified company and a locality for purposes of the Cloud Computing Cluster Infrastructure Grant Fund.

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. The bill also provides that upon issuance of a certificate of occupancy, and for five years thereafter, the data center operator shall conduct a noise study performed by a third-party acoustical engineer to document noise levels emanating from the data center measured at the property line of the nearest property to the data center property that is planned or zoned for residential land uses, or other noise-sensitive use as reasonably determined by the locality, during peak operation of the data center mechanical equipment. The bill also provides that if the data center operator intends to use backup power generators on the parcel, the operator shall maintain a public website announcing the times when the generators will be in operation. Finally, the bill provides that any noise ordinance adopted by a locality shall set maximum allowable sound levels for data centers, including by (i) using alternative low frequency noise metrics and (ii) setting noise rules and enforcement mechanisms in its zoning ordinance, separate from existing noise ordinances.

Electric utilities; approval required for construction of certain electrical transmission lines. Prohibits the construction of a new transmission line overhead unless the State Corporation Commission first determines that the construction of such transmission line in whole or in part underground is not in the public interest.

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.

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.

Study; Department of Transportation; traffic congestion reduction on Virginia State Route 55; report. Requests the Department of Transportation to study traffic reduction on Virginia State Route 55. The study shall include the identification of methods and solutions for traffic reduction on Virginia State Route 55 and an assessment of the feasibility, cost, and impact on traffic flow of such methods and solutions.

Study; JLARC; policies and funding allocations of the Department of Transportation for maintenance of transportation infrastructure; report. Directs the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission (JLARC) to analyze policies and funding allocations of the Department of Transportation in regard to the maintenance of highways, bridges, sidewalks, bicycle paths and lanes, shared-use paths, and other transportation infrastructure. The study requires JLARC to submit each of its reports no later than the first days of the 2026 and 2027 Regular Sessions of the General Assembly.

Department of Emergency Management; work groups related to the Commonwealth's response to the COVID-19 pandemic; report. Directs the Department of Emergency Management to convene work groups to (i) study the reliance of the Commonwealth and its localities on federal grants for core emergency management functions, (ii) study and develop a comprehensive legal and regulatory framework to take effect during a disaster for which a state of emergency has been declared, and (iii) study and develop solutions to address breaks in technology continuity among communities across the Commonwealth during emergencies. The bill directs each work group to complete its work and report its findings and recommendations to the General Assembly no later than November 30, 2025. This bill is a recommendation of the Joint Subcommittee to Study Pandemic Response and Preparedness in the Commonwealth. This bill was incorporated into SB 1326.