Senate proposes 'impact fee' on data center generators instead of repealing tax break
News ClipRichmond Times-Dispatch·VA·6/16/2026
Virginia Senate Finance Chair Louise Lucas has proposed a new "impact fee" on data center backup power generators. This fee is presented as an alternative to repealing existing state sales tax exemptions for data centers, aiming to address concerns from residents living near these facilities. The proposal seeks to balance state commitments with local environmental impact concerns.
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Gov: Virginia Senate, Virginia Department of Taxation
Senate Finance Chair Louise Lucas, D-Portsmouth, on Tuesday offered an "alternate path" to a potential budget deal that she said would not break current state commitments to data centers for exempting their purchases of computer equipment from the state sales and use tax. Instead, the state would hit data centers with a new "impact fee" on backup power generators that have become a major source of concern for Virginians who live near them.