Spanberger Signs Next Tranche of Loudoun Bills

Governor Abigail Spanberger has signed a series of bills passed by the Virginia General Assembly, including a significant piece of legislation aimed at regulating the data center industry. House Bill 507, sponsored by Del. John McAuliff (D-30), mandates that new data centers seeking an air quality permit from the Department of Environmental Quality must restrict their generator emission levels to those achieved by Tier 4 generators, which represent the latest technology. McAuliff highlighted HB 507 as Virginia's inaugural state regulation on data center generators, stating its purpose is to "protect our communities" and expressed satisfaction with Governor Spanberger's endorsement of the measure. In addition to the data center regulation, Governor Spanberger approved several housing-focused bills. These include Senate Bill 328 from Sen. Russet Perry (D-31), which removes the $25,000 cap on local government homeowner assistance for public employees, a measure requested by the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors to support attainable housing. Perry also introduced SB 325, providing greater flexibility for military personnel terminating rental agreements due to official orders. Del. Marty Martinez's (D-29) HB 1144 allows localities to reimburse first-time homebuyers for water and sewer connection fees. Furthermore, the Governor signed SB 340 by Sen. Perry and HB 508 by Del. McAuliff, which formally define and facilitate small renewable agrivoltaics projects, integrating agriculture with solar energy while safeguarding farmland. Lastly, a bill by Del. Martinez, enabling towns like Leesburg to receive a portion of Loudoun County's plastic bag tax revenue for environmental sustainability, was signed into law after being vetoed twice by former Governor Glenn Youngkin.