Rules Studies Subcommittee

Monday, February 2, 2026·2h 14m·▶ Watch / Listen

The Rules Studies Subcommittee worked through a docket of over 60 bills, carrying over the majority to the 2027 session while reporting a handful including a JLARC AI study and a lynching remembrance day; the most contested item was HB 1515, a proposed moratorium on new data center land-use approvals, which drew sharp opposition from industry and labor but whose outcome was unclear when the transcript ended.

Key Actions

·HB 1515 – Data Center Land-Use MoratoriumNo Vote

+ 11 more actions

Controversies

Data center moratorium (HB 1515)

Delegate Shin [UNCLEAR SPELLING] argued for a moratorium citing Dominion Energy holding unserviced contracts for 47 gigawatts and the state giving up $1.6 billion in sales tax exemptions to data centers in 2025 alone; Nicole Riley (Data Center Coalition) countered that data centers support 74,000 jobs and generate over $9 billion in GDP and that the bill 'sends the wrong message to Virginia's community seeking jobs and tax revenue'; Patrick Brighaman (Electricians Union Local 666) stated the industry is 'a big part of our members livelihoods.'

+ 1 more controversy

Notable Quotes

“So I appreciate everybody's brevity and patience. What we are going to do today, how the subcommittee is going to run is if you have a bill that you're going to present, you have a minute to present your bill. We all have a minute for in person testimony in support of the bill, a minute for in person testimony opposed to the bill, A minute online for a minute online against. The clerk has the sign up for online. So if you haven't signed”
Delegate Jackie H. Glass — Presenting HJ20, which directs a study of cost-sharing frameworks for managed retreat from flood-prone areas.

+ 3 more quotes

Votes

Pass HB 8 by indefinitelyPassed

Report HB 140 (Federally Recognized Tribes Commission sunset extension)Passed

Report HB 814 and refer to Committee on AppropriationsPassed

Table HB 1098 with letter to SCHEVPassed

Report HJ 32 as amended (AI in higher education study)No Vote

Report HB 1433 (Disability Commission staffing) and refer to Committee on AppropriationsPassed

Table HJ 39 (TDO/ECO study) with letter from SpeakerPassed

Lay HJ 26 on the tablePassed

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TranscriptPreview

Here's. It. All right. Committee will come to order. Oh, gonna go at ease for one second to just fix the screen. Thank you. As you can see by the room, we have a very long docket over 60 bills. So I appreciate everybody's brevity and patience. What we are going to do today, how the subcommittee is going to run is if you have a bill that you're going to present, you have a minute to present your bill. We all have a minute for in person testimony in support of the bill, a minute for in person testimony opposed to the bill, A minute online for a minute online against. The clerk has the sign up for online. So if you haven't signed up online, then we won't have your name in there. We do have an opportunity for written comments. If you'd like to put written comments on your bill, please do submit those. We appreciate them. We know we've got many already and we'll continue to look at them as this goes through the process in the General Assembly. And if you are speaking in person or online, please be respectful of the other people who…

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