Virginia legislators advance $205 billion budget including new tax on data centers

By: Nathaniel Cline, Shannon Heckt, Charlotte Rene Woods, Samantha Willis

Outlets: Virginia Mercury

Published: June 22, 2026

Words: 2,315

Last Updated: 3 weeks, 1 day ago

Body Text Preview

On Monday, Virginia legislators approved a two-year, $205 billion budget proposal to fund healthcare and public education, provide 4% teacher raises and a 3.5% pay bump to state employees, establish a retail weed marketplace and hedge against decreased federal dollars.

The spending plan also includes a provision to tax data centers for their energy consumption, which is slated to generate a maximum of $600 million each year but doesn’t include the environmental standards …

Create a free account to access this story and more

Join Plucky Wire to access full stories, collaborate with newsrooms, and discover content from networks around the world.

About

FAQ

Email Us