# Virginia HB591: Data centers; policy of the Commonwealth.

Virginia HB591, Data centers; policy of the Commonwealth., is a 2027 Regular Session House bill sponsored by Shelly A. Simonds (Democratic); status passed house, last action 2026-07-21 (Continued from last session) (as of 2026-10-13).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB591-2027
- As of: 2026-10-13
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: Virginia HB591
- State: Virginia
- Session: 2027 Regular Session
- Title: Data centers; policy of the Commonwealth.
- Status: passed house
- Chamber: House
- Introduced: 2026-01-13
- Last action: 2026-07-21, Continued from last session
- Sponsor: Shelly A. Simonds (Democratic)
- Cosponsors: 0
- Subjects: Finance and Appropriations
- Touches household money: no
- Economic provisions PRIA read: 0

## Summary

Policy of the Commonwealth; data centers. Provides that it is the policy of the Commonwealth to encourage the responsible operation of data centers in the Commonwealth while supporting grid reliability, affordability, and the deployment of renewable resources. The bill provides that in furtherance of this policy, the Commonwealth shall (i) promote coordination between data centers, state agencies, and regional grid operators to share information on energy usage, interconnection timelines, and barriers to rapid deployment of renewable and flexible energy resources; (ii) incentivize data centers to participate in demand response programs, implement energy storage and management systems, and leverage automated technologies to reduce peak demand and support grid stability; (iii) encourage flexible energy practices that allow data centers to adjust energy consumption in real time in alignment with available renewable generation; (iv) ensure large-scale data centers pay their fair share of infrastructure investments, mitigating impacts on residential and small business ratepayers; (v) require data centers to report water and aggregated energy usage, sustainability measures, and participation in grid support programs to appropriate state and federal agencies; and (vi) promote cybersecurity, physical security, and supply chain security measures to protect Virginia data center operations from foreign adversary access or compromise.

## Bill overview

No economic impacts identified for this bill.

## Sponsors and cosponsors

- Sponsor: Shelly A. Simonds (Democratic), House

## Actions (18)

- 2026-07-21: Continued from last session (Senate)
- 2026-03-09: Continued to 2027 in Finance and Appropriations (14-Y 0-N) (Senate)
- 2026-03-09: Reported from Commerce and Labor and rereferred to Finance and Appropriations (11-Y 4-N) (Senate)
- 2026-02-18: Referred to Committee on Commerce and Labor (Senate)
- 2026-02-18: Constitutional reading dispensed (on 1st reading) (Senate)
- 2026-02-17: Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB591) (House)
- 2026-02-17: Read third time and passed House (62-Y 34-N 0-A) (House)
- 2026-02-16: Engrossed by House as amended (House)
- 2026-02-16: committee amendments agreed to (House)
- 2026-02-16: Read second time (House)
- 2026-02-15: Read first time (House)
- 2026-02-12: Reported from Labor and Commerce with amendment(s) (13-Y 7-N) (House)
- 2026-02-10: House subcommittee offered (House)
- 2026-02-10: Subcommittee recommends reporting with amendment(s) (6-Y 3-N) (House)
- 2026-02-03: Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB591) (House)
- 2026-01-20: Assigned HCL sub: Subcommittee #3 (House)
- 2026-01-13: Referred to Committee on Labor and Commerce (House)
- 2026-01-13: Prefiled and ordered printed; Offered 01-14-2026 26103960D (House)

## Bill text

- Engrossed, 2026-02-16: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1230951.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1230950.PDF)
- Amendment, 2026-02-13: [HTML](https://lis.virginia.gov/bill-details/20271/HB591)
- Introduced, 2026-01-13: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1230200.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1230199.PDF)

## Related bills

- SB844: Licensed clinical psychologists; prescriptive authority, report. (in committee)
- HB1535: Individuals with developmental or intellectual disabilities; admissibility of statements. (introduced)
- HB1534: School service providers; deletion of student and family personal information. (introduced)
- SB843: Data centers; state permitting, local approval, moratorium, sunset. (in committee)
- SB842: High school student athletes; eligibility, enrollment. (in committee)
- SB840: Corrections, Director of the Department of; placement of inmates, Red Onion State Prison. (in committee)

## Sources
- [Engrossed (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1230951.HTML)
- [Engrossed (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1230950.PDF)
- [Amendment (HTML)](https://lis.virginia.gov/bill-details/20271/HB591)
- [Introduced (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1230200.HTML)
- [Introduced (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1230199.PDF)

## Related
- [SB844: Licensed clinical psychologists; prescriptive authority, report.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-SB844-2027)
- [HB1535: Individuals with developmental or intellectual disabilities; admissibility of s…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB1535-2027)
- [HB1534: School service providers; deletion of student and family personal information.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB1534-2027)
- [SB843: Data centers; state permitting, local approval, moratorium, sunset.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-SB843-2027)
- [SB842: High school student athletes; eligibility, enrollment.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-SB842-2027)
- [SB840: Corrections, Director of the Department of; placement of inmates, Red Onion Sta…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-SB840-2027)
- [Virginia bills](https://policyrisk.com/states/virginia/bills)
- [Virginia state hub](https://policyrisk.com/states/virginia)
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Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB591-2027 (as of 2026-10-13).