Virginia bills · 2026 Regular Session
Virginia HB 897
Retail Sales and Use Tax; exemption for data centers, delayed effective date.
- Introduced
- In committee
- Passed House
- Passed Senate
- To Governor
- Became law
Sponsors
- Richard C. "Rip" Sullivan, Jr. (Democratic)
Cosponsors (11)
- Vivian E. Watts (Democratic)
- Kathy K.L. Tran (Democratic)
- Michelle Lopes Maldonado
- Karen Keys-Gamarra (Democratic)
- Elizabeth R. Guzman (Democratic)
- Rae Cousins (Democratic)
- Betsy B. Carr (Democratic)
- JJ Singh (Democratic)
- Irene Shin (Democratic)
- John Chilton McAuliff
- Karen R. "Kacey" Carnegie
Summary
Official abstract published by the Virginia legislature· SUMMARY AS PASSED HOUSE
Retail sales and use tax; exemption for data centers. Requires a data center operator, in order to be eligible for the existing data center sales and use tax exemption, to (i) beginning July 1, 2027, not use co-located generating facilities that emit carbon dioxide, other than backup generators; (ii) beginning July 1, 2029, contract for a certain percentage of energy, capacity, and renewable energy certificates from clean energy resources, as evidenced by a certification from the State Corporation Commission, or contracts and service agreements; (iii) utilize only non-carbon dioxide-emitting backup power sources, such as energy storage resources, beginning on a date dependent on the data center's initial service date; and (iv) demonstrate, for any new data center issued a final certificate of occupancy or its equivalent on or after January 1, 2030, or for any data center operator seeking an amended memorandum of understanding, sufficient investment in environmental management and energy efficiency measures to provide system-wide benefits, as defined in the bill. Finally, the bill has a delayed effective date of July 1, 2027.
Text versions
- Introduced
- Finance Substitute
- Commerce Agriculture & Natural Resources Subcommittee Substitute
- Appropriations Substitute
- Finance and Appropriations Substitute
Roll-call votes
State vote data last updated Oct 15, 2026, 8:04 PM.
| Date | Vote | Result | Your legislators |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 3, 2026 Senate | Passed by indefinitely in Finance and Appropriations | pass | Set your home in Virginia to see |
| Feb 17, 2026 House | H VOTE: | pass | Set your home in Virginia to see |
| Feb 13, 2026 House | Subcommittee recommends reporting with substitute | pass | Set your home in Virginia to see |
| Feb 13, 2026 House | Reported from Appropriations with substitute | pass | Set your home in Virginia to see |
| Feb 11, 2026 House | Reported from Finance with substitute | pass | Set your home in Virginia to see |
Actions
- Mar 3, 2026 · Senate
Senate committee offered - Mar 3, 2026 · Senate
Passed by indefinitely in Finance and Appropriations (15-Y 0-N) - Feb 23, 2026 · House
Fiscal Impact statement From TAX (2/23/2026 4:59 pm) - Feb 18, 2026 · Senate
Referred to Committee on Finance and Appropriations - Feb 18, 2026 · Senate
Constitutional reading dispensed (on 1st reading) - Feb 17, 2026 · House
Read third time and passed House (61-Y 34-N 0-A) - Feb 16, 2026 · House
Engrossed by House - committee substitute - Feb 16, 2026 · House
committee substitute agreed to - Feb 16, 2026 · House
committee substitute rejected - Feb 16, 2026 · House
Read second time - Feb 15, 2026 · House
Read first time - Feb 13, 2026 · House
Committee substitute printed 26108015D-H2 - Feb 13, 2026 · House
Reported from Appropriations with substitute (16-Y 6-N) - Feb 13, 2026 · House
Subcommittee recommends reporting with substitute (5-Y 2-N) - Feb 13, 2026 · House
Assigned HAPP sub: Commerce Agriculture & Natural Resources - Feb 12, 2026 · House
Substitute bill reprinted 26107782D - Feb 12, 2026 · House
Committee substitute printed 26107782D-H1 - Feb 11, 2026 · House
Reported from Finance with substitute and referred to Appropriations (16-Y 5-N) - Feb 11, 2026 · House
House committee offered - Feb 11, 2026 · House
Incorporates HB784 (Anderson) - Feb 11, 2026 · House
Incorporates HB961 (Watts) - Feb 8, 2026 · House
Fiscal Impact statement From TAX (2/8/2026 2:26 pm) - Feb 5, 2026 · House
Assigned HFIN sub: Subcommittee #1 - Jan 13, 2026 · House
Referred to Committee on Finance - Jan 13, 2026 · House
Prefiled and ordered printed; Offered 01-14-2026 26104836D