The 2027 Virginia General Assembly gavels in on January 13, 2027, for a short 45 Day Session. Ask anyone in Virginia, and it feels like the 2026 Session was just yesterday. This gap between Sessions narrows every year as Special Sessions and commission meetings increase. This was especially true this year, with the drawn-out budget fight that brought Virginia to the brink of a government shutdown. We are 85 days from gaveling in, and the first 10 bills have already been filed. Below is a quick summary of the bills. To no one’s surprise, several deal with Data Centers.
In the coming weeks, commissions will finalize their approved legislative packages and the money committees will hold their annual retreats. Two dates to monitor are November 16 and December 17.
November 16 is the last day for committees to act on legislation continued from the 2026 Regular Session. Over 400 bills were continued, and if the appropriate committee fails to take action, these bills die. Most continued bills receive no official action, but many are worked on through official and unofficial workgroups. This does not prevent the same legislation from being reintroduced in the 2027 Session.
On December 17, the Governor will present budget amendments to the Joint Meeting of the Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee, House Appropriations Committee, and House Finance Committee.
First 10 bills filed for 2027
HB1532 ( Cherry): Extends membership in the Virginia Law Officers’ Retirement System (VaLORS) to emergency dispatchers who are employed by the Department of State Police, Capitol Police, and agencies whose law-enforcement officers are eligible for membership in VaLORS. Status: Committee Referral Pending.
HB1533 (Cherry): Allows local governments to provide enhanced retirement benefits for hazardous duty service to full-time salaried 911 dispatchers. Status: Committee Referral Pending.
HB1534 (Griffin): Requires each school service provider of software or a website, mobile application, or online service to delete all student personal information and family personal information within six months of the termination of the contract between the school service provider and the school or school division and to delete all relevant student personal information and family personal information within six months of a student’s graduation from high school. Status: Committee Referral Pending.
SB837 (Favola): Prohibits admission of any evidence from an individual with developmental disabilities or intellectual disabilities in certain criminal prosecutions unless the court finds by a preponderance of the evidence that such individual’s decision to speak to law enforcement did not have a direct and substantial relationship to such individual’s disability. Status: Referred to the Committee on Courts of Justice.
SB838 (Perry): Prohibits surveillance pricing practices in connection with a consumer transaction and provides that the Office of the Attorney General shall enforce the provisions of the bill. Status: Referred to the Committee on Commerce and Labor.
SB839 (Jones): Prohibits members of local governing bodies from signing or executing a nondisclosure agreement that prohibits them from discussing matters of public concern related to the performance of their official duties. Status: Referred to the Committee on Local Government.
SB840 (Jones): Directs the Director of the Department of Corrections to continue accepting and reviewing applications for the confinement of inmates from a state that is a party to the Interstate Corrections Compact entered into pursuant to relevant law but prohibits any placement of any such inmate at the Red Onion State Prison until such time as the General Assembly reauthorizes such placement by an act of assembly. Status: Referred to the Committee on Rehabilitation and Social Services.
SB841 (Jones): Provides additional requirements for local land use decisions regarding zoning changes for data center development. Code-mandated advertisements must include the applicant’s name, the anticipated owner, address and parcel information, the approximate acreage subject to the action, and expected utility infrastructure needs. It also states that no special exceptions, variances, or changes to allow by-right development of a data center shall be authorized without at least two public hearings. Status: Referred to the Committee on Local Government.
SB842 (Jones): Requires the Virginia High School League (VHSL) to treat a student as meeting residency eligibility requirements if the student is properly enrolled in the high school where they want to play a sport. Status: Referred to the Committee on Education and Health.
SB843 (Perry): Prohibits a locality from granting final approval on or after July 1, 2027, of any application for a rezoning, special exception, special use permit, site plan, or plan of development for the siting of a data center. Status: Referred to the Committee on Local Government.
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