A recent measure from State Sen. Danica A. Roem targets data center expansion, restricting new developments to parcels identified or utilized for industrial activities, according to the Virginia State Senate.
The proposed legislation, SB94, was filed on Jan. 14, 2026, during the annual regular session. Its official summary reads: “Data centers; site assessment, sound profile of the high energy use facility.”
Below, we provide a summary based on the actual bill, with clarification for transparency of its stipulations.
Fundamentally, the bill stipulates that local officials may approve data center proposals only for parcels that are zoned or currently used for industrial purposes. It mandates local land use applications be considered solely for data center developments on these types of lands. The proposal uses the existing statutory definition of “data center” and would apply exclusively to local applications submitted on or after July 1, 2026.
Sens. Danica A. Roem (Democrat-30th District) and Adam P. Ebbin (Democrat-39th District) sponsored the bill.
Roem has put forward 16 other bills since the session began.
She earned a bachelor’s degree from St. Bonaventure University in 2006.
Roem, representing the 30th Senate district, was elected to the Virginia State Senate in 2024, succeeding Adam Ebbin.
In Virginia, the bill process starts with introduction in either the House of Delegates or Senate, followed by committee assignment for hearings and amendments. If passed by committee, the bill proceeds to the full chamber for debate and voting in both the House and Senate. Once both chambers approve, the bill moves to the governor for signature, veto, or to become law without action. The General Assembly meets each year in regular session beginning the second Monday in January. Legislators introduce hundreds of bills each session, but only a fraction are enacted.
| Patron(s) | Bill Number | Date Introduced | Short Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Danica A. Roem and Adam P. Ebbin | SB94 | 01/14/2026 | Data centers; site assessment, sound profile of the high energy use facility. |
| Danica A. Roem and R. Creigh Deeds | SB4 | 01/14/2026 | School breakfasts; availability at no cost to students. |
| Danica A. Roem | SB41 | 01/14/2026 | Motor Vehicles, Department of; electronic transactions, voluntary contributions. |
| Danica A. Roem | SB42 | 01/14/2026 | School boards; payment of school meal debt. |
| Danica A. Roem | SB43 | 01/14/2026 | Demand response programs; evaluation and assessment by Department of Energy, report. |
| Danica A. Roem | SB44 | 01/14/2026 | Cemeteries on private property; registration by localities. |
| Danica A. Roem | SB92 | 01/14/2026 | Virginia Military Survivors and Dependents Education Program; tuition and fee waivers. |
| Danica A. Roem and Michelle Lopes Maldonado | SB93 | 01/14/2026 | Data centers; taxes on banks that are tenants of a center. |
| Danica A. Roem | SB95 | 01/14/2026 | Rest area signage; adds human trafficking information. |
| Danica A. Roem | SB97 | 01/14/2026 | Hunger-Free Campus Grant Program; establishment of student meal plan credit donation program. |
| Danica A. Roem | SB331 | 01/14/2026 | Veterinary Medicine, Board of; traineeships. |
| Danica A. Roem | SB336 | 01/14/2026 | Tier 2 emergency generators; SCC shall evaluate impact of requiring data centers to limit use, etc. |
| Danica A. Roem | SB345 | 01/14/2026 | Guardianship/conservatorship of incapacitated adult; right to request counsel, right to a jury trial. |
| Danica A. Roem, Angelia Williams Graves, and David R. Suetterlein | SB350 | 01/14/2026 | Absentee voting; counting ballots prior to the close of polls. |
| Danica A. Roem and Kannan Srinivasan | SB482 | 01/14/2026 | Sodium Chloride; alternatives to use to treat and pretreat roadways for winter weather, report. |
| Danica A. Roem | SB503 | 01/14/2026 | Phase II Utility; rates, terms, and conditions of services, certain customers. |
| Danica A. Roem and Scott A. Surovell | SB716 | 01/14/2026 | Commissioner of Highways; certain agreements with U.S. Department of Transportation. |
Details in this report are sourced from the Virginia State Senate. The original data is available here.
