Virginia Daily — Mar 10, 2026

Virginia's General Assembly has four days to finish a two-year budget, and the biggest fight left is whether to kill a $1.6 billion annual tax break for data centers — a debate that landed in the same week Google announced $9 billion in new Virginia investment and a rural megasite deal worth potentially $73 billion materialized in Southside. The most significant gun bill to reach a Virginia governor's desk in years arrived this morning.

The General Assembly sent Governor Spanberger an assault-weapons ban to consider on March 10, 2026, after floor votes in both chambers; if signed, it would make Virginia the first Southern state to prohibit the sale, purchase, import, or manufacture of assault-style firearms. Starting July 1, sales of new assault-style firearms would be prohibited, and high-capacity magazines over 15 rounds would face the same restriction. Existing owners keep their weapons; law enforcement is exempt.

Del. Dan Helmer (D-Fairfax) called it a historic moment for the South. Senate sponsor Saddam Salim framed it simply: "If you had it, you can keep it, but going forward, you simply cannot purchase them." Republicans pushed back — Sen. Mark Obenshain (R-Rockingham) said it burdens law-abiding citizens and urged a focus on mental health.

Spanberger hasn't publicly committed to signing; her office's law-enforcement–tinged statement reads like a preamble. She has 30 days to act after enrollment on March 10, 2026. Expect a legal challenge in the Eastern District of Virginia (Alexandria's federal court) the moment ink hits paper. The real political test is whether moderate Democrats who voted yes can hold their swing seats in November.

If you pay a Dominion Energy bill, live in Loudoun County, or work anywhere near Virginia's data center industry, what happens inside a closed conference committee room in Richmond this week will matter to your wallet more than almost anything else the General Assembly does this year.

The House and Senate budgets are $3 billion apart (as of March 10, 2026), centered on a data center sales-tax exemption that lets operators skip the 5.3% sales tax on server equipment and software and costs the state an estimated $1.6 billion a year.

Senate Finance Chair Louise Lucas (D-Portsmouth) wants to end the exemption by January 2027 — years ahead of its 2035 sunset — and rebate the revenue to every Virginia household. House Appropriations Chair Luke Torian (D-Prince William) wants to keep the break and spend the surplus. Conferees haven't met jointly since last week's breakfast with Spanberger, and House rules require the conference report 48 hours before a floor vote — so conferees likely need a deal by Wednesday to hit Saturday's deadline.

Industry groups are alarmed. A coalition of 55 business groups urged protecting the exemption, and the Northern Virginia Technology Council warned repeal would send a "do not enter" signal. Sen. Russet Perry (D-Loudoun) countered: "What began as an incentive has turned into an automatic, billion-dollar subsidy."

Failing to agree by Saturday means July arrives on an old budget — no new teacher raises, no health-care backfill, and the tax-break question unresolved.

It's easy to think of the data center debate as a Loudoun County story. The real economic stakes for 2026 may be 250 miles south.

The Danville-Pittsylvania Regional Industrial Facility Authority voted unanimously on March 9, 2026, to sell key parcels at the Berry Hill megasite — a long-dormant industrial property near the North Carolina border — to an entity tied to Stack Infrastructure, already Virginia's largest private data center developer. The deal covers one tract and options on thousands more acres, potentially totaling 2,990 acres at $238,000 each, roughly $712 million. Stack hinted at a $73 billion total investment and more than 2,000 jobs.

Southside has chased manufacturing and logistics for years; the site has absorbed $217 million in public funds since 2008. A major data center commitment would be transformative — funding schools and roads for a generation.

But amid Richmond's budget fight, the sales-tax exemption matters to whether a rural deal stacks up. Sen. Tammy Mulchi (R-Mecklenburg) put it plainly: "In our rural areas, we very much need the revenue from data centers. If our localities want them, then we should be able to offer these incentives." Watch for a geographically targeted exemption for rural sites — a compromise that could let the Senate claim a win in Northern Virginia while keeping Southside's pipeline open.

Google confirmed a $9 billion Virginia investment this week — data centers in Loudoun and Prince William counties plus a new Chesterfield campus — and the timing is either the best argument for keeping the tax break or proof Virginia doesn't need it.

Industry defenders call it $9 billion in construction jobs and local tax revenue for counties that rely on machinery taxes; repealing the exemption now signals unreliability to investors. The counterpoint: Google dropped the press release amid the budget fight — if the exemption were make-or-break, would the announcement land this week?

Scale is staggering either way. Dominion Energy told state regulators data centers have requested 70,000 megawatts of power — almost triple the utility's current peak. NOVEC expects its peak to grow from 1,400 megawatts to over 5,000 by 2030, with 60+ new data center buildings coming online. Google's Chesterfield plans also face DEQ water permits and drought-risk reviews that could slow approvals regardless of the tax debate.

If you're used to neighborhood Facebook groups sharing scanner chatter, that era may be ending. Fairfax County police leaders told the Board of Supervisors' Safety and Security Committee today that they plan to encrypt their main radio channels, limiting real-time public access to sensitive calls to protect victims' privacy and officer safety.

Supporters say encryption prevents live-streaming of domestic violence and hostage calls; transparency advocates warn it strips independent oversight that has exposed misconduct and verified use-of-force accounts.

This matters regionally. Once Virginia's largest jurisdiction locks encryption, Loudoun, Prince William, and Arlington will face pressure to follow or explain why they won't — a new regional standard could emerge.