Welcome to Notes from the Square, a weekly roundup of state politics and policy news. Each Friday, we bring you updates on the movers and shakers in Virginia politics as well as the legislation they’re supporting or opposing — with a Southwest and Southside Virginia focus.
Got a tip or story idea? Email me at elizabeth@cardinalnews.org.
After a moment of hope, budget negotiations fell apart
Budget negotiations blew up late last week, with state Senate President Pro Tempore Louise Lucas, D-Portsmouth, posting an image of black smoke above the statehouse on X, formerly Twitter. She also unveiled some interesting nicknames for Gov. Abigail Spanberger and House of Delegates Speaker Don Scott, D-Portsmouth, in that post, with whom Lucas is at odds over data center tax exemptions in the spending bill. Lucas is the state Senate Finance Committee chair.
We talked about her use of the papal conclave imagery last week, when she posted an image of white smoke above the same building to announce there had been movement in the negotiations. How quickly hopes can be dashed.
In a statement released June 5, Lucas said that she met with Del. Luke Torian, D-Prince William County and the House Finance chair, and Spanberger, and that they had conveyed their intent not to “alter the freeloading policy for data centers.”
“They will say that the revenue reforecast provides enough funding for the next biennium. The governor will soon realize that this isn’t Washington and Virginia has to have a balanced budget. She gave up the revenue that she will need this fall to fund inflationary increases for core services,” Lucas said.
She added that the House and Senate have attempted to “move forward multiple times,” and that multiple different compromises that would have provided additional revenue from data centers were offered.
Spanberger, Scott and Torian issued their own statements later that day regarding the ongoing financial fight.
The governor said she has been clear that data centers need to pay their fair share for energy consumption.
“I have brought proposals to the table that would make data centers pay more for the energy they use and address environmental concerns, including their air pollution, water and energy use, and noise,” she said. “I am confident that General Assembly leadership will get a bill on my desk that I can sign on time. Because there is no other option — those responsible for funding our government have an obligation to deliver.”
The deadline before a state government shutdown, or when funding for the current biennium is set to expire, is June 30 at 11:59 p.m.
Scott reiterated the respect he holds for Lucas in his statement.
“I am confident that Chair Torian and Senator Lucas will continue working through these issues and reach an agreement. The House remains committed to that effort, and I stand ready to help move the process forward,” he added.
Torian said the House remains ready to meet to work toward a budget agreement.
“Our goal remains a responsible budget that lowers costs and invests in strong public schools, safe communities, affordable housing, quality healthcare, and economic opportunity — while protecting the Commonwealth’s fiscal strength,” he said.
For those left scratching their heads, here’s a brief summary of the data center budget battle
In Virginia, data centers that meet certain requirements, including investing at least $150 million and creating at least 50 jobs — or, in economically distressed localities, $70 million and 10 jobs — are exempt from paying state retail sales and use tax on computers and other equipment.
The state Senate budget proposal includes a clause to end those exemptions in 2027, eight years earlier than their current expiration. The House budget proposal includes no such clause, creating a difference of more than $1 billion between the two proposals.
Lucas has been a strong proponent of ending the exemptions early. Torian has said that he believes Virginia must honor memorandums of understanding that it signed with the tech companies — a position shared by the governor.
The House of Delegates will return to Richmond on Thursday for the special session to tackle the impasse. The state Senate will follow on June 22. It’s unclear why the two General Assembly chambers are returning to Richmond on different days to take up the same issue.
Members of Virginia’s congressional delegation join the governor in request for disaster declaration for farmers
Below-freezing temperatures gripped much of Virginia in March and April and caused significant damage to crops on farms across the commonwealth. Spanberger issued a request to the U.S. Department of Agriculture on May 27 seeking a secretarial disaster designation to cover all of Virginia, as agriculture is the commonwealth’s largest private-sector industry.
Democratic U.S. Sens. Mark Warner and Tim Kaine; Republican Reps. Morgan Griffith, Ben Cline, John McGuire, Rob Wittman and Jen Kiggans; and Democratic Reps. Jennifer McClellan and Suhas Subramanyam all signed on to letters sent to USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins to back up Spanberger’s request.
Lawmakers pointed out in their letters that reports provided by Virginia Cooperative Extension said losses connected to the freezing temperatures are well above the 30% disaster threshold. Some producers are anticipating a 100% loss.
“Preliminary VCE direct loss estimates for commodities impacted by the March and April 2026 freeze events are in the range of $32.4M to $105.3M pending further developments. When future income and ripple effect losses are eventually incorporated, we expect the total estimates, all inclusive, will be magnitudes higher, and compounded by developing drought conditions,” the letters read.
A secretarial disaster designation will open the availability of USDA assistance for producers as they prepare for the 2027 growing season and beyond, according to the letter.
There has been no update as of Thursday from the USDA regarding that request.
Speaking of federal assistance …
Griffith’s office announced Monday that the Federal Emergency Management Agency awarded two disaster-related grants to Virginia for the February 2025 storms, over a year after those storms took place — and over a year after the disaster declaration was approved.
The grants, totalling about $1.6 million, are for public assistance to fix damaged infrastructure:
- $1,430,809 to support road restoration projects in Dickenson County
- $163,925 to support asphalt roads surface repair and replacement in Buchanan County
The grants are related to Virginia’s Major Disaster Declaration that President Donald Trump approved in April 2025 following widespread flooding caused by February 2025 storms.
Griffith worked with Warner and Kaine to secure Trump’s approval of former Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s major disaster declaration.
Let’s pivot back to the state and talk about some university board appointments
Spanberger announced a slew of appointments to university and college boards of visitors this week, amid the ongoing drama surrounding her ouster of former Virginia Tech Rector John Rocovich.
Here’s a list of the appointees to schools in Southwest and Southside Virginia:
- Radford University Board of Visitors
- Nancy Rice of Fairfax, retired
- *Jennifer Wishon Gilbert of Mount Jackson, senior Washington correspondent, CBN News
- Jeanne Fishwick of Roanoke, retired
- State Board for Community Colleges
- Lisette Carbajal of Richmond, vice president, McGuireWoods Consulting LLC
- Monica Logothetis of Washington, D.C., co-chair — policy and partnerships committee, Virginia Consensus for Higher Education in Prison
- Virginia Military Institute Board of Visitors
- Elise Woodworth of Leesburg, president, Woodworth Enterprises
- Daryl Deke of Nashville, Tennessee, principal financial advisor, CAPTRUST
- Yolanda Green of Dumfries, external affairs representative, Dominion Energy
- *Lester Johnson of Richmond, owner and managing partner, Mama J’s Restaurant
And here’s an appointee from Southwest Virginia who will serve on another university board:
- University of Virginia Board of Visitors: *Amanda Pillion of Abingdon, audiologist, Abingdon Town Council
An asterisk (*) indicates a reappointment.
And now we pivot back to the federal level to talk about access to SNAP
The office of Attorney General Jay Jones announced Thursday that the Virginia AG, along with a coalition of 21 attorneys general across the country, has secured a preliminary injunction to block changes to the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and other programs. The coalition sued the Trump administration in March over changes to the food assistance programs.
Policy changes in the federal spending bill, HR 1, could lead to some Virginians losing SNAP benefits, as eligibility rules are tightened and administrative hurdles are increased. Advocates warn that these provisions could cause otherwise eligible households to lose benefits simply because they fail to navigate the red tape, Emily Schabacker reported in November.
The coalition asserted in its lawsuit that USDA, which manages SNAP, threatened harsh penalties if states did not comply with the agency’s vague and expansive funding conditions, which, the plaintiffs argued, are unrelated to the purpose of USDA funding.
“Estimates show that nearly one million Virginians are facing hunger. Now more than ever, Virginians are relying on programs like SNAP and WIC to keep their families fed and healthy. This office will keep fighting for these crucial resources and the people who depend on them,” Attorney General Jay Jones said in a statement.
The lawsuit asked the court to block the USDA from imposing the new funding conditions, including on USDA programs such as SNAP; the school lunch program; Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children; the Emergency Food Assistance Program; and the Volunteer Fire Capacity Program.
