{"id":7259,"date":"2026-09-18T19:05:01","date_gmt":"2026-09-18T19:05:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/?p=7259"},"modified":"2026-09-18T19:05:01","modified_gmt":"2026-09-18T19:05:01","slug":"virginia-governor-spanberger-data-center-ai-task-force","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/?p=7259","title":{"rendered":"Virginia governor creates an AI task force and moves to restrain data centers"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1044qizi _18mzr4b1 _18mzr4b0 _19wv7tc1\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.governor.virginia.gov\/media\/governorvirginiagov\/governor-of-virginia\/pdf\/eo\/eo-22-establishing-va-data-center-accountability-and-ai-initiatives.pdf\">Executive Order 22<\/a> bans executive branch officials from signing non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) for data center projects, requires expedited noise regulations, and a review of backup-generation operations used by data centers, among other requirements. The order also establishes an AI task force responsible for evaluating how the state government can address risks to Virginians like workforce displacement and data privacy issues, and determining how existing law can be applied to AI harms.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1044qizi _18mzr4b1 _18mzr4b0 _19wv7tc1\">The order represents the latest signal that states are taking data center and AI policy into their own hands as Congress and President Donald Trump have been slow or resistant to sweeping changes. Also on Friday, California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theverge.com\/policy\/997516\/california-governor-newsom-ai-kill-switch\">issued an executive order<\/a> convening experts to tackle AI safety issues, and earlier, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theverge.com\/policy\/965110\/new-york-ai-data-center-moratorium\">New York Gov. Kathy Hochul<\/a> (D) and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theverge.com\/policy\/975071\/texas-data-center-audit\">Texas Gov. Greg Abbott<\/a> (R) have both taken executive action to rein in rapid data center development.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1044qizi _18mzr4b1 _18mzr4b0 _19wv7tc1\">In addition to Virginia\u2019s new executive order, Spanberger unveiled a new \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/r5siqu4ab.cc.rs6.net\/tn.jsp?f=001DWqWhFm296wH14lkGyPgMrWpm41k9jQuKtYYx446Cp4xtmpAEmIuiqvwmVZKSfcy4qdPlbbU4SKe_AEeGhwNPG3pm6YAgotoKGZ-XF0ZsBrIhNexhWllX411qVJtiIxUQcVjoCvMJ_k8KzSB906UAsGLIgDf6-CqcKjWEod3PrHKalixBcqmrLve-xtFH8ii4uNI-6W5YumvL6yk-o5UYPcLvxt4GEIXS2EoJF0HUAeKVqQ-JmAPptOLKHGV9sp9lhEByaxSfRHWP856hSet4-V2gEBzSJ-FsQGkyNqyfRx_PTiddEkiGQ==&amp;c=eX2uNvwbE5Hxq6rTSIpZ4UV6k37KJS7uRhjaPZYBMAqxOj-T04hjYA==&amp;ch=nk8EQ3vn7kmXdUfZr8077MShG3TUMUbLwo0gSUoAcRSouSRW-qcyKA==\">Data Center Accountability Framework<\/a>\u201d for the state, which lays out additional priorities. These include eliminating \u201cby-right approval,\u201d like the kind that existed in Loudoun County for many years allowing developers to build on certain land without additional approvals, removing some state subsidies, establishing environmental guardrails, and safeguarding residents against increased energy prices that are associated with data centers.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1044qizi _18mzr4b1 _18mzr4b0 _19wv7tc1\">A press release for the actions includes many statements from environmental groups praising Spanberger\u2019s approach, but others reportedly wish she\u2019d gone even further. Piedmont Environment Council (PEC), for example, is a nonprofit that has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcwashington.com\/news\/local\/virginia-gov-spanberger-unveils-data-center-legislation-creates-ai-task-force\/4156197\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">advocated for a moratorium<\/a> on new development to deal with existing concerns, and PEC president Chris Miller said in a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pecva.org\/work\/energy-work\/pec-statement-on-the-governors-data-center-accountability-framework\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">statement<\/a> that \u201cIt largely addresses standards on new data centers and does not deal with what\u2019s already built and in the pipeline, along with the ongoing impacts piling up in communities now.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theverge.com\/policy\/997573\/virginia-governor-spanberger-data-center-ai-task-force\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Executive Order 22 bans executive branch officials from signing non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) for data center projects, requires expedited noise regulations, and a review of backup-generation operations used by data centers, among other requirements. The order also establishes an AI task force responsible for evaluating how the state government can address risks to Virginians like workforce [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7260,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[31,176,46,74,75,169],"class_list":["post-7259","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-gadgets","tag-ai","tag-energy","tag-news","tag-policy","tag-politics","tag-science"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Virginia governor creates an AI task force and moves to restrain data centers - Silvybrand Lifestyle Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Virginia Gov. 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