On February 19, 2025, Connor Kish (Sierra Club Virginia Chapter Director) and Bob Shippee (Sierra Club Virginia Chapter Legislative Chair) discussed the status of the 2025 VA General Assembly. Overall, environmentally-friendly legislation seems to have fared a little better than it did in 2024, but the Democrats only hold a slight majority in the House and Senate.  So there is still a lot of defense to play.

Two environmental areas were a big focus for this year: (1) encouraging more solar adoption, and (2) reforming the Data Center industry (in particular, making them move toward more efficient and environmentally responsible operations). But at this point, it is not entirely clear which bills will make it to the Governor’s desk, and which will be signed (or vetoed).  Time will tell.

P.S. The Virginia Governor’s withdrawal from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) was ruled to be unlawful by circuit judge in November 2024 (https://cardinalnews.org/2024/11/20/youngkins-departure-from-rggi-determined-unlawful-by-circuit-judge/). However, it is still not clear what is going to happen next.