Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin finished reviewing more than 900 bills, including the state budget, on March 24. The state General Assembly will reconvene on April 2 to examine his decisions.

Data centers, which house computers that enable internet use, were a focal point during this legislative session. Of the 30 introduced bills trying to regulate them, only two made it past the General Assembly and the governor. One bill says that localities can now require data centers to tell them how their developments will affect the environment and state residents. Youngkin added that the bill won’t be in effect until the General Assembly approves it in 2026.

He vetoed a bill that directed the Virginia Department of Energy to study whether data centers could reduce energy consumption during peak usage times. The governor said the State Corporation Commission already has the authority to conduct such an assessment.

Renewable energy was also a hot topic this year. Youngkin ended up vetoing bills that would have created a multi-family shared solar program, established workforce training programs for the solar and offshore wind industries, and prioritized solar installations on parking lots and schools. The governor stated that he made these vetoes to prevent costs being passed on to ratepayers, to save state resources and because existing programs made them redundant.

Youngkin did approve other clean energy efforts like increasing the amount of solar projects that can be built on previously disturbed lands and establishing a “virtual power plant.” But he amended the Virginia Clean Economy Act to remove the requirement for utilities to acquire “renewable energy credits.” Utilities buy these credits to count toward their clean energy mandates. Glenn Davis, director of the Virginia Department of Energy, said the change will prevent Dominion Energy from spending $5.5 billion to buy credits over the next 10 years and then passing it onto ratepayers.

As for invasive species, Youngkin approved bills that would require stores selling invasive plants to disclose that to their customers. But he vetoed a bill expanding the harvest size limit of invasive blue catfish. Sen. Richard Stuart (R-Westmoreland County) had changed the bill at the last minute to include areas where the trophy fishing economy would be impacted. The governor said the bill “does not consider the vibrant recreational fisheries and associated economic benefits.”

The General Assembly passed bills that would require cities and towns to consider environmental justice concerns by considering social determinants of health in their comprehensive plans. The governor vetoed the bills, saying localities already have the power to do so.

Another environmental justice bill expanded access to the Community Flood Preparedness Fund to federally and state recognized tribes. The governor approved it.

As for efforts to boost natural resources, the governor vetoed bills on expanding tree canopy goals and establishing a fund for when developers must remove trees. Youngkin called the bills unnecessary because existing law allows cities in the Chesapeake Bay watershed to adopt tree canopy ordinances. The governor also deemed new legislation regulating toxic “forever chemicals” as unneeded because similar legislation passed last year.

Environmentalists and lawmakers are disappointed in the governor’s actions after working to pass bills through session.

“Youngkin claims to have done more than any governor to clean the Bay but just killed legislation protecting our clean water from toxic ‘forever chemicals,’” said Michael Town, executive director of the Virginia League of Conservation Voters, in a statement.

The governor, a Republican, submitted his state budget amendments to the General Assembly on March 24. He removed several environmental funds, including money for electric vehicle infrastructure, environmental literacy, wildlife corridors and deferred state park maintenance. But he added an additional $50 million to the Community Flood Preparedness Fund and $50 million for retrofitting Richmond’s Combined Sewer Overflow system.