POLICY · REGULATION · #656
Virginia governor signs Executive Order 22 creating AI task force and curbing data center approvals
Governor Abigail Spanberger signed Executive Order 22 directing state agencies to create an AI task force to assess AI risks such as workforce displacement and data privacy, ban executive-branch NDAs for data-center projects, speed noise-rulemaking, and review backup-generation operations. The order is accompanied by a new Data Center Accountability Framework that seeks to remove some by-right approvals and state subsidies and add environmental and consumer protections.
KEY POINTS
- Governor Abigail Spanberger signed Executive Order 22 directing state agencies to create an AI task force to assess AI risks such as workforce displacement and data privacy, ban executive-branch NDAs for data-center projects, speed noise-rulemaking, and review backup-generation operations.
- The order is accompanied by a new Data Center Accountability Framework that seeks to remove some by-right approvals and state subsidies and add environmental and consumer protections.
- State-level creation of an AI task force plus limits on data-center NDAs signal an active subnational approach to AI and infrastructure policy that could shape local approvals, community influence, and regulatory precedents.
WHY IT MATTERS
State-level creation of an AI task force plus limits on data-center NDAs signal an active subnational approach to AI and infrastructure policy that could shape local approvals, community influence, and regulatory precedents.