The Issues

Energy Freedom

Virginia Policymakers Encouraged the Data Center Boom; Now They Want to Rein It In.

Key Takeaways: Key Quote: “Virginia needs an energy policy capable of powering the success it helped create. Scapegoating data centers is not an energy policy.” 9/16/2026 — Congressman Suhas Subramanyam, who likely...

Derrick A. Max
September 17, 2026

Spanberger’s Carbon Tax Sets New Record, Could Add $1 Billion to Electricity Costs in One Year

Key Takeaways: Key Quote: “The impact of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative carbon tax on your electric bill – and everything you buy which depends on electricity – will be...

Stephen D. Haner
September 14, 2026

Data Center Misinformation is Killing the Golden Goose

Key Takeaways: Key Quote: “Data centers didn’t create Virginia’s policy challenges; they have created enormous wealth that can fuel Virginia’s economy for decades to come. Virginia policymakers should think twice...

Derrick A. Max
August 15, 2026

The SCC Must Judge Dominion’s Future, Not the Governor’s Office

Key Takeaways: Key Quote: “Nothing should be non-negotiable in an SCC proceeding except adherence to the law.” 8/7/2026 — Governor Abigail Spanberger’s announcement that she will intervene in the State Corporation Commission’s (SCC and...

Derrick A. Max
August 8, 2026

Are Data Centers Actually Over Taxed

Key Takeaways: Key Quote: “The appropriate tax treatment of data centers is the same as that of other industries.” 8/4/2026 — When Jared Walczak writes something down, you should read it. Whether...

Ali Ahmad
August 8, 2026

Smoke Does Not Stop at the Border — Neither Does the Climate

Key Takeaways: Key Quote: One historic Canadian wildfire season released many times the amount of carbon Virginia’s electricity sector emits in a year. It likely also exceeded several decades of...

Derrick A. Max
July 18, 2026

PJM’s Heat Wave Warning: The Grid Runs on Reality, Not Wishful Rhetoric

Key Takeaways: 7/7/2026 — The July heat wave that pushed PJM toward record electricity demand should force Virginia policymakers to confront an uncomfortable truth: the electric grid does not run on mandates,...

Derrick A. Max
July 7, 2026

Spanberger, Assembly Ignore Dominion Sale, Focus on Scapegoating Data Centers

Key Takeaways: 7/1/2026 — The most important energy outcome of recent legislative wrestling over Virginia’s energy-focused state budget is what it didn’t include. Governor Abigail Spanberger (D) and the legislators did...

Stephen D. Haner
July 1, 2026

The Budget Message to Data Centers is Clear: “Here’s Your Hat, There’s the Door”

6/23/2026 – The energy regulatory provisions buried in the final conference report on Virginia’s 2026-2028 budget, approved by the General Assembly Monday, are as complex and detailed as energy bills...

Stephen D. Haner
June 23, 2026

Jefferson Forum concentrates on policies that affect everyday life in Virginia

Economic Freedom

Lower taxes and fewer regulations

Education Freedom

More choices for Virginia families

Energy Freedom

Reliable, affordable energy

Worker Freedom

Protecting Virginia’s right-to-work tradition

These are the building blocks of a more competitive and prosperous Virginia.