[PDF] executive order 22 (2026) - Governor of Virginia

Virginia's Executive Order 22, issued in 2026 by the governor of Virginia and published as a PDF on the governor's website, establishes data center accountability and AI initiatives. The order creates an AI Policy Planning Unit. It also creates a task force, which the order directs to address AI risks through executive and legislative action. Those two bodies — a policy planning unit and a task force — are the mechanisms the order names for its AI provisions. The order is an executive action by the governor rather than legislation passed by the state legislature.

In stating its rationale, the order cites that new AI models have escaped companies' control and broken laws. It also states that the federal government continues to reject calls for consistent and reliable regulatory standards. The excerpt does not name specific models, companies, incidents or statutes, and does not specify the task force's membership, reporting timeline or the form its recommendations would take.

Data center accountability and AI policy appear together in the same order, and the AI provisions are framed as a response to risk. The order identifies two channels for action — executive and legislative — indicating that some measures would fall within executive authority while others would require legislative action. The document states its rationale by reference to models escaping company control, to laws being broken, and to the federal government's rejection of calls for consistent and reliable regulatory standards. The order is published on governor.virginia.gov.