General Assembly news: Can't miss stories about the budget, new laws, data centers and more

Menhaden, the fish that has been the focus of years of political squabbling, got a starring role as the General Assembly took its last, largely technical steps to give Virginia a new, if much-delayed, state budget.

Virginia budget negotiators have a deal for a new two-year spending plan that resolves — at least temporarily — an increasingly bitter debate between Democratic leaders about how the state should tax and regulate data centers.

Hundreds of new laws take effect this week, though some of the biggest measures from the General Assembly session don’t take effect until next year or the year after.