A new law signed by Governor Glenn Youngkin is set to transform how over 100 Virginia state agencies share data, to boost efficiency, transparency, and public service delivery across the commonwealth.

House Bill 1632, introduced by Delegate Cliff Hayes and passed unanimously by both chambers of the General Assembly, empowers the Office of Data Governance and Analytics to oversee the Virginia Information Technologies Agency. It also mandates inter-agency data sharing through a newly established secure platform known as the Commonwealth Data Trust.

“In the past, you had agency heads and department heads who felt like they had to protect their data and couldn’t share it with anybody,” said Delegate Hayes. “This law is going to be transformational.”

The legislation also creates a Chief Data Officer role responsible for coordinating data collection, protection and organization across state systems. The goal: streamline operations, improve decision-making, and enhance service delivery for Virginians.

Hayes pointed to previous inefficiencies, such as widespread fraud during the COVID-19 unemployment crisis and residents being forced to submit the same documents multiple times for public assistance, as examples of issues the new law aims to solve.

The legislation also aims to address Virginia’s backlog of unclaimed property. Following an investigation by local news outlet WTKR, lawmakers moved to automate the claims process and return an estimated $4 billion in unclaimed funds to residents.