EXECUTIVE ORDER NUMBER FIFTY-ONE (2025)
FIRST-IN-THE-NATION AGENTIC ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI) EMPOWERED STATEWIDE REGULATORY REVIEW
By virtue of the authority vested in me as Governor under Article V of the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Virginia and under the laws of the Commonwealth, I hereby establish in this Executive Order the nation's first statewide agentic AI-powered regulatory review to ensure the Commonwealth captures the benefits of AI in reducing regulatory burdens and keeping regulations and guidance documents streamlined and up-to-date.
Importance of the Initiative
AI is energizing industries, empowering citizens, and rapidly advancing our ability to process large data inputs. Under my Executive Order 30 (2024), the Commonwealth enacted safeguards to protect against misuses of AI while undertaking a variety of initiatives making Virginia a leader in the industry. The Commonwealth is uniquely positioned to capitalize on this technological revolution. Virginia's robust tech markets, nation-critical data centers, global internet traffic hubs, and highly skilled workforce enable us to capitalize responsibly on emergent AI market trends and opportunities.
Emerging technologies can be harnessed so our government can reduce costs, enhance outcomes, and promote opportunities for the citizens it serves.
Under my leadership, and through the exemplary work of the Office of Regulatory Management (ORM) in collaboration with Cabinet Secretariats and their executive branch agencies, Virginia has exceeded the 25 percent regulatory reduction goal I called for in Executive Directive 1 (2022) and Executive Order 19 (2022). The Commonwealth's executive branch agencies have streamlined 26.8 percent of the requirements in their regulations and eliminated 47.9 percent of the words in their guidance documents. The majority of executive branch agencies will either meet or exceed the 25 percent reduction goal for regulations and guidance documents.
Given our tremendous success streamlining the regulatory code thus far, it is paramount to maintain momentum and continue searching for reductions. AI presents an opportunity to supercharge these efforts to further reduce excessively burdensome regulatory requirements in the Commonwealth.
My Administration is conducting an advanced AI pilot program to enhance governmental efficiency and facilitate citizen engagement in governmental processes. Additionally, AI will enable executive branch agencies to continually review all regulations and guidance documents to ensure they remain streamlined. By using AI, the Commonwealth's executive branch agencies will maintain and build upon the extraordinary accomplishments of the last three years.
Preamble
To ensure that the Commonwealth's executive branch agencies take full advantage of AI to further reduce unnecessary and burdensome regulations, I am directing each executive branch agency to implement the directives provided by ORM under the highly effective AI Regulatory Reduction Pilot initiated under Executive Order 30. For each executive branch agency's periodic regulatory review process, and within the time periods between mandated periodic regulation review processes, I am directing each executive branch agency to pursue AI solutions to ensure its regulations remain streamlined and up-to-date. Additionally, I am directing every executive branch agency to establish a periodic review process utilizing AI and human review for its guidance documents to ensure that all guidance documents remain accurate, relevant, and streamlined.
Directive
Accordingly, pursuant to the authority vested in me as the Chief Executive Officer of the Commonwealth, and pursuant to Article V of the Constitution of Virginia and the laws of the Commonwealth, I hereby direct all executive branch agencies to take the following actions:
I. AI-Empowered Review of Regulations and Guidance Documents
Under the Al Regulatory Reduction Pilot initiated under Executive Order 30, ORM is producing a third party, AI-generated analysis of all regulations and guidance documents issued by the Commonwealth's executive branch agencies in the form of a regulatory reduction report. The regulatory reduction report will identify unnecessary regulatory requirements and highlight language in regulations and guidance documents that can be streamlined. Each executive branch agency shall report to ORM on its intended actions no later than four (4) weeks from the day it receives the regulatory reduction report. Each executive branch agency will then have four (4) weeks from the date it communicates its intended actions to ORM to initiate the regulatory actions supported by the regulatory reduction report's findings and provide ORM with its future periodic review schedule.
Whenever possible, executive branch agencies should use the fast-track process outlined in the Administrative Process Act, Va. Code § 2.2-4000 e seq., to implement such regulatory changes. Any questions about whether an intended action qualifies for the fast-track process should be directed to the ORM Director.
II. Using AI to Enhance Periodic Review
The Virginia Administrative Process Act requires executive branch agencies to conduct a periodic review of each of their regulations every four years to determine the continued need for each regulation and whether it can be modified or eliminated. For all periodic reviews undertaken after December 31, 2025, each executive branch agency shall seek to leverage AI for analysis of each regulation to determine the following:
The extent to which each requirement in the regulation is mandated by state statute, federal statute or regulation, or another source of binding law.
The extent to which each requirement in the regulation may be redundant of or in conflict with other provisions of state or federal law.
The extent to which surrounding states (including North Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky, West Virginia, South Carolina, and Georgia) impose similar requirements.
The extent to which the text of the regulation might be streamlined to eliminate excess verbiage while accomplishing the same purpose and goals. Upon final legal review of the analysis, executive branch agencies shall:
Eliminate any requirements that conflict with binding law or duplicate existing regulations/statutes.
Compare Virginia's regulatory burdens with surrounding states'.
Assess opportunities to reduce burden while maintaining public health and safety protections.
By December 31, 2025, each executive branch agency shall establish a schedule to review all guidance documents and seek to leverage AI and human review at least once every four years. During this review each executive branch agency must analyze each guidance document for:
Requirements exceeding those in state/federal statutes, regulations, or other binding authority.
Consistency with state/federal statutes, regulations, and other binding authority.
Opportunities to streamline text while preserving the required information accomplishing the same purpose and goals.Upon final legal review of the analysis results, executive branch agencies shall:
Remove provisions creating new binding legal requirements not already established in existing statutes or regulations.
Ensure the document accurately reflects all relevant legal provisions and minimizes word count while maintaining clarity and completeness.
Effective Date
This Executive Order shall be effective upon its signing and shall remain in force and effect unless amended or rescinded by further executive order or directive. Given under my hand and under the Seal of the Commonwealth of Virginia, this 11th day of July 2025.
/s/ Glenn Youngkin, Governor