Lawmakers in nearly a dozen states have now introduced legislation this year to place a temporary ban on the construction of new data centers, notes a dispatch compiled by the National Conference of State Legislatures.
But while the bills are indicative of a growing unease on the part of legislators regarding the ongoing explosion in such facilities, they greatly vary in tone and substance.
In Vermont, a proposal is calling for the outright ban of all new data centers until the summer of 2030. Bills in New Hampshire, New York, and Oklahoma would task state agencies with studying the environmental and economic impact of such facilities before they can be approved.
In just the last few weeks, notes the NCSL, “state lawmakers in Pennsylvania and Minnesota have also announced plans to introduce moratoriums on data center development.”
Overall, says the NCSL dispatch, efforts to pass new data center regulations are rooted in a desire to “protect consumers from rising utility bills and prevent states from losing millions of dollars through tax breaks.”
For all of that, no state legislature has yet to approve a moratorium on such facilities, while the leadership in some states has expressed an opposing point of view.
In Michigan, Democrat Governor Gretchen Whitmer, has expressed her backing of a proposed data center some 45 miles to the west of Detroit. “Any legislation that prevents us from growing the economy and creating jobs is an automatic non-starter and would be vetoed,” Stacey LaRouche, a spokesperson for the Governor, remarked to the publication Michigan Advance.
In Florida, Republican Governor Ron DeSantis has gone in the other direction. Noting the growing role played by Artificial Intelligence in modern life, DeSantis remarked “There are some people who are big advocates of that, who almost relish the fact that they think this just displaces human beings and then ultimately you’re going to have AI run society and that you’re not going to be able to control it.”
“Count me out on that,” DeSantis continued.
Altogether, more than 300 bills this year have been proposed at the state legislative level to address continued data center construction issues. Such actions come as the general public has expressed a growing sense of unease regarding both AI and data centers.
In an NBC survey released earlier this month, 57% of respondents said they thought the risks of AI outweighed its benefits, with 46% responding to a separate question adding that they hold negative views about such systems in general.
March 19, 2026
By Garry Boulard
Photo courtesy of Pixabay
