“I don’t think that data centers are being taken seriously by a lot of my own party right now,” — Ok l a h oma state Sen. Kendal Sacchieri, R Blanchard.
Republican state legislators in several states want to pause new data center construction, a break with President Donald Trump and most congressional Republicans.
Republicans in Washington have broadly backed the explosion of the tech industry in the U.S. But in their home states, the rapid expansion of massive data centers has sparked backlash from constituents with a range of complaints about the developments.
And now some Republican state lawmakers want to, at minimum, slow the spread of those developments by crafting new energy usage agreements. In other states, they want more, going so far as to propose a pause in the construction of new data centers altogether. “I don’t think that data centers are being taken seriously by a lot of my own party right now,” said Oklahoma state Sen. Kendal Sacchieri, R Blanchard, the Republican sponsor of a bill that would put a three-year pause on data centers in her home state. “Since I filed the moratorium, I’ve heard from people from other districts who have told me they wanted this so bad. You know that those legislators have to be hearing from them as well.”
She argued that state legislatures need time to carefully consider how data centers change communities, from increasing utility bills to other factors like noise, decreasing property values and the economic outcomes of tax incentives.
“I just don’t understand my Republican Party on this one,” Sacchieri said. “It’s the same argument as green energy, you know. Usually, we’re totally against it. Why are we not on the exact same thing here? It’s filling our acreage.
It’s sucking all the good out of our state, and it’s all done by taxpayer dollars. What is the difference here? Why are we OK with these?” Her legislation has not been put on the floor for a vote. But Oklahoma is one of at least half a dozen states where Republicans have either backed or led legislation that would force a temporary ban on the construction of data centers. The others are Georgia, Maryland, New York, Vermont and Virginia.
While no statewide data center moratorium has been enacted, several localities across the country have paused the construction of any new data centers. And some Republican governors, like Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida, have voiced support for restricting data centers in their states.
Last year, state legislators across the country introduced about 300 bills to limit or otherwise regulate the construction of new data centers, according to Tech Policy Press.
Technology giants such as Google, Amazon and OpenAI have pledged trillions of dollars to the construction of new data centers by the end of the decade, mostly to power new artificial intelligence models. Most of these efforts have enjoyed support from both Republicans in the White House and Congress, who argue that the U.S. is locked in a race with China to develop the most powerful AI models.
In the past, these projects were seen as drivers of economic growth and received profitable tax subsidies at the state and local levels. But as more data centers are being proposed, public opinion and the financial sustainability of these projects are shifting.
Some states, such as Ohio, have granted tax credits for data centers. The Republicans in the state Legislature there are advocating to cut benefits for these corporations.
“These are mult i- tri l liondollar market cab companies that get enormous tax benefits,” Republican Ohio state Sen. Louis Blessing said. “I mean, you can argue that that is infrastructure, but it’s not the same as roads, bridges, power plants, public water facilities, so on and so forth. … Maybe let’s slow this down and make sure our infrastructure is in place, not just for the data centers, but for everybody.
“One of the things that’s really hurting Trump’s approval number, along with Republicans, is that people see things like the inauguration and see who was standing behind you, it was [Jeff] Bezos and Sundar Pichai, and all these Big Tech titans. And you seem to be giving away the farm to Big Tech,” Blessing said.
A Trump administration official said in a written statement that data center infrastructure helps the U.S. outpace global competitors. The data centers are crucial to American “economic prosperity, national security, and scientific leadership,” the official said.
But the backlash has motivated the Trump administration to find ways for technology companies to address the increase in utility costs related to new data centers. This has pushed many companies, such as Microsoft, Anthropic and OpenAI, to agree to pay for the additional energy that their data centers are expected to use.
Maryland Republican state Del. Brian Chisholm said that these agreements are a step in the right direction, although he still sees a place for legislation.
He is a co-sponsor of a bill that would ban the construction of new data centers in the state until the legislature passes measures to address the strain they place on the grid.
“Everybody probably fully grasps that you’re not going to slow down data or AI right now,” Chisholm said. “Everybody understands there’s tremendous upside for everyone if it’s done correctly, and I think that’s why you’re starting to see a little more bipartisan support. It’s certainly not a cut-and-dry issue. Most of our politics is dominated by today.” He argued that the fact that Republicans are starting to propose bills that often mirror those backed by figures like Sen. Bernie Sanders, who caucuses with Democrats and who has proposed a 10-year moratorium on data centers, or Democrat Sen. Chris Van Hollen, who has introduced legislation to force data centers to pay for their energy, is a sign that this is a complex issue that has not yet been engulfed by partisan politics.
Republican Jason Anavitarte, the majority leader of the Georgia state Senate, is proposing a repeal of the state’s data center tax breaks. He said that while he does not believe Georgia should subsidize data centers, lawmakers should have a more nuanced approach to the issue. “State and federal leaders need to listen to the citizens and balance what the citizens are saying against the research and what the technology experts are saying and figure out what is the common ground, while also recognizing the geopolitical impacts of data centers in terms of this technology arms race,” Anavitarte said. “I don’t want China and other adversarial nations to one-up us when it comes to technology investments.”
And while many congressional Republicans back these data center developments, at least one agrees with these state lawmakers. “Voters don’t want to see their utility bills go up,” Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley, a Republican, said. “Their electricity bills are already too high, the water bills are already too high, and they don’t want some use corporation coming in, and sucking up all the electricity on the grid, so that their rates double and triple.”
“We ought to pass legislation here in Congress, nationally, create a national standard that says the data centers have to supply their own power,” he said.
