Hinojosa Seeks Halt On New Texas Data Centers
Governor-elect Gina Hinojosa plans to extend Texas' freeze on new data center approvals until the Legislature adopts stronger resident protections. Her agenda includes community input, union labor requirements, water safeguards, limits on nondisclosure agreements and ending tax subsidies, while citing concerns about utility costs and resource use.
Governor-elect Gina Hinojosa announced plans to pause new data center development across Texas until lawmakers establish stronger protections for residents. Speaking in Austin, she cited rising utility costs, resource consumption and the expansion of facilities into rural areas, and said future projects should include greater community input.
Hinojosa intends to extend a freeze previously imposed by Gov. Greg Abbott and maintain it until the Texas Legislature meets in January. Her proposed agenda includes requiring union labor, protecting water supplies, requiring operators to cover infrastructure costs and eliminating data center tax subsidies. The Data Center Coalition, represented by government affairs director Jess Heck, said the industry remains committed to digital infrastructure, energy reliability and economic development.