Click's signature data center bill sidelined by new joint committee

Ohio House and Senate leaders have established a new Joint Data Center Committee, effectively sidelining House Bill 646, a study commission bill championed by HD-88 Rep. Gary Click. The new committee, co-chaired by House Energy Committee Chair Rep. Adam Holmes (R-Nashport) and Senate Energy Committee Chair Sen. Brian Chavez (R-Marietta), will investigate the economic, environmental, and security impacts of data center development, mirroring the scope of Click's proposed legislation. Notably, Rep. Click is not a member of this new panel, though he is "expected to participate" without a vote. The joint committee aims to expedite the study process compared to the commission proposed by HB 646, which passed the House but stalled in the Senate. The original bill had drawn attention for a controversial provision requiring examination of "foreign propaganda intended to create opposition to data centers," a clause absent from the new committee's mission statement. The committee's initial meetings are set for May 27 and 28, with plans for weekly sessions thereafter. Representatives from Meta and Google, along with officials from the Ohio EPA, Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Public Utilities Commission of Ohio, and the Office of the Ohio Consumers’ Counsel, are expected to provide testimony. The committee intends to disseminate its findings to local governments to assist with data center siting decisions. This legislative development coincides with an ongoing citizen-led initiative to secure enough signatures by July 1 for a constitutional amendment on the November ballot that would ban large new data center construction in Ohio.