Pa. House passes bills to pause data center development, enact GRID
The Pennsylvania House has passed two separate bills related to data centers. One measure authorizes municipalities to implement a 180-day moratorium on data center developments, while the other aims to link development incentives with environmental protections and community benefits.
The Pennsylvania House of Representatives passed two significant measures with bipartisan support on Wednesday, both impacting data center development within the state. The first, House Bill 2496, received a near-unanimous vote of 201-1. If enacted into law, this proposal would grant municipal governments the authority to impose a 180-day moratorium on new data center development proposals.
The second measure, proposed by Governor Josh Shapiro, seeks to connect existing development incentives with environmental safeguards and benefits for local communities. Both bills cleared the House, indicating a legislative push to regulate and assess the broader impacts of data center expansion across Pennsylvania.