Fact check: Lancaster County Senate candidates clash over data center policy
Candidates in the 36th state Senate race in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, are clashing over data center policy. Republican Tom Jones' campaign ad criticizes Democratic incumbent James Malone for voting against a proposed three-year statewide moratorium on data centers. Malone defends his vote by stating he supports local control over such developments and has voted for other bills allowing municipal pauses.
The 36th state Senate race in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, has become a battleground over data center policy, pitting Republican state Rep. Tom Jones against Democratic state Sen. James Malone. A campaign ad from Jones accuses Malone of opposing efforts to halt data center expansion by voting against a proposed three-year statewide moratorium on new, large-scale data centers.
Legislative records confirm Malone's vote against the moratorium amendment in a Senate committee. Malone's campaign explained his vote, asserting that he believes local communities and leaders should have the final say on data center development, and the proposed moratorium would have removed that local control by prohibiting any new data centers, even if desired by a municipality. While Malone opposed the statewide moratorium, he supported the original bill it was attached to, which would enable municipalities to pause data center development for up to 18 months. He also voted for House Bill 2496, a separate measure that would allow municipalities to implement a 180-day development pause, and is now urging Senate leadership to bring it to a full vote.
Jones' campaign highlights his support for House Bill 2496, stating he voted to empower municipalities to halt data centers, a claim confirmed by legislative records. However, Malone also voted for the same bill in a Senate committee. The dispute underscores a broader debate on the balance between state-level intervention and local autonomy in regulating data center growth.