Will lawmakers water down data center rules?
California lawmakers are considering several bills aimed at regulating data centers, including shifting electricity costs, mandating water use disclosures, and requiring environmental reviews. Tech companies are heavily lobbying against these proposals, despite growing public opposition to data centers. Similar regulatory efforts were diluted or failed last year due to lobbying.
Amid growing public backlash against artificial intelligence data centers, California lawmakers are considering several bills to regulate these facilities. Proposed legislation includes shifting electric infrastructure costs to data center operators, away from residential customers, and mandating disclosures for water usage. Additionally, lawmakers aim to require all data center projects to undergo environmental review.
Major tech companies, including Amazon, Anthropic, Google, Microsoft, and OpenAI (through the Data Center Coalition), are spending millions of dollars lobbying the state government to oppose these measures. These companies argue that the regulations would hinder innovation and competition, and their lobbying efforts have previously resulted in similar bills being watered down or failing.
However, public sentiment against data centers has intensified, with recent polls indicating that around 70% of Americans and Californians surveyed oppose them. This increased opposition comes as lawmakers continue to debate the balance between tech industry growth and environmental and community impacts.