Colorado Data Center Regulations Bill Fails in State Legislature

Colorado State Senator Cathy Kipp's data center bill, SB26-102, titled "Large Load Data Centers," failed to pass the state legislature despite a year of work and last-minute efforts. The bill aimed to provide limited incentives for data center development while mandating community review and requiring accountability and transparency regarding water and electricity usage, as well as contributions to public benefit programs. Kipp had crafted the compromise bill after an earlier, more incentive-heavy bill (HB26-1030) introduced by Rep. Alex Valdez also died. The bill's failure was attributed to widespread opposition from various groups. Labor unions, including electricians and pipefitters, lobbied against it, seeking more generous incentives for union trades than the compromise offered. Local governments, represented by Colorado Counties Inc., believed the bill intruded on their land-use siting authority. Environmental groups supported the guardrails but the overall package failed to gain consensus. A poll commissioned by Conservation Colorado indicated strong public support (91%) for rules protecting Colorado's resources from unrestricted data center growth. Sen. Kipp expressed frustration and sadness at the bill's demise, but vowed to reintroduce similar legislation next year. She emphasized that public sentiment is on her side, with communities deeply worried about the impact of unrestrained data center development on water, air quality, electricity bills, and neighborhoods. The bill's failure means that for now, Colorado has neither incentives nor the proposed guardrails for data center development.