Gina Hinojosa won the governor’s race. What happens to Texas data centers now?
Texas governor-elect Gina Hinojosa has pledged to impose a moratorium on new data center approvals until the Legislature passes protections addressing electricity, water, environmental and community concerns. The proposal would extend beyond Gov. Greg Abbott’s temporary pauses on environmental permits and grid connections while state officials audit data center impacts.
Texas governor-elect Gina Hinojosa has pledged to ban data center approvals until the Legislature adopts new protections, including measures covering water supplies, electricity costs, union labor, tax incentives and public access to project information. She is set to take office Jan. 19 and will work with a Democrat-dominated Texas House.
The pledge builds on Gov. Greg Abbott’s temporary pauses on data center grid connections and environmental permitting while state regulators collect information about power demand, water use, tax incentives and neighborhood impacts. Community and environmental groups have criticized the state’s rapid data center growth, while the Data Center Coalition said the industry can support jobs, tax revenue and energy reliability. The policy debate has intensified amid statewide opposition and concerns that some permits were approved despite Abbott’s pause.