Texas lieutenant governor candidate calls for moratorium on data centers
Texas Democratic lieutenant governor candidate Vikki Goodwin called for a statewide moratorium on new data centers, citing concerns over higher energy bills, water resource depletion, and lack of local control. Her proposal comes amidst rapid data center growth in Texas, which she argues is fueled by a problematic sales tax exemption. Goodwin plans to hold town halls across the state to gather public input on the issue.
Texas Democratic lieutenant governor candidate Vikki Goodwin held a press conference in Austin, calling for a statewide moratorium on new data centers until comprehensive regulations are enacted. Goodwin, who represents part of Austin in the Texas House, expressed concerns about rising energy costs for households, water resource depletion, and a perceived lack of transparency for communities near proposed data center developments. She emphasized the need for a legislative special session to address these issues and consider the broader implications of artificial intelligence, including potential job losses.
Goodwin's call for a moratorium coincided with the "PowerUp Data Centers" convention in Austin, where industry leaders discussed the growing electricity demand from data centers. Goodwin contrasted the industry's positive outlook with the daily concerns she hears from Texans, announcing plans for town halls across the state to gather public input on the issue of data center growth.
Texas currently leads the nation in data center expansion, with over 330 existing facilities and nearly 250 more planned. This growth has been partly fueled by a 2013 state sales tax exemption for data centers, which State Senator Sarah Eckhardt (also a Democratic nominee for comptroller) highlighted as a "runaway subsidy" projected to exceed $1 billion in 2025. Eckhardt anticipates bipartisan efforts in the 2027 Legislature to curtail or eliminate this subsidy.
Michelle Gutierrez Cohen, a Hays County Commissioner and Democratic nominee for county judge, further noted that nearly half of new data centers are slated for unincorporated areas, where county leaders possess limited regulatory authority. She cited a recent incident in Hill County, a rural North Central Texas county, where a data center moratorium was rescinded after the county faced a $100 million lawsuit from a developer, underscoring the challenges local communities face in controlling development.