Shapiro called his data-centers executive order the strictest in the nation. Much of it was already the law.

Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro enacted Executive Order 2026-05 regarding data center development, asserting it would impose the "strictest guardrails in the nation" and prevent "predatory" developers. The order includes provisions for data center operators to disclose energy and water consumption, and to comply with local zoning and comprehensive plans.

However, a review of the executive order by Broad + Liberty indicates that several key provisions were already enshrined in Pennsylvania statute. For instance, energy and water usage reporting for data centers over 10 megawatts was enacted into law just five weeks prior to Shapiro's order, and Commonwealth agencies were already required to consider local zoning in development reviews. The order’s primary new mechanisms involve a two-track enforcement structure through the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) for projects over 25 megawatts, and conditioning a state sales tax break for new applicants on compliance with the governor's non-statutory GRID framework.

Critics, including the Republican-controlled Senate, argue that the governor's actions overstep executive authority. House Bill 2650, which would have made the GRID framework mandatory, passed the House but failed to advance in the Senate. The article highlights that the governor is now using an executive order to enforce standards that the legislature explicitly declined to make law, raising significant legal questions about the executive branch's power to modify legislatively created benefits without statutory authority. The administration has not publicly defended the legal basis for this approach, and the order itself includes a clause stating it does not create any enforceable rights against the Commonwealth.