Pa. GOP proposal would block farmers from selling land to data centers
Pennsylvania lawmakers are considering multiple proposals to regulate data centers, including a Republican-backed plan to prohibit their construction on farmland. Other proposals aim to define data centers within the state's planning code, establish state oversight for local land use, and mandate community benefits agreements. The legislative efforts seek to balance economic growth from data centers with the preservation of the state's vital agricultural industry.
Pennsylvania lawmakers are actively considering several legislative proposals aimed at regulating the growing data center industry within the state. A key proposal, championed by Republican state Rep. Marla Brown of Lawrence County, seeks to ban data center construction on agricultural land to protect Pennsylvania's $132 billion farming industry. Brown emphasized the importance of preserving farmland, noting that the state lost approximately 220,000 acres between 2017 and 2022, despite being a leader in farm preservation.
Other proposals being debated in the Pennsylvania General Assembly include defining data centers within the state's Municipalities Planning Code, establishing a new state office to oversee local land use laws concerning data centers, and mandating community benefits agreements between local governments and data center developers to mitigate impacts like rising electricity prices. Some of these initiatives have already passed the House and are awaiting action in a Senate committee, though the farmland protection proposal is still being formalized into a bill.
Rep. Brown acknowledges her party's traditional stance against business regulation but argues that protecting the state's food source is a responsibility for future generations. She believes her proposal will assist local boards that are struggling to draft appropriate ordinances for large tech facilities. The Pennsylvania Farm Bureau has expressed its opposition to building data centers on prime farmland and awaits the formal introduction of Brown's legislation.