The state-level legislative activity to regulate data centers has heightened in 2026 so far, with energy and water cost regulations, pullback of financial incentives, and threats of construction moratoriums emerging as the major trends.

Amid mounting public opposition to data centers, legislators in 46 states have filed at least one piece of data center-related legislation this year, totaling around 200 bills, according to a Debtwire analysis. With the first legislative session of 2026 wrapping up in most states, 16 have enacted at least one such bill in 2026, producing 30 distinct laws from 38 bills introduced (including companion bills). The world’s largest data center host state, Virginia, is leading the charge in shaping the evolving legislative framework, with 15 bills signed into nine laws in year-to-date (YTD) 2026 (as of 14 June).

Costs, resources, incentives targeted in data center bills

Among the legislation that ended up getting enacted, ten were primarily focused on protecting residential ratepayers from data center-related electricity cost increases, and five sought to address water consumption and environmental issues, and five tackled tax exemptions and incentives provided to data centers. While 10 acts pertained to grid/energy capacity and planning, six of them were enacted in Virginia alone.

The centerpiece ratepayer protection legislation in Virginia was Senate Bill (SB) 253 / House Bill (HB) 1393, which directs the State Corporation Commission (SCC) to ensure electricity costs for 25 MW+ users, including data centers, are not subsidized by residential customers, among other things. On grid and energy, HB 284 / SB 371 requires utilities to develop voluntary demand flexibility programs for high energy demand customers, while HB 892 directs the SCC to investigate utility load forecasting practices by March 2027. Other grid/energy-related legislation included HB 285 / SB 223 (forms a distributed energy resources task force), HB 429 / SB 249 (reforms the integrated resource planning process), and HB 323 (requires data center waste heat reuse and report recommendations by September). Meanwhile, HB 153 / SB 94 requires site assessments covering noise, water, and environmental impacts for rezoning applications involving 100 MW+ facilities, HB 507 sets emission standards for new data center air permits, and HB 496 / SB 553 requires reporting of monthly volumes of potable and reclaimed water supplied to data centers holding air permits.

South Dakota also enacted two bills in March: SB 135 protects residents from cost increases or utility shortages caused by data centers, while HB 1038 mandates the Public Utilities Commission to assess actual service costs for data center customers. In the same month, West Virginia enacted HB 4983, authorizing the commerce department to certify microgrid districts and high-impact data centers, and HB 5381 to develop a comprehensive energy policy addressing grid capacity for large new loads, including data centers. Indiana also approved HB 1210 in March, compelling data centers to reach an agreement with local officials before claiming state tax incentives, and Utah enacted Data Center Water Transparency Amendments (HB 76), requiring large data centers to report their water consumption to the state. Washington approved SB 5982, which ties large data centers to its clean-energy compliance deadlines, in late March, and SB 6231, which removes certain tax exemptions, on 1 April.

In early April, the largely high-desert state of Idaho enacted two data center bills, with HB 895 aimed at preventing consumptive use of water for cooling certain data centers. The second bill, HB 911, requires new large electrical loads to secure a state Public Utilities Commission-approved service contract, subject to a “no harm test” for existing ratepayers. Nebraska’s governor also signed two bills on 14 April, with Legislative Bill 1010 (or the Large Load Customer Regulation Act) requiring privately developed energy storage resources to obtain state approval and maintain contractual agreements with public power entities. Meanwhile, Legislative Bill 1261 limits public utilities from seizing privately owned generation facilities through eminent domain to ease supply-chain constraints driven by surging data center demand. Other legislation enacted in April included Alabama’s SB 270, which requires 150 MW+ data centers to pay for incremental utility costs. Maine’s Legislative Document (LD) 713 excludes upcoming data centers from the state business tax exemption and incentives program, while Oregon’s HB 4084 bars new data centers from its standard enterprise zone property tax exemptions.

In May, Florida enacted a broad framework of data center regulations through SB 484, which, among other things, prohibits utilities from passing data center costs on to residential and small-business customers and preserves local authority over zoning, permitting, and land use, allowing them to set stricter standards or deny projects. In the same month, Maryland passed the Utility RELIEF Act, restructuring the state’s energy affordability programs and grid cost allocation rules to limit the financial burden large-load customers place on residential ratepayers. Oklahoma’s Data Center Customer Ratepayer Protection Act of 2026 (HB 2992), approved by the governor on 11 May, requires data centers with a peak demand of 75 MW+ to pay their full utility service cost. Tennessee enacted SB 2128 in May, requiring data center owners to pay the full cost of any utility infrastructure needed to support their facility. Most recently, on 4 June, Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs (D) approved HB 2756, which requires public power entities to file quarterly reports on new extra-high load factor customers and establishes a cost-responsibility framework for grid upgrades tied to data center demand. Additionally, the state’s FY27 budget, signed by Hobbs on 13 June, imposes a three-year moratorium on data center tax credits through the omnibus taxation bill, HB 4168.

For a complete list of data center legislations (with source links) enacted in YTD 2026 (as of 14 June), see the full list.

Moratorium momentum faces veto hurdles

State lawmakers in at least 14 states have attempted to pass various forms of data center construction moratoriums in 2026, but none have succeeded. Maine and Vermont came closest, with both legislatures passing the respective bills, only for their governors to veto them. Maine Governor Janet Mills (D) said she supported a moratorium in principle but objected to the absence of an exemption for a specific local project under LD 307. Vermont Governor Phil Scott argued that the state already has regulations and policies in place to address its concerns about data centers, making HB 727 unnecessary in its current form. Legislative attempts to override the vetoes failed in both states.

Meanwhile, New York State remains a possibility as the Responsible Data Center Development Act passed the Senate 44-16 and the Assembly 102-39 on 4 June, seeking to impose a one-year moratorium on new permits for 20 MW+ facilities. Governor Kathy Hochul (D) has not committed to signing, but if she does, the Empire State could be the first in the nation to enact a statewide data center moratorium.

Michigan’s HB 5594 and HB 5595, North Carolina’s HB 1189, and South Carolina’s HB 5286 remain in committee in sessions still running, leaving open the possibility of further action. The remaining proposals, i.e., Georgia’s HB 1059, Maryland’s HB 0120, Minnesota’s HF 4888 / SF 4298, Missouri’s HB 3369 (St. Louis specific), New Hampshire’s HB 1265, Oklahoma’s SB 1488, South Dakota’s SB 232 / HB 1301, and Wisconsin’s SB 1061 / Assembly Bill 1099, all died without advancing to a floor vote.

Table 1: YTD 2026 data center moratorium bills proposed by state legislators

Executive actions beyond statehouses

Beyond the state assemblies, as of 14 June, at least seven governors have also taken executive actions on data centers in 2026, with a broadly partisan split. On 5 June, Illinois Governor JB Pritzker (D) declared a two-year pause on state data center tax incentives from 1 July, citing legislative inaction. Pritzker has also proposed a comprehensive framework to make data centers pay for their “fair share” of electricity and water system costs, meet energy and water efficiency standards, increase transparency, and enter into community benefit agreements, calling on lawmakers to act in the fall veto session.

Maine Governor Mills signed an executive order on 29 April, the same day the veto override attempt of the state moratorium bill failed, establishing a 15-person “data center advisory council” with recommendations due in January 2027. New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill (D) announced a statewide framework on 27 May requiring data centers to fund their own grid upgrades, report energy and water consumption biannually, comply with municipal benefit agreement standards, and hire union labor at prevailing wages. The plan also includes executive orders issued by the governor in January to freeze electricity rate hikes and aggressively expand power generation. Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro (D) also released the Governor’s Responsible Infrastructure Development (or GRID) Standards on 27 May, conditioning state support, expedited permitting, and sales tax exemptions on meeting energy affordability, transparency, workforce, and environmental requirements, and warned the existing equipment tax exemption could cost USD 517m annually by fiscal year 2030-31 if left unreformed.

Among the three Republican governors, Ohio’s Mike DeWine directed the Tax Credit Authority on 27 May to pause new exemption requests pending a legislative study. Utah’s Spencer Cox signed an executive order on 29 May, directing agencies to protect the Great Salt Lake, shield ratepayers, and require transparent public engagement. On 3 June, Wyoming’s Mark Gordon also signed an executive order, establishing an eight-principle development framework for state agencies involved in regulating, supporting, or facilitating large-scale data center developments. The framework includes guidelines around water sustainability, transparency, community investment, and grid protection, while still aiming to promote responsible development of data centers and other large load facilities.

Table 2: YTD 2026 executive actions by state governors on data centers

The four states that did not have a data center-related bill on the legislative table were not in a general or regular session (Montana, Nevada, North Dakota, and Texas). Texas Governor Greg Abbott (R) on 10 June released sweeping regulatory recommendations on data centers for the legislature to consider in the 2027 session.

Legislatures in California, Delaware, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and South Carolina (special) remain in session.