A bill that would temporarily pause state approvals for new large data centers across New York is awaiting Gov. Kathy Hochul’s signature after passing both houses of the State Legislature on June 4.
The Responsible Data Center Development Act, sponsored by Assemblymember Didi Barrett (D-106) and state Sen. Kristen Gonzalez (D-59), would bar the state Department of Environmental Conservation from issuing permits or other approvals for new large data centers for one year after the measure takes effect.
Under the bill, a large data center is defined as a facility with a peak demand of 20 megawatts or more. The moratorium would not apply to previously issued approvals or to large data centers that begin construction on or before the law’s effective date.
Barrett, who chairs the Assembly Energy Committee, said the bill is intended to give the state time to understand a fast-growing industry, fueled largely by the rise of artificial intelligence, before major projects are approved at scale.
“I think that residents should be concerned, and they should make themselves aware,” Barrett told the Herald. “This is not something that’s down the road,” Barrett said. “This is something that is happening right now.”
The issue has already become part of the development debate in Dutchess County. In East Fishkill, a potential 1,000-megawatt data center project has drawn local opposition and prompted town officials to approve a three-year local moratorium on large-scale data centers. Large-scale data center development is also already present elsewhere in the Hudson Valley. DataBank opened its LGA3 data center in Orangeburg, Rockland County, in 2025.
No comparable project has publicly surfaced in Columbia County. But Barrett said rural communities should understand the potential implications of large data centers before proposals arrive.
Supporters of the state moratorium say those examples show why New York needs a clearer regulatory framework before more large projects advance. Barrett said the term “data center” once referred to far smaller operations, but the current debate is focused on much larger facilities with greater energy and infrastructure demands.
“I think the critical way to look at it is as balance,” Barrett said. “That was why this legislation was so important to me – to be able to take a year and have the state understand the impacts that it’s had in other places, but also recognize what potential opportunities there are.”
Beyond the one-year pause, the legislation would require the DEC to prepare an environmental impact report on data center development in consultation with the Department of Public Service, the Department of Health, the Environmental Facilities Corporation, and the state’s electric grid operator.
The report would have to examine the number, size, acreage, location, and electric load of current data centers in New York, as well as active proposals and projected future growth. It would also study electricity consumption, generation sources, subsidies or discounted electricity, water use and discharge, effects on farmland, air and water pollution, thermal pollution, electronic waste, and local infrastructure impacts.
A draft report would be posted for at least 120 days of public comment, and the state would be required to hold in-person public hearings in at least five regions, including the Hudson Valley. A final report would be due no later than 18 months after the law takes effect.
The bill would also require at least one in-person public hearing in a host community before the DEC issues an approval for a large data center. The hearing would have to be held at least three months before approval, with at least 30 days’ notice to residents.
State Sen. Michelle Hinchey (D-41) said the legislation is needed to protect utility customers.
“If we did nothing, the astronomical costs associated with powering these data centers would be passed on directly to ratepayers through higher utility bills,” Hinchey said in a statement. “Ratepayers have had enough of rising costs, and we need to be incredibly thoughtful about how we move forward in this space.”
The bill would require utilities and municipalities to create separate service classifications for large data centers, with the goal of assigning infrastructure upgrades, administrative expenses, and operational costs to the facilities rather than other customers. The same concept would apply to water service, requiring separate classifications for large data centers and mechanisms to ensure water-related costs attributable to those facilities are borne by them.
The legislation also sets renewable energy requirements for data centers with peak loads of 5 megawatts or more. Those facilities would have to show, through annual third-party verification, that at least one-third of their electricity comes from renewable energy systems from 2030 through 2034; at least two-thirds from 2035 through 2039; and at least 90% by 2040 and thereafter.
The New York Power Authority, working with the state’s grid operator, Public Service Commission, and Climate Action Council, would be required to set energy efficiency goals for data center design and operation within one year. Existing operators would have two years to comply with those goals.
Barrett framed the bill as a way for the state to set regulations before communities are asked to absorb the costs or consequences of major data center development.
“Across the state our constituents are talking about data centers,” Barrett said in a statement. “They are worried about data centers, they are confused about data centers and they are looking for answers about data centers. As legislators it is our job to help our state address this issue with a measured, thoughtful, and comprehensive approach to ensure the responsible operation and development of data centers, to protect our natural resources and to make sure that ratepayers are not being asked to unfairly subsidize the costs —economic and environmental — of this industry.”
The bill now sits with Hochul. Barrett said its supporters will continue urging the governor to sign it.