An omnibus bill called the Responsible Data Center Development Act is being considered in both chambers of the New York state Legislature.
The proposal is a reworked version of a previous proposal that now shortens a proposed moratorium on new data center construction from three years to one.
It also includes multiple pieces of legislation focusing on data center development in New York state.
State Sen. Kristen Gonzalez, chair of the state Senate’s Internet and Technology Committee, is sponsoring it.
“It includes notably a one-year moratorium to do environmental impact studies, includes labor standards for when these data centers are actually built, and then it includes renewable energy standards because this year, a big focus has been the climate conversation,” said Gonzalez.
As the legislative session winds down, Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie says lawmakers aim to pass this proposal before the end of session.
“Between the two houses, we talked to some of the other stakeholders,” said Heastie. “I think we’re comfortable in passing that bill.”
The speaker says the governor’s office is aware that the legislature is planning on this.
Gov. Kathy Hochul had this to say when asked about the proposal on Wednesday.
“I think that much more should be done to ensure that communities are benefiting enormously from this and that there’s not a drain on the power source in that area,” said Hochul.
The Genesee County Economic Development Center is against this proposed moratorium.
The county could be the site of the proposed STREAM Data Centers Project at the Science and Technology Advanced Manufacturing Park in the town of Alabama.
If this proposal is approved and it doesn’t allow for projects underway to continue moving forward, Mark Masse, the president and CEO of the Genesse County Economic Development Center, says it could cost “close to half a billion dollars in revenues being paid to the county, school district, and the town over a 30-year period for this project.”
“They’ve made some significant donations to local organizations, kids youth sports, as well as the local school district,” said Masse. “All of that would go away in the future as well.”
In a statement to Spectrum News 1, the Data Center Coalition said in part:
“A statewide moratorium on data centers would discourage further investment, undermine New York’s economy, and send a signal that the state is closed for business,” said Khara Boender, director of state policy at the Data Center Coalition. “It would deprive local communities of the opportunity to compete for investment and jobs, while forcing New York to relinquish significant long-term economic investment, high-wage jobs, and critical tax revenue to neighboring states.”
The governor says her office is studying the impacts data centers are having in other parts of the country.
A vote on the proposal could come as “early as” Thursday or Friday if the legislative session is extended.