The state of New York is poised to be the first in the nation to put a one-year moratorium on hyper-scale data centers in place.
This is for data centers with a peak load of more than 20 megawatts.
The Responsible Data Center Development Act passed both chambers on Thursday.
It will be up to the governor to sign it as is, negotiate or veto it.
“We’re really hoping to get this version of the bill signed into law, and I will add we need it signed because the bill is in effect once it’s signed,” said Democratic state Sen. Kristen Gonzalez who is sponsoring the bill. “So not just getting it to her desk but getting it as soon as possible makes a difference for the potential permits that might go through this summer.”
The bill sets new classes for electricity and water usage, labor protections and assessments for environmental impact.
The Genesse County Economic Development Center is against this legislation.
The county could be the site of a proposed STREAM Data Centers Project in the town of Alabama.
“It seems like an effort to override local review, home rule,” said Mark Masse, president and CEO of the Genesee Co. Economic Development Center. “We’ve been working on our particular project for the better part of seven months at this point.”
The One Fair Price Package which deals with surveillance pricing is heavily backed by New York Attorney General Letitia James.
The legislative package contains two bills.
The One Fair Price Act is sponsored by Democratic state Sen. Rachel May in her chamber. It bans companies from using a shopper’s personal information or browsing history to set prices.
It passed both houses early Friday morning.
“It’s about making sure that companies aren’t mining your personal data to set individual prices for goods that you might be purchasing,” said May.
This is opposed by the Business Council of New York State over concerns it will hurt customers from receiving targeted discounts.
“While they make some exceptions in the bill, they are so narrowly written and tailored that discounts will be lost,” said Chelsea Lemon, senior director of government affairs for the Business Council of New York State.
The second proposal in this package deals with banning electronic price labels.
It’s sponsored by Democratic Assemblymember Michaelle Solages.
It was up for a vote in the Assembly Friday evening.