Texas lieutenant governor candidate calls for special session on data centers
EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) — State Rep. Vikki Goodwin, D-Austin, who is the Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor, called for a special legislative session on Tuesday, July 14 to address what she calls the “growing data center crisis facing Texas.”
“Across our state, large-scale data centers are developing at a pace that threatens to outstrip our existing water and energy infrastructure. These facilities can require extraordinary amounts of electricity and water, placing pressure on communities that are already confronting rising utility costs, drought conditions, groundwater concerns, and long-term water supply challenges,” Goodwin wrote in a letter to Gov. Greg Abbott.
“Texas cannot afford to wait until the next regular legislative session to act. Families, farmers, ranchers, local governments, and ratepayers need clear protections now,” Goodwin added.
Goodwin is running against Republican incumbent Dan Patrick in the fall general election.
Goodwin said a special session would allow the state Legislature to consider “urgent reforms.”
Those include, Goodwin wrote, the following:
1) Requiring enforceable public transparency for proposed and existing data center developments, including projected and actual water use, energy demand, cooling systems and on-site power generation.
2) Protecting local water supplies, groundwater resources and agricultural communities from excessive industrial demand by requiring water-impact reviews and enforceable conservation standards for large data centers.
3) Providing local governments and affected communities, especially in unincorporated and rural areas, with meaningful avenues for feedback and formal protest before major data center projects move forward.
4) Reviewing state tax incentives and exemptions to ensure Texans are not subsidizing projects that place new burdens on the grid, water systems or local taxpayers.
Goodwin said this is “not an anti-business position.”
“It is a pro-Texas position,” she said in her letter to the governor. “Texas can remain a leader in innovation while also protecting the families, farmers, ranchers and communities that make our state strong.”
“Our water supply, electric grid and local communities cannot wait,” Goodwin said. “I respectfully ask that you call the Legislature back into session to address this issue before the impacts become more costly and more difficult to reverse.”
According to Goodwin’s campaign, Texas is currently the fastest growing market for data centers with over 330 existing data centers and over 245 planned data centers.
Goodwin’s campaign said the industry’s growth has been spurred by a data center sales tax exemptions program signed into law by then Gov. Rick Perry in 2013. This tax exemption has grown from $148.8 million in lost revenue in 2024 to $1.02 billion in 2025. And this tax exemption is expected to increase by 33 percent in the next five years, her campaign said, citing the Texas Comptroller’s Office.
We have reached out to Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick’s campaign for comment.
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