Data Centers: Daily Notes | August 12, 2026

Missouri

A bipartisan group of Missouri lawmakers announced plans to introduce artificial intelligence and data center legislation once the legislature reconvenes in January 2027, unveiling a new evaluation framework in the meantime to help local governments assess data center proposals.

The Missouri House Future Caucus released the AI Infrastructure Community Evaluation Framework at Lindenwood University in St. Charles, alongside plans for future bills covering residential energy customer protections, limits on AI's use in healthcare, and liability rules for AI-related mistakes. Caucus chair and Republican Rep. Colin Wellenkamp said the framework is meant to let communities engage with the AI economy proactively while lawmakers work through the slower legislative process; he said a special session is unlikely, a position Gov. Mike Kehoe has also taken given the issue's complexity. Democratic Rep. Kimberly Ann Collins said caucus members broadly agree on the need for regulation, and Republican Rep. Mike Costlow said Missouri should learn from other states that gave data centers incentives at residents' expense.

New Mexico

New Mexico Democratic lawmakers got a first hearing Tuesday on a proposed statewide moratorium on data centers, an idea Republicans on the legislative committee met with skepticism.

Two New Mexico lawmakers outline bill for possible statewide data center moratorium

NEW MEXICO (KRQE) – Two New Mexico Democratic lawmakers are unveiling the framework of their effort to pass a statewide moratorium on “large-scale” data centers. The House rep…

KRQE NEWS 13 - Breaking News, Albuquerque News, New Mexico News, Weather, and VideosJordan Honeycutt

Reps. Micaela Lara Cadena and Angelica Rubio, both Doña Ana County Democrats, said they plan to introduce the moratorium bill in the session starting January, citing Project Jupiter, the Oracle- and OpenAI-backed data center project in their county, as the reason. Oracle has said the project is on pace to create 7,000 construction jobs and 1,500 ongoing jobs once built, and had delivered $80 million in tax revenue as of July. Republican Rep. Joshua Hernandez argued data centers are inevitable given the growth of AI and said New Mexico shouldn't miss out on the investment, while Lara Cadena said that inevitability doesn't mean the state should "roll out red carpets" for the industry.

Rubio criticized the Doña Ana County Commission's approval of $165 million in industrial revenue bonds for Project Jupiter last September as insufficiently transparent, and said the project exemplifies why a statewide pause is needed. Lara Cadena noted that Santa Fe, Sierra and Socorro counties have already adopted their own year-to-18-month moratoriums, and Bernalillo County has passed a resolution establishing guardrails. Republican Sen. Nicole Tobiassen called for more fact-finding before legislation moves forward, and Sen. Jay Block requested a formal economic impact analysis on potential job and tax revenue losses from a moratorium.

Stowe Township, Pennsylvania

Officials in Stowe Township, Pennsylvania moved to quash rumors of a planned data center at a 72-acre former industrial site along the Ohio River at Tuesday's commissioners meeting, after months of confusion fueled by social media and news reports.

Stowe residents came to fight a data center. Township officials say none is planned.

A zoning change and communication gaps fueled confusion in Stowe Township over whether a data center was coming to an industrial site.

Pittsburgh's Public SourceMia Hollie

Township Solicitor Bradley Matta said there's no data center proposal before the board, and SunCap Property Group's Matt Virgin, whose company owns the former Pressed Steel Car Company site, said the firm is still just clearing and grading the property for potential future industrial buildings, with no data center ever in the works. Commissioner Tyler Kochirka said he pressed SunCap representatives repeatedly to confirm this before the meeting. SunCap had lobbied the township last year to add data centers as an allowable industrial use, citing shifting market conditions and slower site progress, and commissioners approved an ordinance in December permitting them in the township's industrial areas.

Residents including Sara Eve Rivera attributed the confusion to inadequate direct communication from local government, saying they often turn to Facebook for updates instead. Commissioner Shyanne Rippole said the township has struggled with transparency for years, noting she could only access 2024 meeting minutes while campaigning for her seat, and said current officials are working to fix that through a newly updated website and plans to stream meetings online.

Moffat County, Colorado

Moffat County, Colorado commissioners weighed a possible moratorium on data center development at Tuesday's meeting, as Commission Chair Melody Villard kept defending the county's disclosure of prior conversations with companies eyeing the Trapper area.

Both Commissioner Tony Bohrer and Commissioner Donald Broom said they'd back a pause on development while the county collects information and public feedback, with Bohrer floating a timeframe of two to five years; the board did not formally introduce or vote on a moratorium. The talks followed revelations that Villard and Natural Resources Director Jeff Comstock had met with representatives from Pure-Green and Toto Labs before an Aug. 5 public meeting, and that Villard had signed letters in April and July referencing Pure-Green's interest in redeveloping the Trapper Mine property for geothermal energy and advanced computing, without using the term "data center" in either. Villard said the county has to remain receptive to economic development inquiries given the upcoming closures of Craig Station and Trapper Mine, and argued that disclosing every early-stage conversation risked alarming residents over ideas that might never go anywhere.

Broken Bow, Nebraska

The Broken Bow, Nebraska City Council heard the first reading of an ordinance imposing strict requirements on data center construction at its Aug. 11 meeting, part of a broader package addressing both data centers and license plate reader cameras.

Broken Bow City Council Take Steps to Limit Flock Cameras, Data Centers, More at Tuesday Evening Meeting - Sandhills Express

The Broken Bow City Council approved one measure designed to protect city residents from unwanted intrusion, and heard the first reading of another ordinance

Sandhills ExpressDoug

Ordinance 1317, presented by Zoning Administrator Jacob Holcomb, would require pre-development and ongoing noise studies, close regulation of water and electric usage, and mandate that companies cover 100% of any municipal infrastructure upgrades needed for the facility. Developers would also have to post a decommissioning bond equal to 150% of anticipated costs, undergo criminal background checks for major owners, and disclose any foreign ownership or control. Holcomb said the city can't outright ban data centers but can use zoning authority to regulate them, and said the ordinance has drawn interest from multiple counties, cities and villages using it as a template.

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Fort Worth, Texas

Fort Worth city leaders laid out a formal plan to regulate data centers, including beginning the legal process for a temporary moratorium, after the city's Zoning Commission voted earlier this summer against amending zoning rules to address the facilities.

Assistant City Manager Jesica McEachern outlined three possible actions:

starting the moratorium process

creating an 11-member Data Center and Infrastructure Commission

requiring developers to show proof of state grid interconnection approval before building.

Under Texas law, the city can't simply pause development without submitting written findings showing existing regulations are inadequate to prevent harm to public health, safety or welfare; any moratorium would be capped at 90 days initially, extendable to 180 with additional hearings, and the city would then be barred from another moratorium for two years. Projects already in the development pipeline before any new rules take effect could retain the right to build under current standards.

The proposed data center commission, potentially chaired by TCU's Dr. Mike Slattery, would study electricity and water demand, land use and neighborhood impacts, and economic effects, presenting findings to the council Nov. 3 ahead of moratorium public hearings and a possible final vote Feb. 16.

Pulaski County, Arkansas

The Pulaski County, Arkansas Quorum Court advanced a new regulatory ordinance for large-scale data centers Tuesday at an agenda-setting vote, drawing a large crowd ahead of a full vote scheduled for Aug. 25.

The ordinance, sponsored by Justices Julie Blackwood, Capps, Davis and Massey, would classify qualifying facilities, so-called "High-Intensity Digital Infrastructure Uses," as heavy industrial and require a Conditional Use Permit before construction or operation. A project would qualify if it meets thresholds including 10 megawatts of continuous electrical demand, 100,000 square feet of computing infrastructure, 100,000 gallons of daily water use, or 3 megawatts of on-site generation or battery storage, and facilities could not be split into smaller pieces to dodge the rules.

The measure sets a 500-foot setback from residential property for major components, caps noise at 65 decibels by day and 55 at night at the nearest nonindustrial property line, and requires a $25,000 non-refundable application fee plus a $100,000 review escrow that could grow with project size, along with a decommissioning plan and financial assurance to cover eventual removal costs. The ordinance carries an emergency clause taking effect immediately upon passage, and county officials say it's meant to close a regulatory gap while large projects are pending.

Independence County, Arkansas

Independence County enacted a data center moratorium set to run until 2031, despite having no specific project currently proposed for the county.

County Judge Kevin Jeffery said officials wanted to act preemptively rather than face a decision that couldn't easily be reversed, citing uncertainty around data centers' water and power consumption. He pointed to existing strain on local water supply, noting poultry farms in the county have already had to have water trucked in. Justice of the Peace Brad Covington described the move as a preventative measure, saying data centers demand significant water and electricity the county can't afford to take for granted, and questioned what the county would actually gain given the facilities typically bring few jobs or direct revenue.

Montgomery County, Georgia

Montgomery County, Georgia commissioners completed a first reading Monday of an unusually strict data center ordinance, which County Attorney Ron Daniels called perhaps the most restrictive special use permit for data centers among Georgia counties without zoning.

MoCo Moves Forward With Data Center Ordinance - The Advance

On Monday, the Montgomery County Board of Commissioners took one step towards enacting an ordinance that will place strict restrictions on the establishment of data centers within the County, as the commissioners completed a first reading of the ordinance. The commissioners first began discussing the ordinance in May when Commissioner Amie Vassey explained to her fellow commissioners and work session <a href=“https://www.theadvancenews.com/articles/featured-stories/moco-moves-forward-with-data-center-ordinance/”>[…]</a>

The AdvanceMakaylee Randolph News Editor and mrandolphadvance@gmail.com

The ordinance requires a $10,000 application fee, disclosure of ownership and foreign control, a sworn statement that the applicant won't seek a tax abatement, an independent environmental impact study, and two public community meetings held between 5 and 8 p.m. before commissioners review any application. Physical requirements include a 1,500-foot buffer from property lines, a 3-mile distance from bodies of water and irrigated farmland, a cap of 35 decibels measured 25 feet from the property line, mandatory "Go Away Green" paint, and a rule that three acres must remain undisturbed for every acre developed. The ordinance is now open for review for a month before the next commission meeting.

Conneaut, Ohio

Conneaut City Council voted 2-4 against a one-year moratorium on data centers Monday, rejecting the measure on its third reading despite months of resident pressure.

The moratorium, proposed by Councilperson-at-large Mariana Branch, had support from Branch and Third Ward Councilperson Oakey Emery, while Councilperson-at-large Nick Perkoski voted to declare it an emergency but against final passage; First Ward Councilperson Rick Gaugh was absent. No official data center proposal has been filed with the city, though a firm is studying feasibility at the Conneaut East Industrial Park, and residents including Robert Campbell and Sandy Shellenberger raised concerns about noise, utility costs and air quality.

Council separately failed to gather enough votes to waive the three-reading requirement for a ballot measure that would cap data centers in the city at 25 megawatts, sending that ordinance to a third reading as well; City Law Director John Lewis said a special election may be needed if the charter amendment moves forward, at the city's full expense. Council did unanimously approve amendments strengthening the ad hoc committee's ordinance and plans to hold public forums as the committee continues its work.

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