Large data centers; moratorium; approval requirements; prevailing wage required; public utility independent classifications; community investment program; report. Places a one-year moratorium on the issuance of permits by the Department of Environmental Quality for large data centers, as defined in the bill. The bill prohibits the Department from issuing approvals for a large data center unless the large data center complies with specified conditions including conducting public hearings and implementing and funding a community investment program. The bill provides that a worker employed in the performance of construction undertaken in connection with a data center project, as defined in the bill, shall receive the prevailing wage rate, as determined by the Commissioner of Labor and Industry, for such work. The bill also directs the State Corporation Commission to require each water, gas, or electric utility under its jurisdiction to establish and file an independent classification of service for customers that are large data centers by July 1, 2031. The bill directs the Department of Environmental Quality to (i) prepare an environmental impact report on data center development in the Commonwealth by January 1, 2029, and (ii) commence a proceeding to establish a community investment program through which large data centers may comply with the bill's provisions. The bill also directs the Department of Energy to determine reasonable energy consumption efficiency goals for the design and operation of large data centers. Finally, the bill prohibits a locality from granting final approval on or after July 1, 2027, of any application for a rezoning, special exception, special use permit, site plan, or plan of development for the siting of a data center, as defined in existing law, until July 1, 2028.

Statutes affected:
Introduced: 56-235.2