ALBANY, New York — Lawmakers who pushed through a one-year halt on data center construction in the final days of session aren’t wholly satisfied with Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul’s executive order enacting a similar, but slightly weaker moratorium.
Democratic lawmakers still want to see the governor sign into law elements of their data center bill, which included protections for ratepayers, labor standards and other rules for large-scale data centers in addition to the moratorium.
“The executive order begins an important process,” said state Assemblymember Anna Kelles, who initially championed a three-year moratorium on data centers and sponsored several bills that were rolled into the final measure, A11560. “The next important step is signing [the bill], which would put many of these protections into law.”
Hochul took a big swing by pausing new data center permits as her administration considers policies to address concerns about impacts on ratepayers and the environment. It’s the first statewide moratorium in the country but aligns with steps other state leaders across the country are taking amid growing, bipartisan voter concern about these energy- and water–hungry infrastructure projects to support artificial intelligence.
