AUSTIN, Texas — Texas lawmakers blasted data center developers Tuesday at the state Capitol, saying they haven’t shared enough information about their water usage.
Dozens of public speakers also argued that Texas needs to act faster to protect water resources from data centers — or give counties the ability to fight back against development.
The comments came during a state House Natural Resources Committee hearing that stretched for 10 hours. Growing angst over data center development has become a top issue for Texas state legislators, who say they’ve been hounded by constituents and local officials to provide more guardrails for the industry.
“You understand why we’re a little frustrated in general with data centers because a few months ago some of us were on the campaign trail,” said state Rep. Trent Ashby, a Republican, said to a panel of data center officials. “And at that time, the No. 1 issue was property tax relief. But since [the primaries], all I’ve heard about is data center relief.”
