Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro signed an executive order on Aug. 18 that imposes new permitting, transparency, energy, and environmental requirements on large data centers. The executive order also gives local governments a greater role in determining whether data center projects move forward.

The proposal would give communities greater say over AI data center development while targeting concerns about electricity costs and water use.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul signed an executive order on July 14 that pauses state environmental permits for new hyperscale data centers for up to one year while officials develop environmental standards, ratepayer protections, and a community investment framework.

Frederick County, Md., is pausing new applications for data center developments through Dec. 31, 2026, while officials complete a statewide study examining the environmental, energy, and economic impacts of data center growth.

The Pennsylvania House of Representatives on June 24 passed legislation that would allow municipalities to temporarily pause consideration of data center development applications while they update local land-use rules.

The New York State Assembly passed legislation this month that would place a one-year moratorium on issuing permits to data centers while the state studies their impact on communities and the environment, according to a press release from Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie.

Oklahoma state senators will consider a proposal to ban the construction of new data centers in the state for three years and research the long-term effects that centers may have on state infrastructure and resources.  

Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson has signed an executive order (EO) establishing a data center working group that will evaluate the impacts of data centers on Washington’s economy, tax revenue, energy use, and the environment.

The Departments of Labor (DoL) and Treasury announced a partnership to expand unemployment insurance (UI) fraud fighting tools to states through a data-matching system.

As cyberattacks are growing in severity and scale, a new FBI report has found that government facilities were the third largest target for cybersecurity hackers in 2023.