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SYRACUSE, N.Y. (NCC News) – The New York State Legislature passed the Responsible Data Center Development Act, putting restrictions on large scale AI data centers in the state. If Gov. Kathy Hochul signs it into law, New York would become the first state to impose temporary bans on data centers.
The bill would place a one-year moratorium on permits for data center development. This would give the state time to understand the full scale of what the centers’ impact on communities would be.
Time isn’t the only thing being bought – data centers will need to foot the bill for excess utility and water costs. Other measures in the bill include environmental impact reports, public hearings for future permit grants, and new labor laws.
New York State Sen. Rachel May said she feels state government has a responsibility to help local governments and communities.
“I feel strongly the state needs to be part of these decisions,” she said. “What are the benefits to local communities? We can’t ask communities to be doing all that heavy lifting.”
The bill comes at a time when seven out of 10 Americans oppose data centers being built near them, according to a study from Gallup. New York had 27 data centers awaiting approval at the time the bill passed the legislature. Those included one in Central New York in Baldwinsville.
May said she wants to the see the resources from data centers go to other government projects.
“One of the restraints on building more (affordable) housing is (communities) don’t have enough energy and water,” she said.