New York enacts first statewide US data center moratorium as Texas city San Marcos bans them outright, nationwide count hits 533
New York became the first U.S. state to ban new data centers statewide, a one-year pause on projects over 50MW signed by Gov. Hochul in July. San Marcos, Texas banned them outright in June. Nationwide moratorium count: 533, more than double April's 222, per the ALEA Institute tra
New York has become the first U.S. state to enact a statewide data center moratorium. Governor Kathy Hochul signed the Responsible Data Center Development Act in July, pausing new state permits for one year on data center projects with 50 megawatts of capacity or more. Hochul said the move responds to concerns about rising utility bills, strained natural resources and uncertainty for New Yorkers created by rapid data center development; her office is also pursuing legislation to repeal tax exemptions for large data centers. Texas saw its own milestone in June, when the San Marcos City Council voted 4-3 to ban data centers within city limits entirely, amending its Land Use Matrix to prohibit them in every zoning district. San Marcos is using its home-rule authority, a power available to larger Texas cities, to bypass state-level resistance to local bans. These two states are part of a much larger national pattern. The ALEA Institute's moratorium tracker counted 533 active data center moratorium or ban instruments across 42 states as of July, more than double the 222 recorded in April. The surge shows communities shifting from courting data centers with tax breaks to organizing against them over power costs, water use and land pressure. For companies building AI infrastructure, the practical effect is a fast-growing patchwork of local roadblocks that did not exist a year ago, adding real siting risk to expansion plans that assumed continued open access to land and power.