It requires companies planning to build large data centers to hold and fund a public hearing

Surveys show that most Americans oppose the idea of data centers in their communities, and heated public meetings across the country have shown it to be a galvanizing issue across the political spectrum. Earlier this year, Maine’s legislature passed a bill that would have banned new data centers until late 2027, but Democratic Governor Janet Mills vetoed it because it failed to include an exemption to a previously planned project, according to The New York Times. The New York Independent System Operator, a nonpartisan entity tasked with maintaining electric grid reliability, has said it’s currently reviewing 24 data center proposals totaling over 9,000 megawatts, according to News10 ABC, and a proposed 180 megawatt project in Albany has drawn concerns from residents.

The New York bill is a shorter moratorium than the three-year proposal that was previously introduced, according to Politico. But even the one year pause has garnered pushback from industry groups. Stacey Sikes, acting president and CEO of business group the Long Island Association, told Politico the moratorium would “overall be damaging to the state’s economy, because having a blanket moratorium instead of looking at it at a case by case basis would not allow the state to move forward on a data center project that would actually be helpful to our economy.”

Hochul’s office didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment after the bill’s passage, but spokesperson Kathy Devoe told Politico in an earlier statement, “The Governor will review the bill.”