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.
Sen. Kendal Sacchieri, R-Blanchard, introduced Senate Bill 1488 on Thursday to determine if there are more efficient and better ways to erect data centers and develop related policy before more centers are built.
Findings and recommendations submitted to the Oklahoma Legislature by the Oklahoma Corporation Commission will help guide that process, according to the bill.
The bill would direct the Corporation Commission to review water supply impacts, utility rate pressures, property value effects, and optimal siting practices to make data-driven regulations that protect residents and ratepayers “without undermining economic prospects,” Sacchieri’s office said.
“As data centers continue to grow rapidly across Oklahoma, we are confronting serious unknowns about how these large facilities affect our communities, our utilities, and our natural resources,” Sacchieri said in a statement. “This bill stems from those unknowns, and there are real, serious concerns around what these data centers will bring to our state negatively.”
“There may be better solutions out there than what we are currently doing –– which is allowing data centers to be sited anywhere and everywhere without thinking through the long-term effects and repercussions,” she added.
Senate Bill 1488 has been filed to be considered this spring by the state legislature, and is awaiting committee referral, according to Sacchieri’s office.
Oklahoma isn’t the first government to consider pausing the construction of data centers before conducting more research. Cities and counties within Georgia, Wisconsin, Iowa, Michigan, and Missouri have all either proposed or enacted short-term moratoriums on data centers.
There are currently 37 data centers in Oklahoma, according to Data Center Map, which tracks data center development across the nation. Most of those data centers – 27 – are located in or around Tulsa, Okla.
In December, President Donald Trump signed an order preempting states’ ability to pass and enact artificial intelligence legislation, though that order explicitly allowed states to pass and enforce data center-related legislation.