Public Citizen to State Lawmakers: Abbott’s Data Center Actions Are Not ‘Real Change’
A powerful state House committee meets today to take up data centers
AUSTIN, Texas — Today at the Texas Capitol, Public Citizen will tell state lawmakers that Gov. Greg Abbott’s recent efforts to address data center development fall far short.
Invited to testify by the Texas House Committee on State Affairs, Public Citizen’s Texas director, Adrian Shelley, will tell state representatives this morning that while the governor’s recent statements on data centers are a welcome response to public concerns, “we disagree that anything he has said or done amounts to real change.”
“Data center developers looking to profit off of the AI bubble have heaped praise on Gov. Abbott’s recent moves, but the people whose opinion should matter most – the Texans living and working across the state – are still not buying it,” Shelley added ahead of the hearing. “And they are right to be distrustful. The data center industry hasn’t been exactly transparent, and the governor’s actions are just words in a press release, not real law. Until the Legislature returns to Austin to pass legislation with real teeth, Texans will be left to fend for themselves. The governor should bring lawmakers back to Austin now, in a special session, to pass a moratorium, and not wait until the regular session in January.”
Shelley’s written testimony to the committee is available here.
The rapid construction of these facilities has alarmed almost every corner of the state, in rural communities and large cities alike. According to the Texas Tribune, the state is already home to 334 data centers, and at least another 248 are in the works.
The resource-hungry industry has worried residents who fear that hosting the facilities will lead to higher energy prices, unhealthy air from gas power plant construction, water scarcity, noise, and other concerns.
After embracing and inviting data centers to come to the state, Abbott has responded to intense public pressure in recent weeks, but his directives are mostly voluntary, do not apply to all data centers, and leave many other concerns unaddressed. Still, the governor has resisted calling a special session, meaning any real legislative action would take effect almost a year from now.