Sponsors (2)
The bill preserves local control and predictability for data‑center siting and permitting but reduces federal leverage to standardize or speed deployment of data infrastructure and may increase costs for federal programs.
State and local governments retain primary control over siting and land‑use decisions for data centers on non‑Federal land, preventing federal preemption of local approvals.
State and local jurisdictions cannot be required to relinquish permitting authority as a condition of receiving federal funds, protecting local decision‑making autonomy.
Data center developers and investors gain more predictable approval rules because federal preemption of local permits is limited, easing project planning and investment decisions.
Broadband, cloud capacity, and related infrastructure deployment may be slower where federal incentives cannot require conformity with federal siting or permitting standards, affecting service rollout.
Federal ability to coordinate or accelerate data center projects that serve national priorities (e.g., defense, emergency response, resilience) could be constrained, risking slower rollout of critical facilities.
Federal programs may face higher costs (and taxpayers could indirectly bear more expense) if they must navigate varied local requirements instead of using uniform conditional funding approaches.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Stops federal agencies from conditioning funds on states/locals giving up zoning, siting, permitting, or land‑use authority for data centers on non‑Federal land.
Prohibits federal agency leaders from using federal funding or other federal actions to require states or localities to give up or limit their land-use, zoning, siting, or permitting authority for data centers on non‑Federal land. The restriction applies across federal agencies and funding decisions and prevents federal officials from conditioning funds on changes to local control over data-center siting. The law does not create new permitting rules or funding; it simply limits how federal agencies may tie their funds or decisions to changes in state or local land‑use authority for privately sited data centers.
Official title: To prohibit the preemption of State or local land-use, zoning, siting, or permitting authority for data centers on non-Federal land, and for other purposes.
Introduced August 20, 2026 by Tom Barrett · Last progress August 20, 2026