Sponsor
Mary E. Miller
Representative · R-IL
Representative · R-IL
The bill trades protection of agricultural land and modest federal spending savings against reduced data center-driven economic development and slower local digital infrastructure growth in affected rural areas.
Rural communities and local governments keep protected agricultural land free from federally subsidized data center development, helping preserve farmland and its environmental/agricultural value.
Taxpayers face reduced federal outlays because the bill prevents incentive/subsidy spending for private data center projects on protected farmland.
Rural communities and local governments will find it harder to attract data center investments, reducing potential construction and tech job creation and related local economic activity.
Local and state governments may see slower digital infrastructure modernization where data centers would have provided local services or backbone capacity, potentially limiting connectivity and tech-enabled services.
Developers (and related utilities/small businesses) face higher financing costs for data center projects on affected land, which could deter investment or push projects to other locations.
Based on analysis of 1 section of legislative text.
Official title: To prohibit the provision of Federal financial benefit for the construction, expansion, or substantial rehabilitation of data centers on prime farmland and other certain farmland.
Introduced August 27, 2026 by Mary E. Miller · Last progress August 27, 2026
Stops federal grants, loans, and federal tax or other financial benefits for data center projects on land protected under the Farmland Protection Policy Act for projects begun after enactment.
Prohibits federal agencies from providing any federal financial benefit for building, expanding, or substantially rehabilitating a data center on land that is or was farmland protected under the Farmland Protection Policy Act. The ban covers federal financial assistance and a wide range of federal tax benefits for projects that begin after the law takes effect.