Bill > SB1408

This bill, known as the Data Center Transparency Act, increases public oversight and regulation of large data storage facilities—defined as major computing centers with a peak electric demand of 10 megawatts or greater—by prohibiting public agencies from entering into nondisclosure agreements that hide information about a data center's construction, development, or location from the public. Any such secret agreements are declared legally void and unenforceable. To ensure community involvement, local municipalities must hold at least two advertised public meetings to gather community input before approving any data center application, provided the applicant has already formally applied for and paid fees for electric service with their utility provider. Additionally, the legislation bans businesses owned, controlled, or organized under the laws of a "foreign country of concern"—referring to nations designated by the U.S. Department of State as countries of particular concern or on its special watch list—from developing or operating data centers in the Commonwealth, with existing facilities required to immediately cease operations, and gives the state Attorney General the power to enforce this ban through court injunctions. Finally, the bill requires data centers to report on energy and water usage and explicitly certify that they have prevented their heavy energy demands from shifting utility costs onto everyday residential and commercial electric ratepayers, adhering to standards set by the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC), which is the state agency that regulates public utilities.