Overview
- The state legislature went into summer recess without passing new rules on data-center tax breaks or siting, so the governor’s temporary suspension of sales-tax exemptions remains in effect.
- State Rep. Tristan Rader has filed a bill to permanently repeal the sales-tax exemption for data centers and his office said the exemption cost Ohio $1.6 billion in 2025.
- Governor Mike DeWine has urged local governments to press developers for stronger payments and conditions and cautioned that a total ban could repel investment.
- Local opponents and activists have raised concerns that large data centers shift costs onto residents through higher utility bills and grid or water upgrades and some groups are gathering a ballot initiative to ban new centers.
- Ohio is one of the nation’s leading data-center states, so the legislative stalemate will likely push key decisions to cities and counties and could influence where future projects locate.