Overview
- A coordinated “week of action” began Monday with rallies, webinars and calls for testimony at Senate Finance and Business and Commerce hearings to press for a pause on new data centers and to end tax breaks.
- Planned data‑center projects have surged from about 40 two years ago to roughly 400 across Texas, concentrating large power and water demands in rural counties.
- The state Comptroller now estimates the decade‑old sales tax exemption for qualifying data centers will cost $3.3 billion in the 2028–29 biennium, prompting lawmakers to weigh limiting or repealing the incentive.
- Governor Greg Abbott has ordered regulators to prevent ratepayers from bearing infrastructure costs and to require developers to meet community and water‑use standards, while opponents are urging him to call a special legislative session or impose a moratorium.
- Organizers and some lawmakers warn that data centers’ heavy electricity and 3–5 million gallon daily water use, plus proposed 765 kV transmission lines across West Texas, raise questions about who pays for grid upgrades and the impact on local water supplies and quality of life.