Moore signs executive order establishing Maryland's data center policy. Here's what it says.

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore signed an executive order Wednesday laying out his policy for data centers across the state.

The order establishes a standardized review process for data centers that cover 25 megawatts or more, as well as creating a Maryland Data Center Task Force and Data Center Dashboard. 

Moore also said he supports repealing the state's tax exemption for data centers, which dates back to 2020. 

"While federal inaction and Donald Trump's aggressive rollback of safety regulations have granted Big Tech free reign to write their own rules – raising electricity bills and polluting our air and water – our administration is taking action to put control in the hands of Marylanders," Moore said in a statement. "By signing this executive order, we are establishing clear safeguards to ensure Marylanders do not foot the bill, our people benefit, community voices are heard, and our environment is protected — all while centering transparency and accountability throughout the process." 

The governor's order stopped short of issuing a statewide ban or moratorium on data centers, as some individual counties have done. On Tuesday, the Baltimore County Council voted to extend its moratorium through 2027. 

What's in the executive order

Moore said large data centers will be subject to "one standard, one review process and one public record" as soon as they seek any state action, including permits, incentives or letters of support. 

"Each project is judged on five principles: Ratepayer and grid protection, economic benefits for Marylanders, community voice, environmental protections, and transparency and accountability," the governor said in Wednesday's news release. 

The Maryland Data Center Task Force, housed under the governor's office, will be responsible for reviewing the projects, as well as publishing the rules, helping local governments and updating the Data Center Dashboard. It will be made up of members from the Departments of Commerce, Labor, Environment, Natural Resources, Agriculture, Planning and the Maryland Energy Administration, and they will work with neighboring states to make additional recommendations. 

Meanwhile, the Data Center Dashboard will be a public website that is updated monthly to show each project's "location and legislative districts, the developer, its parent company and any disclosed anchor tenant, and projected power demand and water use," according to the release. It will also show the status of the state's response. 

"Marylanders will be able to see what a company has proposed, how much electricity and how much water it expects to use, and how it plans to meet those needs," said Moore.

The debate over data centers

Maryland's Democratic Party released a statement celebrating Moore's announcement, saying it "puts the community concerns first."

The party specifically praised Moore's commitment to work with the state legislature to repeal what it called the "reckless tax break that jumpstarted the data center industry here in Maryland."

However, Maryland's Green Party candidate for governor, Andy Ellis, called Moore's executive order "a win for data centers" and demanded a statewide ban. 

"A moratorium is a half-measure, but a task force is nothing," Ellis added.

As our media partner, the Baltimore Banner, reports, the General Assembly implemented guardrails for data center developers earlier this year, but lawmakers are expected to weigh additional moratorium bills in the upcoming session. 

Baltimore City Council discusses data centers

Not long after Governor Moore signed the executive order, Baltimore's city council held a hearing to understand the impact data centers could have on communities in the city.

The hearing identified some concerns from councilmembers on environmental impacts and a potential increase in energy costs.

"It just sounds like it's adding onto the burden that we're not matching with the increase in supply and that's going to hurt ratepayers," Councilman Zac Blanchard said.

During the hearing, a representative with the city's Department of Planning identified at least six data centers that already exist in Baltimore. One of them on North Charles Street and it raised concerns on whether it played a role in underground fires seen on that road.

"I want to make sure that if moving forward we have a way of catching these things and seeing the correlations when this is happening in other jurisdictions," Councilman James Torrence said. "We have an opportunity to learn but also, we have a moratorium in a tight window to get these standards through."

"I think as we work towards whatever our zoning framework is...I really appreciate the health and equity understanding but also making sure that even as we're looking at an individual project on an individual site, it's always in the context of it's not isolated, right," said Councilman Mark Parker. "This is connected to power generation here, it's connected to other things in the city or the region."