Democratic candidate for Lt. Governor, other Texas Democrats push for moratorium, special session on data centers

Democratic candidates in Texas are calling for a moratorium and a special session of the Texas Legislature on data centers. 

In Austin on Tuesday, Vikki Goodwin, the Democrats' nominee for Lt. Governor, held a news conference along with Sarah Eckhardt, the party's nominee for Texas Comptroller, Clayton Tucker, nominee for Agriculture Commissioner, and others. They're calling for the state to take action because of growing opposition to these facilities. Residents have expressed concerns about noise and light pollution, as well as water and electricity usage.

The problem is that the state's 254 counties don't have any zoning authority, and neither do the state's groundwater conservation districts, meaning they can't place regulations on data center developers when they build in the unincorporated areas. Cities, though, have land use authority. 

Goodwin said the state can't wait any longer. 

"That's why I'm also calling for a pause on the approval of new data centers until we have the opportunity to hear directly from Texans and put real safeguards in place," Goodwin said. "This issue is one that deserves a special session."

Tucker said, "This is not just a local issue, this is not just a regional issue. This is becoming a state and, frankly, I'll get to this later, but a national issue as well. This issue isn't left vs. right. It's not city vs. county. It is organized people vs. organized money, and only organized people can beat organized money." 

While Tucker and Goodwin want the governor to call a special session, it's unlikely to happen. 

In an interview with CBS News Texas last week, state Rep. Shelley Luther, R-Tom Bean, said the governor and other candidates are all busy campaigning for the November election. Republicans are also engaged on this issue. Data centers, particularly in rural areas, have emerged as one of the top issues heading into the next legislative session starting in January.

Both Democrats and Republicans have said they want to eliminate a state sales tax incentive for data center developers that took effect in 2014. Records from the Texas Comptroller's Office show that between 2014 and this year, those incentives have cost taxpayers $2.8 billion. In the next two years, they are forecast to cost taxpayers $3.2 billion. 

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