Oklahoma’s legislative consideration of temporarily banning construction of data centers is noted in one report that indicated 12 states are thinking of such a move.
Oklahoma joins Georgia, Maryland, Michigan, New Hampshire, New York, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Vermont, Virginia and Wisconsin where legislation was filed to carry out such a temporary ban on data centers. Watchgroup goup Good Jobs First reported on the list.
“We are now tracking at least 12 in-session states with filed data center moratorium bills this cycle (in addition to other states considering executive action and many cities and counties considering local measures). It’s a signal that the political system is starting to acknowledge the obvious: hyperscale data centers are huge, fast-moving, and highly subsidized, and states often lack basic economic and environmental guardrails to protect residents and ratepayers,” reported Good Jobs First.
Here is the list.
Where moratorium bills are filed (as of March 9, 2026):
Georgia
HB 1012, would bar counties and cities from issuing any permit, license, or certificate that would authorize the construction or development of a new data center until March 1, 2027, with an exception for approvals issued before July 1, 2026.
Maryland
HB 120 would prohibit construction of new data centers (and prohibit state or local approvals for construction) unless/until the General Assembly enacts specified legislation related to co-location with new or existing power generation (including natural gas, nuclear, or small modular reactors, or SMRs).
The Wolverine State has introduced a statewide data center moratorium proposal in the Legislature and House Resolution 240 urges a temporary pause on discretionary state incentives for data centers.
Minnesota SF 4298 would bar state and local governments from issuing permits for data centers until one year after the Public Utility Commission submits a comprehensive report on possible data-center development scenarios in the state.
New Hampshire
HB 1265 would prohibit anyone from beginning construction of a new data center anywhere in the state for one year from the act’s effective date. The bill also creates a legislative committee to study the environmental impacts of data centers.
New York
S9144 would impose a statewide moratorium on permits for new data centers and direct the Public Service Commission to minimize impacts on electricity and gas rates.
Oklahoma
SB 1488 would establish a moratorium on building new data centers until November 1, 2029, while directing the Oklahoma Corporation Commission to study impacts on water supply, utility rates, property values, and siting.
Just this week, Tulsa Democrat, Rep. Amanda Clinton, announced she would support a data center bill introduced by Republican Rep. Brad Boles of Marlow. HB2992 would protect Oklahoma electric ratepayers as energy demand from data centers continues to grow across the state.
“As data centers and other energy-intensive projects expand in Oklahoma, we must ensure that working families and small businesses are not left paying for infrastructure built to support billion-dollar companies,” Rep. Clinton said. “I’ve raised this issue for more than a year.”
Called the Center Consumer Ratepayer Protection Act, it won unanimous support in the House Energy and Natural Resources Oversight Committee but has yet to be voted on by the full House.
H. 5286 (Session 2025–2026) is a joint resolution that would bar state and local governments from granting permits, approvals, or incentives for new data centers until January 1, 2028.
South Dakota
SB 232 would impose a one-year moratorium on the construction or expansion of hyperscale data centers. HB 1301 would impose a moratorium while also addressing cost/risk allocation tied to electricity use by data centers.
Vermont
S.205 proposes a temporary moratorium on “AI data centers” while regulators study impacts and recommend a regulatory framework (the introduced bill text sets the moratorium through July 1, 2030).
Virginia
HB 1515 would prohibit localities from granting final approvals for rezonings/special permits/site plans for new data centers until specified grid-interconnection conditions are met or a date certain.
Wisconsin
Wisconsin lawmakers have circulated draft legislation (LRB-6377/1; also referenced with LRB-6391) that would create a statewide moratorium on data centers by prohibiting operation of a data center unless the legislature first enacts a package of protections—such as a statewide planning authority and explicit bans on shifting data center energy and water costs onto residential customers.
The news group Stateline reports so far, no states have been successful in enacting moratoriums but some cities and counties have don e it, including St. Charles, Missouri, which last August, became one of the first cities across the country to ban data center construction for a year. Three counties in Indiana also suspended data center developments last year and this week, Fulton County, Indiana did the same, with a temporary ban that will be in effect for the next year.