See below for a spotlight on House and Senate interim charges related to data centers organized by committee.
House
Natural Resources Committee
- Data Center Water Use and Conservation: Examine the total water usage of data center operations in Texas, including direct and indirect uses. Evaluate regulatory, permitting, and infrastructure considerations for water-efficient data center development, particularly in water-stressed regions. Consider policy options to optimize water resources and enhance water stewardship in the data center sector.
State Affairs Committee
- Data Centers: Study the development of data centers in Texas, including its importance to global competitiveness and national security. Evaluate the direct and indirect economic growth potential fostered by in-state data center development, including growth multiplier effects and economic diversification. Identify existing secondary and post-secondary education and training opportunities and recommend pathways to satisfy increasing labor demands. Review the existing regulatory framework governing data center development and recommend proposals to streamline regulations while enabling communities to plan and manage growth responsibly. Study the implementation of SB 6 and the Large Load Batch Study Process proposed by the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, as it relates to data centers, and identify how grid-connected data center facilities and co-located resources can support grid resilience and reliability.
Senate
Business and Commerce Committee
- Managing Data Center Growth: Study the adequacy of current statutory, regulatory, and infrastructure frameworks to meet the rapidly increasing demand from large electric loads, such as data centers. Recommend ways to balance economic development benefits of this growth against the impacts on landowners, private property rights, water infrastructure, and community integrity.
- Monitor: Monitor the implementation and associated rulemaking of legislation passed by the Committee:
- Senate Bill 1964 (89th Legislature), relating to the regulation and use of artificial intelligence systems and the management of data by governmental entities
Finance Committee
- Data Center Investment and State Fiscal Effects: Since the passage of House Bill 1223, 83rd Legislature, in 2013, the state cost of providing a sales tax exemption to qualifying data centers has grown from an estimated $14.6 million for the 2014-15 biennium to a projected $3.3 billion for the 2028-29 biennium. Study the cost and consequences of the sales tax exemption provided to data centers under Tax Code Sections 151.359 and 151.3595. Make recommendations providing safeguards to ensure that Texans benefit from data center investment.
Water, Agriculture, and Rural Affairs Committee
- Assessing the Water Demands of Energy-Intensive Technologies: Examine the current water consumption rates for high-consumption cooling technologies, including data centers. Make recommendations to improve transparency for local water providers and ensure industrial growth does not compromise the affordability of water for Texas residents and agricultural producers.
