Will Texas lawmakers give communities more say over where data centers are built? The state’s top leaders have not answered that directly, but statements and study assignments from Gov. Greg Abbott, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and House Speaker Dustin Burrows offer some clues ahead of the 2027 legislative session, which begins Jan. 12.
The question matters because local governments have limited tools. The Texas Tribune reported June 2 that large data center campuses moving into rural and suburban areas have exposed counties’ limited authority over development, and that county officials hear residents’ concerns about noise, water, electric infrastructure and proximity to homes but have few direct regulatory tools. KUT in Austin reported Aug. 19 that counties and cities are constrained by a 2023 state law, House Bill 2127, which restricts local ordinances that conflict with state law. KUT quoted Hays County Commissioner Walt Smith as saying that if the county passed a moratorium as written, “we’re gonna get sued, and we’re gonna lose.”
Abbott has spoken most pointedly. At a June 30 campaign stop in Bullard, Fox 4 reported, he said Texas must prohibit AI data centers from building in rural neighborhoods. The same report quoted his campaign spokesman, Eduardo Leal, as saying Abbott “will work with lawmakers to ensure local communities are not adversely impacted.”
Fox 4 reported that Abbott’s remarks focused on ending tax breaks and requiring data centers to bring their own money, power and water. In October, The Dallas Morning News reported that Abbott wants legislators to turn the state’s data center guidelines into law.
Patrick has grown more critical over the summer and fall. At an Aug. 25 campaign stop in Wichita Falls, the Times Record News reported, he said data center developers had “steamrolled over everyone very quickly” and called for a pause through the next legislative session while lawmakers hear from affected residents.
At an Oct. 21 campaign stop in Lubbock, KCBD NewsChannel 11 reported, Patrick said communities should have “the right to decide” whether a data center is built. KCBD reported in July that Patrick had directed Senate committees to assess whether current data center regulatory and infrastructure frameworks are adequate. The Senate’s interim charges, updated April 17, direct lawmakers to balance data center growth against effects on landowners, private-property rights, water infrastructure and community integrity, according to the document.
In the Texas House, Speaker Dustin Burrows released his House interim charges March 26, the Tribune reported. The State Affairs charge asks representatives to recommend ways to streamline data center regulation while “enabling communities to plan and manage growth responsibly,” and the Natural Resources charge asks the committee to examine data centers’ total water use. The charges are posted on the House website.
Local officials are watching for direction. HPPR reported that Lubbock Councilmember Tim Collins said the Legislature “may give us more tools to use. They may limit the tools that we have today,” and that Mayor Mark McBrayer said the city wants to wait for state direction. As of Aug. 19, KUT reported, no special session had been called and no legislation had been introduced. Political analyst Jim Henson told KUT lawmakers are “looking to the governor to lead the way.”
What the three leaders will back, whether a new role for counties, a statewide standard or something else, remains an open question. The Legislature convenes Jan. 12, and the interim hearings that take up these charges come first.