With data centers becoming increasingly unpopular among Pennsylvania residents, Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) turned the tables on state Senate Republicans ahead of the upcoming midterm elections by signing an executive order restricting data center development.
Shapiro touted the executive order as one of the strictest actions regulating data center development in the country. The order puts his previously announced Governor’s Responsible Infrastructure Development (GRID) standards into effect, with one notable exception: It eliminates fast-track permit approvals.
Data center developers must get local approval to move forward with the construction of any new data centers. Shapiro’s executive order also blocks data centers that do not generate their own power, are not transparent with local communities, or do not follow clean-air and clean-water standards.
“ The House passed those GRID requirements as legislation, importantly on a bipartisan basis, to put those standards in place,” Shapiro told reporters during Tuesday’s press conference in the state Capitol.
“The Senate has refused to even bring it up for a vote. In fact, the Senate majority leader even said that he has no intention of taking any legislative action to regulate data center development in Pennsylvania.”
While the executive order curtails data center development, passing the requirements as law would prevent future governors from rolling them back.
Over the past year, residents across the Commonwealth have been packing meetings held by their local municipalities, pushing back on data center development. Some believe that this issue may help Democrats flip the upper chamber.
“ It now really puts a spotlight on the Senate Republicans as the impediment to making sure that we have protections under law to protect communities from data centers,” JJ Abbott, a Democratic strategist, said in an interview with The Keystone.
Democrats are looking at the possibility of having a legislative trifecta in Harrisburg for the first time in over 30 years if they pick up three Senate seats in November’s election.
Earlier this year, Senate Majority Leader Joe Pittman told Spotlight PA that Senate Republicans didn’t have any plans to advance legislation regulating data center development because they want the Commonwealth to remain competitive with neighboring states.
“ The reason why the executive order was necessary is because Senate Republicans failed to act, and there’s a pattern here: when there is public outcry and people want to see action, it is almost always the Senate Republicans that are standing in the way of that progress getting done,” Abbott said.
He added, “For the incumbents in these vulnerable seats in the Senate this is going to be a huge ball and chain on their candidacies because, at the end of the day, no matter what they say, the message that their Republican leaders in the Senate are sending is that they’re standing with data centers and not with Pennsylvanians.”
Environmental advocates and legislative leaders in the Pennsylvania House and Senate Democratic caucuses applauded Shapiro’s executive order after it was signed and used the opportunity to hold Senate Republicans’ feet to the fire.
“This Executive Order is only a first step. Compared to neighboring states, Pennsylvania is lagging behind,” Molly Parzen, executive director of the Conservative Voters of Pennsylvania, said in a statement on Tuesday.
She added, “For Pennsylvania to truly protect communities and the environment, Senate Republicans must stop stalling and come to the table with Governor Shapiro and House Democrats to pass comprehensive legislation that expands clean energy, protects public health and prevents Big Tech companies from making billions on the backs of Pennsylvania families.”
