PA House Passes Bill Giving Individual Municipalities Authority To Pause Consideration Of A.I. Data Center Proposals For 6 Months

On June 24, the House voted 201 to 1 to pass House Bill 2496 (Friel-D-Chester) giving individual municipalities authority to pause consideration of A.I. data center proposals for six months.

Rep. Eric Nelson (R-Westmoreland) was the only ‘no’ vote.

“This pause window allows local governments the time they need to thoroughly research, draft and pass comprehensive land-use ordinances pertaining to data centers,” said Rep. Paul Friel (D-Chester). “The bill gives our local officials necessary breathing room to update these ordinances, evaluating demands like water and energy usage and other considerations related to protecting our communities from potential harms caused by data center development.”

“Large-scale data centers cannot be allowed to bypass community scrutiny,” said Rep. Kyle Mullins (D-Lackawanna). “With development surging across Pennsylvania, this bill ensures critical local oversight and forces transparency before any projects are approved. It ensures that municipalities can set strict expectations and that decisions of this magnitude are made openly and in the public interest.”

“Municipal officials across Pennsylvania are being asked to make decisions about massive data center developments without having the tools, information or local regulations in place to properly evaluate them,” said Rep. Kyle Donahue (D-Lackawanna), another cosponsor. “This legislation gives communities the opportunity to take a brief pause, gather the facts, engage residents and develop thoughtful ordinances that protect public safety and quality of life before these projects move forward. Good planning takes time, and local governments deserve the ability to make informed decisions.”

“We cannot allow the rapid expansion of data centers to outpace the safety and logic of our local zoning,” said Rep. Chris Pielli (D-Chester) who cosponsors the bill. “We are taking on headfirst the harmful impacts of rapid, unregulated industrial development on residential areas by taking a needed pause to enable our local governments to protect the health, safety and welfare of all Pennsylvanians.”

Click Here for House Fiscal Note & Summary.

The bill now goes to the Senate for action.

Click Here for Rep. Friel’s announcement.

Statewide Moratorium In Senate

In the Senate, bipartisan legislation-- Senate Bill 1359 (Muth-D-Chester, Brown-R-Lackawanna, Comitta-D-Chester)-- would enact a statewide three-year moratorium and not let a moratorium up to individual municipalities.  Read more here.

NewsClip:

-- The Center Square: PA House OKs Bill To Let Municipalities Call A 6-Month Data Center Pause

Related Articles This Week:

-- Hundreds Of Residents From Communities Across PA Dealing With A.I. Data Center Development Rally At State Capitol To Support Bipartisan Legislation To Enact A 3-Year A.I.  Data Center Moratorium  [PaEN] 

-- PA House Passes Bill Giving Individual Municipalities Authority To Pause Consideration Of A.I. Data Center Proposals For 6 Months  [PaEN] 

-- PA House Passes Bill Limiting State Data Center Tax Credit To Those Developers Following Gov. Shapiro's Responsible Infrastructure Development Standards  [PaEN]   

-- PA House Unanimously Passes Bill To Eliminate 6% Gross Receipts Tax On Electric Bills, Fix Electric, Natural Gas, Water, Wastewater Utility Ratemaking Process To Limit Shareholder Profits  [PaEN]

-- PA House Committee Unanimously Approves Bill To Repeal State Data Center Tax Credit  [PaEN] 

-- Senate Democratic Policy Committee Holds Hearing On Solutions To Lower Consumer Electric Bills

NewsClips:

-- Pittsburgh Business Times: Environmental Groups Push PA Lawmakers To Pass HB 1834 To Protect Ratepayers, Regulate A.I. Data Centers

-- PA Capital-Star: PA House Passes Bill With $1.7 Billion Tax Cut On Electricity, Reins In Public Utility Company Profits [Electric, Natural Gas, Water, Wastewater] By Setting New Rate Formula

-- House Unanimously Passed Bill To Base All Electric, Natural Gas, Water And Wastewater Rates On A Market-Based Return On Equity To Address  Increasing Utility Bills  [House Bill 2224]

-- The Citizens’ Voice: Project Hazelnut A.I. Data Center Offers $10,000 To Hazle Twp. Households As An Incentive To Approve The Plan  [4,505 Households In Twp. - $45 Million]

-- PennLive: Amid Growing Voter Outcry, A.I. Data Centers Have Emerged As An Election Issue For PA Lawmakers

-- PennLive: Massive 3,200 Acre Homer City A.I. Data Center Campus, 4.5 GW Gas Power Plant Swallowing Tiny PA Coal Town In Indiana County: ‘It Will Devour The Future’

-- Republican Herald: Mount Carmel Area Residents Concerned About Data Centers Launch New Grassroots Group Aimed At Giving Coal Region Communities A Stronger Voice 

-- PennLive: Western PA Coal Towns Are Ground Zero For A.I. Data Centers: ‘A Boom Coming’ 

-- Utility Dive: Grid Operators Making Significant Progress In Generation Queues, But No Evidence Requests Are Being Processed More Quickly; Fast-Track Policies Promote Fossil-Fuel Heavy Generation 

-- Utility Dive: US DOE Offers $17.5 Billion In Loans For 10 Westinghouse Nuclear Power Reactors; Westinghouse Has Signed Letters Of Intent With 7 Partners, Each With Identified Project Sites 

[Posted: June 24, 2026]  PA Environment Digest