The nonbinding House resolution proposes 10 protections, including limits intended to keep households and small businesses from paying higher electricity costs.
Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) introduced a House resolution calling on Congress to enact a “Data Center Bill of Rights” that would give communities more power to reject, restrict, or pause AI data center projects.
House Resolution 1471 is nonbinding. It would express the position of the House but would not create federal requirements, enforcement powers, or deadlines. Congress would need to pass separate legislation to put the proposed protections into law.
Communities could reject or restrict projects
The resolution says communities should have the right to reject a proposed AI data center through a public process.
Counties and municipalities would retain the power to prohibit or regulate data centers without being overruled by their states. States could also pause new projects until they adopt protections for electricity customers, water supplies, and community involvement.
The proposal would allow data centers to be banned in residential areas and within 2,500 feet of homes, schools, childcare facilities, hospitals, and nursing homes.
Utility customers would receive cost protections
The proposed Data Center Bill of Rights calls for households and small businesses to be protected from higher electricity rates or fees caused by data centers.
Communities would also receive an independent public report before a project is approved. The report would assess the proposed data center’s effects on electricity demand, utility bills, public health, pollution, housing and consumer prices.
It would also disclose the number and types of jobs the facility is expected to create and its projected economic effects over 10 years.
The resolution says data center construction can create hundreds of jobs, but even the largest facilities often employ fewer than 150 permanent workers.
Water use and public subsidies would face scrutiny
Data center operators would disclose their expected water consumption to local water providers before receiving approval. The water provider would determine whether the project is compatible with the local supply, and operators would release water-use reports every six months.
The resolution also calls for limits on noise and air pollution, clean and reliable energy requirements, and agreements requiring data center developers to support local housing, infrastructure, training and permanent technology jobs.
Data center owners, operators and developers would pay state and local taxes. Any tax exemption or public subsidy would include labor rules, public disclosure requirements and provisions allowing the government to recover benefits when those conditions are not met.
The resolution was referred to the House Energy and Commerce and Judiciary committees on Aug. 3.
