Bill proposes a Data Center Study Commission for Ohio

We’ve been fielding many questions and concerns about the development of data centers and its potential impacts on agriculture and communities across Ohio.  Newly proposed legislation indicates that lawmakers are hearing the same.  House Bill 646, introduced on January 15 in the House of Representatives by Rep. Gary Click (R-Vickery) and Rep. Kellie Deeter (R-Norwalk), would establish a Data Center Study Commission to examine data center development in Ohio. Here are the initial details of the proposal.

Sponsor Intentions

Both sponsors state that although data centers offer economic development, constituents have raised concerns about where that development occurs and potential impacts on energy prices, water supply and farmland, and that a growing number of local communities have taken actions to ban data centers.

"We have heard the concerns of our communities and taken time to speak with those in industry. We feel that this is the best approach to ensure that every voice is heard,"  stated Rep. Click.

Rep. Deeters followed by stating that “[i]n my rural district of 33 townships, residents are raising serious concerns about greenfield development and the loss of productive farmland. This bill creates a Data Center Study Commission so Ohio can take a thoughtful approach, possibly even prioritizing redevelopment of brownfields and existing industrial sites before expanding into rural green space. The proliferation of data centers is necessary and inevitable, but the growth should be smart, balanced, and respectful of local communities.”

Emergency Declaration

Its sponsors declare the bill to be an emergency measure that would go into immediate effect upon passage in the Ohio legislature.  The bill is “necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, and safety,” state the sponsors, who provide several reasons for the emergency declaration:

• Data centers are proliferating rapidly in the absence of a specific regulatory structure, or historical precedent, which is generating serious concerns among the citizens of this state and creating an unstable environment for local decision making.
• Verifiable information is crucial to such citizens when facing new development within their communities and local political subdivisions tasked with approving such development, as well as investors who wish to site data centers throughout Ohio.
• Verifiable information benefits all concerned parties and is urgently needed due to the rapid development of this emerging technology and the lack of general knowledge concerning data centers in Ohio.

Data Center Commission Members

Under the bill, the Data Center Commission (Commission) would consist of 13 members, to be appointed within 30 days of the bill’s effective date as follows:

• Three members appointed by the Governor.
• Three members appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives.
• Two members appointed by the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives.
• Three members appointed by the President of the Senate.
• Two members appointed by the Minority Leader of the Senate.

Charge to the Commission

The bill defines a “data center” as a “physical facility equipped with, or connected to, one or more computers that is used for processing or transmitting data” and requires the Commission to examine each of the following in regard to data centers:

1. Environmental impact;
2. Effect on the electrical grid, including on behind the meter electric supply and on consumer utility rates;
3. Water usage and impact on local water supply;
4. Noise pollution;
5. Light pollution;
6. Impact on the local economy;
7. Impact on farmland;
8. Value to national security and the development of artificial intelligence;
9. Reports of foreign propaganda intended to create opposition to data centers;
10. Any other relevant topics determined by the Commission.

Meetings of the Commission

The proposal requires the Commission to hold at least four public meetings.  Two of the meetings must be to hear public testimony on the topics above, and two of the meetings must be to hear invited expert testimony on those topics.

Commission Report

The Commission must work quickly, as the proposal orders the Commission to submit a report of its findings and any legislative recommendations to the Governor and the Ohio legislature not more than six months after the bill’s effective date. After issuing its report, the Commission would terminate.

Follow H.B. 646 on the Ohio General Assembly website.