Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., introduced a resolution on Aug. 6 outlining a “Data Center Bill of Rights” that would give communities greater authority over artificial intelligence (AI) data center development and establish protections around electricity costs, water use, and environmental impacts.
The resolution calls for prohibiting data centers in residential areas and within 2,500 feet of homes, schools, childcare facilities, hospitals, and nursing homes.
It would also affirm communities’ ability to reject proposed facilities through a transparent process and preserve local governments’ authority to regulate or prohibit data center development without state preemption.
“Families should not face higher electricity bills, depleted water supplies, or increased pollution from data centers in their communities,” Khanna said in a press release. “Americans deserve the right to know what is being proposed, to decide what gets built in their neighborhoods, and to share in the economic benefits.”
The proposal comes as AI computing demands drive growth in large-scale data center infrastructure. More than 4,400 data center facilities are listed across all 50 states, according to data cited in the release from Data Center Map. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory projects that U.S. hyperscale data centers could directly consume up to 33 billion gallons of water annually by 2028.
In a video posted to X about the resolution, Khanna said that communities should have the right to oppose data centers and specifically called for a pause on new data centers in Pennsylvania.
“I was recently traveling through Pennsylvania. I believe there needs to be a pause in that state on these data centers,” Khanna said. “You can’t have dozens of these data centers popping up across the state when communities oppose them.”
The resolution more broadly calls for allowing states to pause new data center development until protections are in place to prevent higher electricity bills, protect local water supplies, and give communities a role in siting decisions.
It also says households and small businesses should not face increased electricity rates or fees because of data centers. Operators would be expected to use “clean and reliable energy” and meet limits on noise and air pollution.
Before project approval, the resolution calls for an independent, publicly available impact report examining electricity demand, utility bills, public health, pollution, housing, expected job creation, and economic impacts over 10 years.
Data center operators would also disclose projected water consumption to local water providers, obtain a written compatibility determination before project approval, and submit semiannual water usage reports for public review.
The proposal further affirms that data center owners, operators, and developers pay state and local taxes and ‘ensure that any tax exemption or public subsidy includes strong labor standards, full transparency, and clawback provisions when those conditions are not met,’ according to the release.”