Moratorium on Construction of New Data Centers - Co-Location and Generation Contingency
HB0120 would place an immediate moratorium on the construction of new data centers in Maryland. It prohibits any person from constructing a data center in the State and bars State and local government units from approving proposals for new data center construction. The bill defines “data center” by reference to existing tax law, covering facilities used to house computer systems, storage equipment, and related infrastructure for processing and disseminating large amounts of data.
The bill is drafted as an emergency measure and would take effect upon enactment. It is prospective only, so it would not affect data center projects that had already received all required federal, State, and local permits before the effective date. It also contains a sunset-style trigger: the moratorium would automatically end if the General Assembly later enacts legislation requiring new data centers to be co-located with certain power generation facilities and to have sufficient on-site generation capacity to meet the data center’s power needs.
HB0120 would add a new section to the Real Property Article and interact with the Tax-General Article’s definition of “data center.” In practical terms, it would halt new data center development statewide and prevent permitting or approval by State and local governments, while leaving already-permitted projects untouched. The bill would affect developers, utilities, local planning and zoning authorities, and State permitting agencies, and it could also influence energy infrastructure planning by tying future data center construction to power-generation requirements in later legislation.
Based on the bill’s structure, the measure appears to reflect concern about the rapid expansion of data centers and their energy and infrastructure demands. The emergency designation suggests supporters view the issue as urgent and requiring immediate action. No committee testimony or recorded votes are provided, so there is no direct evidence of broader support or opposition in the available record.
The main point of contention is likely whether Maryland should impose a blanket moratorium on new data centers at all. Supporters would likely argue that the State needs time to address electricity demand, grid reliability, land use, and environmental impacts before allowing more facilities. Opponents would likely object that the bill is overly restrictive, could discourage investment, and would effectively stop an entire category of development unless and until the General Assembly adopts a separate co-location and generation framework. The bill’s conditional repeal also suggests debate over whether data centers should be required to pair with natural gas, nuclear, or small modular reactor generation.