Maryland Gov. Wes Moore on Wednesday signed an executive order imposing stricter regulation on data center development in the state.
In doing so, the state joined a broader bipartisan effort that is taking place across the country, in which states — citing the federal government’s inaction — are trying to regulate data centers through executive action.
“Since Donald Trump returned to office, his administration has moved fast to roll back critical safeguards, giving Big Tech more room to determine their own destiny,” said Moore, who is considered a potential 2028 Democratic presidential contender. “Truthfully, the people are fed up, and so am I.”
The order would require community and state approval for data center development as well as encourage private investment and financing to ensure that taxpayers do not end up bankrolling the facilities’ energy costs. Moore’s order also requires developers to comply with environmental guidelines.
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Moore added Wednesday that he would “immediately” begin working with the state’s General Assembly to repeal a tax exemption passed in 2020 that provides data center developers with tax-funded incentives to build their operations in Maryland.
“Our families come first, and our children come first. Not a developer’s timeline, and not a corporation’s bottom line. And we will use every tool that we have at our disposal to make sure that no family and no community is left behind,” Moore said.
A Pew Research Poll found that Americans’ views on data centers have soured, with 60% of Americans saying “they would be not too or at all comfortable with a new data center operating in their area.”
Maryland is the latest state to join the effort. Over the last few weeks, Texas, Virginia and Pennsylvania’s state governments have also announced temporary development pauses, stricter permitting rules and new utility requirements as the facilities’ demands on electricity, water and local infrastructure become a political issue.
On Monday, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott directed state environmental regulators to halt permits for data center projects while state officials conduct audits of their impacts on the electric grid and water resources.
Last week, Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger signed an executive order banning nondisclosure agreements involving data center projects, and Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro signed an executive order requiring data center developers seeking state permits to make legally binding commitments on energy costs while removing the projects from the state’s fast-track permitting program.
While more states move to rein in data center developers, President Donald Trump, who has spent the last couple of weeks feuding with artificial intelligence leaders, has shown little interest in rolling out regulations to address the public’s concerns.
“The only reason that communities throughout the U.S.A. should not want Data Centers is if they want to end up being backwards and poor,” the president posted to Truth Social late last month.
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