HB 1012: Local government; construction or development of new data centers for a specified time; prohibit

Data centers, the large facilities that house computer servers for cloud storage and online services, have been expanding rapidly across Georgia. This bill adds a new section to Georgia law (O.C.G.A. § 36-80-32) that pauses new data center construction statewide so lawmakers can study the impact of these facilities on natural resources and the environment before more are built. The bill defines a data center broadly as any facility or group of connected facilities that houses working servers to cool, secure, and connect data. From when the bill takes effect through March 1, 2027, no county, city, or other local government could issue permits, licenses, or certificates under several titles of Georgia law that would allow building or developing a data center. The pause would not apply to permits already issued before July 1, 2026 for data center construction that is already underway. The law would take effect as soon as the Governor signs it.

• Adds a new Code section (O.C.G.A. § 36-80-32) that bars local governments from issuing permits, licenses, or certificates for new data center construction.
• Sets the pause to run from the bill's effective date through March 1, 2027.
• Defines 'data center' broadly to cover any facility, campus, or group of connected facilities that houses servers to cool, secure, and connect data.
• Exempts permits, licenses, or certificates already issued before July 1, 2026 for data centers already being built.
• States the legislature's reasoning: pausing construction so the impact of data centers on natural resources and the environment can be studied.

Data center developers and technology companies planning new facilities in Georgia, county and municipal governments that issue construction and land use permits, and local authorities responsible for permitting under Georgia's title, water, energy, and environmental laws.

For roughly a year, no new data center could get local permits anywhere in Georgia, which would delay or stop planned projects and the jobs, tax revenue, and electricity demand that come with them, while giving the state time to study the facilities' effects on land and natural resources.

• Subsection (a) states the legislature's finding that pausing new data center construction serves the public interest while impacts on natural resources and the environment are studied.
• Subsection (b) defines 'data center' as a facility, campus, or interconnected array of facilities housing servers used to cool, secure, and connect data.
• Subsection (c) prohibits counties, municipalities, local authorities, and other political subdivisions from issuing permits, licenses, or certificates under Titles 8, 12, 25, or 36 that would allow data center construction, from the effective date through March 1, 2027.
• Subsection (d) exempts permits, licenses, or certificates issued before July 1, 2026 for data centers already being built.
• Section 2 sets the effective date as the date the Governor signs the bill or it otherwise becomes law without signature.

1. 2026-01-28House Second Readers (House)
2. 2026-01-27House First Readers (House)
3. 2026-01-16House Hopper (House)

• Ruwa Romman (D, HD-097)Primary sponsor
• Jordan Ridley (R, HD-022)
• Mary Oliver (D, HD-084)
• Spencer Frye (D, HD-122)
• Gabriel Sanchez (D, HD-042)

• data centers
• local government permitting
• environmental impact
• land use regulation