Georgia CommonsSB 421: "The Data Center Transparency Act"; enact
Last action January 27, 2026 · Senate Read and Referred
A Georgia Senate bill would bar counties, cities, and other local government bodies from signing nondisclosure agreements that hide how much electricity or water any entity, including data centers, uses.
The summaries below were written by an AI model (claude-sonnet-5) from the text of the bill and are not part of it. Quote the text, not the summary. The stored text is the Introduced version, the latest LegiScan holds.
In plain language
Local governments in Georgia sometimes sign nondisclosure agreements with businesses, including data centers, that keep details about the business's electricity or water use secret. This bill, called the Data Center Transparency Act, would stop that practice going forward. The bill adds a new section to Georgia law (O.C.G.A. § 36-80-32) that says no county, city, authority, or other political subdivision may enter into a nondisclosure agreement or similar contract that blocks it from disclosing an entity's electricity or water usage, whether that use consumes the resource or not. The bill does not set penalties or an enforcement mechanism beyond the ban itself, and it repeals any conflicting state laws.
What the bill does
- Creates a new Georgia law (O.C.G.A. § 36-80-32) banning local governments and authorities from signing nondisclosure agreements about an entity's electricity or water usage.
- Applies the ban to counties, municipal corporations, authorities, and other political subdivisions of the state.
- Covers both consumptive and nonconsumptive water use, meaning any secrecy deal about either type would be prohibited.
- Gives the bill the short title "The Data Center Transparency Act" for citation purposes.
- Repeals any existing state laws that conflict with the new disclosure rule.
Who it affects
County and municipal governments, local authorities, and other political subdivisions that negotiate deals with businesses; and any entity, such as data centers or large industrial users, whose electricity or water usage has been or would be covered by a confidentiality agreement with a local government.
Why it matters
Large electricity and water users like data centers often negotiate secrecy around their utility consumption as part of incentive deals. This bill would make that information subject to disclosure by local governments, potentially giving residents and watchdogs more visibility into how much power and water such facilities use.
Key provisions
- Section 1 names the short title, "The Data Center Transparency Act."
- Section 2 adds new Code section 36-80-32, prohibiting local governments, authorities, and political subdivisions from entering nondisclosure agreements covering an entity's electricity or water usage.
- Section 2 specifies the ban covers both consumptive and nonconsumptive water usage.
- Section 3 repeals any conflicting laws, a standard clause with no substantive effect beyond clearing conflicts.
From the bill
“No county, municipal corporation, authority, or other political subdivision of this state shall enter into any nondisclosure agreement or other similar contract which prohibits such county, municipal corporation, authority, or other political subdivision from disclosing information related to the electricity usage or water usage”
Status timeline
- Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
- Senate Hopper (Senate)
Sponsors
- RaShaun Kemp (D, SD-038)
- Drew Echols (R, SD-049)
- Jaha Howard (D, SD-035)
- Shawn Still (R, SD-048)
- Harold Jones (D, SD-022)
- Kenya Wicks (D, SD-034)
- Kim Jackson (D, SD-041)
- Chuck Hufstetler (R, SD-052)
- Tonya Anderson (D, SD-043)
- Donzella James (D, SD-028)
- Sheikh Rahman (D, SD-005)
- Gail Davenport (D, SD-017)
- Nan Orrock (D, SD-036)
Topics
- data centers
- government transparency
- water usage
- electricity usage
- local government contracts