SB 436: Counties, Municipal Corporations; local governments and political subdivisions from entering into nondisclosure agreements regarding electricity usage or water usage of any entity; prohibit

Local governments in Georgia sometimes negotiate deals with large power or water users, such as data centers, and some of those deals have included nondisclosure agreements that keep usage information secret from the public. This bill would stop that practice by adding a new law barring any county, city, or other political subdivision from entering into a nondisclosure agreement that hides an entity's electricity or water usage, whether that use consumes the resource or not. The bill also changes Georgia's sales tax law. For one year, from July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2027, the state revenue commissioner could not issue new sales tax exemption certificates for high-technology data center equipment under an existing exemption program. There is an exception: data center customers already under contract before July 1, 2026, who applied for their certificate before that date, could still get one.

• Adds a new law (O.C.G.A. § 36-80-32) banning counties, cities, and other local political subdivisions from signing nondisclosure agreements that hide an entity's electricity or water usage.
• Applies the ban to both consumptive and nonconsumptive water usage, meaning any type of water use covered by such a secrecy deal.
• Suspends the Georgia Department of Revenue's issuance of new sales tax exemption certificates for high-technology data center equipment for a one-year window from July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2027.
• Carves out an exception for data center customers with contracts signed before July 1, 2026, if they applied for their exemption certificate before that date.

County and municipal governments across Georgia that negotiate deals with large utility users, large electricity and water consumers such as data centers, the Georgia Department of Revenue, and high-technology data center operators seeking sales tax exemptions on equipment purchases.

Residents and watchdogs would gain access to information about how much electricity and water large facilities like data centers use in their communities, since local governments could no longer legally hide that data. Data center operators would also temporarily lose the ability to obtain new sales tax breaks on equipment for a year, unless they already had a qualifying contract.

• Section 1 creates new Code Section 36-80-32, prohibiting local governments from entering nondisclosure agreements covering electricity or water usage of any entity.
• Section 2 amends O.C.G.A. § 48-8-3 to pause new high-technology data center sales tax exemption certificates from July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2027.
• Section 2 exempts data center customers under contracts signed before July 1, 2026, who also applied for a certificate before that date.
• Section 3 repeals any conflicting laws.

1. 2026-01-29Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
2. 2026-01-28Senate Hopper (Senate)

• Jaha Howard (D, SD-035)Primary sponsor
• Harold Jones (D, SD-022)
• Nikki Merritt (D, SD-009)
• RaShaun Kemp (D, SD-038)
• Michael Rhett (D, SD-033)
• Kenya Wicks (D, SD-034)
• Donzella James (D, SD-028)
• Nabilah Islam Parkes (D, SD-007)

• data centers
• open government
• utility transparency
• sales tax exemptions
• local government contracts