James Talarico demands locals be given power over data centers in proposal mirroring Greg Abbott’s
Washington Examiner · RC · trust 31/100
Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico proposed reforms for data center development on Wednesday that bore significant similarities to Gov. Greg Abbott’s (D-TX) recent recommendations for Texas , signaling a bipartisan consensus in the Lone Star State’s approach to the industry.
Though Talarico and Abbott sit at opposing ends of the political spectrum, both men support ending tax breaks for data centers, requiring developers to pay for their own grid interconnection and infrastructure costs, and requiring the technology hubs to use closed-loop water systems that reuse water. Their posture is emblematic of growing unity among red and blue states on the matter, where officials have often expressed conditional support for data centers, recognizing the essential role they play in powering the technology grid, but calling on them to pull their own weight and listen to local concerns.
Talarico and Abbott both support more transparency and local power in data center development.
This week, Talarico called for granting local communities the authority to approve and reject data center development in their towns. The Democrat, who is seeking to flip Texas’s Senate seat blue in a heated challenge to Republican rival, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, also wants to release government records detailing individual tax break data for data center facilities and backs setting minimum federal requirements to protect the grid, environment, jobs, and transparency related to new data center development.
Likewise, Abbott has called for a ban on data centers in rural communities, citing local opposition in certain areas of Texas. He also wants to require annual reporting by all data centers on electricity and water use and backs establishing best-practice standards to address community concerns, such as noise.
The Republican governor’s call for more oversight comes as he has hailed Texas as the “epicenter” of AI but has simultaneously pressed for growth that doesn’t place “undue burdens” on the state.
“As Texas continues to welcome innovation and investment, we must ensure that growth strengthens our people and their quality of life without placing undue burdens on Texans and local communities,” Abbott wrote in a letter in early June, outlining reforms he plans to recommend to the state legislature.
Abbott’s rhetoric bore notable similarities to Talarico’s speech on Wednesday, when he rolled out his plan.
“We’re often told in our politics that we have to choose between policies that are pro-growth and pro-people,” Talarico said. “I reject that choice, and the plan that we’re outlining today to hold data centers accountable, I think, strikes a balance between welcoming those investments while also protecting working people.”
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