A data center moratorium is a temporary pause on permits, construction, or zoning approvals for new large-scale data center projects — typically those exceeding a defined megawatt (MW) threshold. In 2026, the moratorium movement has gone from a fringe community-organizing idea to active legislation in at least 11 states and to enacted law (in modified form) in South Dakota, along with growing local pauses in cities including Oklahoma City and Baltimore.
The trigger is straightforward: AI training and inference workloads are pushing data center power demands from the 5–15 MW typical of a decade ago into the 100–500+ MW range — and increasingly toward gigawatt-scale "campuses." That growth is colliding with state and local utility, water, noise, and land-use rules that were never designed for industrial loads of this size. Moratoriums are the lever lawmakers reach for when permitting frameworks can't keep up.
This guide tracks every state-level data center moratorium bill we have verified in the 2025–2026 legislative cycle, plus the most consequential local pauses, with status, megawatt threshold, sponsor, and primary source for each.
State Moratorium Tracker: Status as of May 2026
The table below shows every state-level data center moratorium bill we have verified through official legislature records. Bills marked Vetoed or Died in Committee are kept in the table for reference because they typically signal an intent to refile — Maine, for example, has already convened a Data Center Advisory Council to recommend the next version of LD 307.
| State | Bill | MW Threshold | Pause Length | Status | Primary Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maine | LD 307 | 20 MW | 18 months | Vetoed | legislature.maine.gov |
| South Dakota | SB 135 / HB 1038 | 10 MW | Not a moratorium — disclosure & cost-allocation | Enacted | sdlegislature.gov |
| Vermont | S.205 | 10 MW | Until July 1, 2030 | In Committee | legislature.vermont.gov |
| New York | S.9144 / A.10141 | 20 MW | 3 years (pending DEC GEIS) | In Committee | nysenate.gov |
| Oklahoma | SB 1488 | Any new construction | Until Nov. 1, 2029 | In Committee | oksenate.gov |
| Maryland | HB 120 | Emergency moratorium | Pending impact study | Introduced | mgaleg.maryland.gov |
| Georgia | HB 1059 | All new permits | Until impact study completes | Died in Committee | legis.ga.gov |
| Minnesota | HF 4888 | Statewide pause | Pending study | In Committee | house.mn.gov |
| Wisconsin | LRB 6377 | Pending introduction | TBD | Pre-filed | docs.legis.wisconsin.gov |
| Michigan | Resolution + bill carried over | Various | Tax-incentive pause | In Committee | legislature.mi.gov |
| New Hampshire | Multiple study bills | Targeted permits | Pending | In Committee | gencourt.state.nh.us |
| Virginia | HB 1515 (moratorium) | Large-load sites | Carried over to 2027 | Carried Over | lis.virginia.gov |
| Federal | S. 4214 (Sanders & AOC) | 20 MW | Pending federal AI legislation | Senate Commerce | congress.gov |
Status definitions: Enacted = signed into law; Vetoed = passed legislature, struck down by governor; Died/Carried Over = session ended without floor action; In Committee = referred to and pending in a committee; Introduced/Pre-filed = filed but not yet assigned to committee.
Maine LD 307: The First to Reach a Governor's Desk
Maine's LD 307 — "An Act to Establish the Maine Data Center Coordination Council and Place a Temporary Limitation on Certain Data Centers" — would have made Maine the first U.S. state to enact a statewide data center moratorium. The bill targeted facilities exceeding 20 MW of power consumption with an 18-month pause on permitting and construction.
The Maine Legislature passed LD 307 in spring 2026. Governor Janet Mills (D) vetoed it on April 24, 2026. The legislature returned on April 29 for "Veto Day"; the override vote was 20–11 in the Senate — shy of the two-thirds majority required, per Maine Public. Mills then signed an executive order creating the Maine Data Center Advisory Council, a 15-member body charged with delivering recommendations to lawmakers by early 2027.
South Dakota: Not a Moratorium, but the First Enacted Restriction
South Dakota took the opposite path. Rather than pause new projects, the legislature passed and Governor Larry Rhoden signed two complementary bills on March 24, 2026: SB 135 ("Data Center Bill of Rights for Citizens") and HB 1038. Together they cover facilities of 10 MW or more, requiring developers to:
- Pay for grid upgrades they cause (no shifting cost to other ratepayers).
- Disclose water and energy usage projections to local governments and utility regulators.
- Comply with stricter siting and zoning review at the local level — explicitly preserving home-rule authority over moratoriums.
SB 135 / HB 1038 are not moratoriums, but they enact the same outcome moratoriums are designed to achieve in many states: forcing the costs and externalities of large-load development onto the developer rather than the host community. See coverage via Route Fifty for the political backstory.
New York S.9144: The Strongest Active Bill
Introduced February 6, 2026 by Senator Liz Krueger (D) and Assemblymember Anna Kelles (D), with Senator Kristen Gonzalez (D) as co-prime sponsor, S.9144 / A.10141 would impose a three-year moratorium on data centers exceeding 20 MW pending completion of a Generic Environmental Impact Statement (GEIS) by the state's Department of Environmental Conservation. Per analysis by Holland & Knight, the bill is currently the most stringent active state-level proposal in the country.
Oklahoma SB 1488: A Statewide Pause Until 2029
Filed January 22, 2026 by Senator Lisa Standridge Sacchieri (R-Blanchard), SB 1488 would pause new data center construction in Oklahoma until November 1, 2029 while a study commission examines impacts on rural communities, electric utility rates, and water resources.
Vermont S.205: The Long Pause
Vermont's S.205 would temporarily pause new data centers above 10 MW until July 1, 2030 — the longest pause in any active state bill. Vermont has very little existing data center capacity, so the bill is largely preventive.
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Local Government Moratoriums: Where the Action Is
While most state-level bills are still pending, local governments are passing pauses on shorter timelines and with greater frequency. As of May 2026, verified local moratoriums include:
| Locality | Date Passed | Length | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oklahoma City, OK | April 21, 2026 | Effective immediately; expires Dec. 31, 2026 | City Council passed; covers all new applications |
| Baltimore, MD | May 12, 2026 | 1 year | City Council pause pending zoning study |
| Camden County, GA | May 5, 2026 | 9 months | Adopted; Kingsland city manager recommended parallel measure |
| Rockdale County, GA | Multiple extensions | Extended through Sept. 8, 2026 | Re-extended after initial pause |
| DeKalb County, GA | Multiple extensions | Extended through June 23, 2026 | Re-extended after initial pause |
Several additional local moratorium votes are scheduled or pending — including a 365-day pause proposed in Seattle (filed April 30) and council votes in Denver (May 18) and Minneapolis (May 21). For continuous tracking, see the community-maintained datacenterbans.com and our own Data Center Tracker.
The Ohio Ballot Measure
Ohio supporters of a statewide data center moratorium are pursuing a citizen-initiated ballot question for the November 2026 election. The proposed measure would prohibit construction of data centers requiring at least 25 MW of power. To qualify, advocates must collect 413,488 valid signatures by July 1, 2026, per coverage by MultiState. Ohio currently hosts roughly 200 data centers — sixth-largest concentration in the country.
Why Megawatt Thresholds Matter
The MW threshold in a moratorium is not arbitrary. The numbers cluster around three real-world cutoffs:
- 10 MW (Vermont, South Dakota) — captures essentially every modern hyperscale or AI-training facility. Used when lawmakers want broad coverage.
- 20 MW (Maine LD 307, NY S.9144, federal S. 4214) — the de facto standard for "large-load" classification. Aligns with how grid operators and many states already define a customer requiring special interconnection review.
- 25 MW (Ohio ballot, several local pauses) — slightly higher cutoff that exempts most enterprise IT or co-location sites but still covers AI-purpose builds.
AI training campuses being announced in 2025–2026 routinely exceed 200–500 MW — and the next generation of multi-gigawatt "AI cities" would dwarf those numbers. Any threshold at or below 25 MW captures essentially every newly announced AI facility, which is precisely what moratorium proponents intend.
What's Driving the Wave
Four pressures are converging:
- Rate-payer shock. When a single new 200 MW data center connects to a regional grid, the cost of new generation and transmission gets allocated across all utility customers unless laws specify otherwise. Virginia, Ohio, and South Dakota have all enacted or proposed "cost-causer pays" rules for exactly this reason.
- Water draws. Direct-cooled AI facilities can consume hundreds of thousands of gallons of water per day, prompting disclosure and reporting bills in Virginia, Maryland, and elsewhere.
- Noise and land use. Cooling-tower noise has triggered complaints and ordinances in Virginia, Georgia, and Maryland — Virginia's HB 153 / SB 94 now require 500-foot noise assessments for projects over 100 MW, per Williams Mullen.
- Air permits and backup generators. Virginia DEQ rules effective July 1, 2026 require Tier 4 emissions standards on new data center backup generators.
What Counts as a Moratorium vs. a Restriction
Not every bill that "limits" data centers is a moratorium. The cleanest taxonomy:
- Pure moratorium: Halts permits/construction for a defined period. Examples: Maine LD 307, Vermont S.205, NY S.9144, OK SB 1488, federal S. 4214.
- Permitting overhaul: Tightens siting/zoning/approval but does not pause. Examples: Virginia HB 153, HB 1393, SB 553.
- Cost-allocation rule: Forces developers to pay for grid/water/road upgrades. Examples: South Dakota SB 135, Virginia HB 1393.
- Disclosure mandate: Requires reporting of energy/water/emissions. Examples: Virginia HB 496, Illinois proposals.
- Tax-incentive freeze: Pauses or eliminates sales-tax breaks for data centers. Multiple state and Michigan proposals.
Moratoriums get the headlines. The other four categories pass more often.
FAQ
What states have passed data center moratoriums?
As of May 2026, no state has a statewide moratorium currently in force. Maine LD 307 was vetoed and the override failed. South Dakota's SB 135 / HB 1038 are enacted but are disclosure-and-cost rules, not pauses. The closest active proposals are New York S.9144 and Oklahoma SB 1488. Several cities and counties — including Oklahoma City and Baltimore — have passed local moratoriums.
What megawatt threshold do most moratoriums use?
20 MW is the most common, used by Maine LD 307, New York S.9144, and the federal S. 4214. Vermont and South Dakota use 10 MW; Ohio's proposed ballot measure uses 25 MW.
Is there a federal data center moratorium bill?
Yes. S. 4214, the AI Data Center Moratorium Act, was introduced by Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) on March 25, 2026 with a House companion by Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY-14). It would pause new construction of AI data centers exceeding 20 MW until Congress enacts comprehensive AI legislation. See our full explainer of S. 4214 for details.
Why did Maine's moratorium fail?
Governor Janet Mills vetoed LD 307 on April 24, 2026. The Senate override vote on April 29 was 20–11 — short of the two-thirds majority needed. Mills then signed an executive order creating the Maine Data Center Advisory Council, which is expected to recommend a revised version of the bill in 2027.
Are local moratoriums binding on state developers?
Yes, in most home-rule states. Cities and counties typically retain the authority to deny or pause permits for any land use, including data centers. State preemption laws can override local pauses in some states but have not yet been used aggressively to overturn data center moratoriums.
Where can I see the bill text?
Every row in the table above links to the official state legislature record. For aggregated tracking, see our Data Center Tracker and the Data Centers industry hub.