HARRISBURG – State Senator Tracy Pennycuick (R-24) issued the following statement in response to Governor Shapiro signing an executive order on data centers:
“Governor Shapiro’s executive order today is an important step toward putting meaningful guardrails around data center development. It incorporates several protections I have been advocating for over the past year, including requiring developers to address their enormous water and electricity demands, pay the full cost of the power and infrastructure they require, and ensure those costs are never shifted onto hardworking families and small businesses.
Local control must be nonnegotiable. If a community does not want a data center, then developers and tech companies should not force one into that community.
The decision to pause Fast Track applications for data centers is also warranted. That is precisely why I amended legislation in the Senate Communications and Technology Committee to prevent data centers from receiving special treatment in the state permitting process.
Nondisclosure agreements have no place in decisions that could fundamentally alter a community. My legislation, Senate Bill 1408, goes further by prohibiting these secrecy agreements at both the state and local levels.
Decisions of this magnitude must be made in the open.
While the Governor’s announcement set up new hurdles for accessing the state’s current data center sales and use tax exemption, I strongly disagree with the exemption being kept available simply because tech companies or developers meet these basic responsibilities. Following the rules and acting responsibly should be the price of doing business, not grounds for a special tax break.
Small businesses across Pennsylvania meet their obligations and invest in their communities every day without receiving this kind of preferential treatment. Data centers should not be treated differently.
I have said from the beginning that while data centers may have a place in our modern infrastructure, these projects cannot be allowed to jeopardize our electric grid, strain our water resources, raise utility bills, damage our environment, or override local decision-making.
I will continue working across the aisle and with the administration to turn these protections into permanent law and ensure the people of Pennsylvania come first.”
CONTACT: Matthew Szuchyt (215) 541-2388