What happened
On June 5, 2026, the New York State Senate and Assembly passed the Responsible Data Center Development Act (S10642), which imposes a one-year moratorium on the siting, construction, or commencement of operations of data centers consuming 20 megawatts or more, per Earthjustice. The bill would also require a local public hearing before such facilities are constructed, and mandate a statewide data center environmental impact report within 18 months of enactment. Governor Kathy Hochul has not signed the bill; a spokeswoman said she 'will review the bill,' per Inside Climate News. If signed, New York would become the first state in the nation to enact a complete temporary halt to new AI-driven data center development.
Federal action -- Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez
On March 25, 2026, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) introduced the AI Data Center Moratorium Act, which would impose a nationwide halt on constructing or upgrading data centers with a power demand of 20 MW or more until strong national safeguards are in place. The bill's conditions include government review and approval of AI products before release, policies to prevent job losses, requirements that data centers not increase consumer electricity bills, community approval rights, and mandatory union labor. Per Sanders' press release, the legislation is cosponsored by nine House representatives. Sanders stated: 'We cannot sit back and allow a handful of billionaire Big Tech oligarchs to make decisions that will reshape our economy, our democracy and the future of humanity.' In a separate February 23, 2026 statement, Sanders cited AI experts who 'fear that this revolutionary technology could soon become smarter than humans and escape human control -- with potentially cataclysmic outcomes.'
Scale of the movement
Per Data Center Dynamics (June 25, 2026), more than 100 local communities around the country have enacted data center moratoriums, and 12 states are pursuing statewide proposals. Earthjustice, a legal organization supporting the New York bill, notes that 1 in 4 New Yorkers cannot afford their energy bills and argues that new AI data centers backed by fossil fuel infrastructure will drive up utility rates further.
For practitioners: what to watch
Track whether Governor Hochul signs New York's bill, legislative progress of the Sanders/Ocasio-Cortez federal act, and permitting outcomes in jurisdictions with proposed data center sites. Utility interconnection filings, grid impact studies, and water-use assessments will increasingly carry regulatory weight. The spreading local-to-state-to-federal arc of this movement suggests siting timelines for new AI compute capacity are lengthening, raising the importance of early environmental and community engagement in project planning.
Key Points
- 1New York's legislature passed a one-year moratorium on 20-MW-plus data centers on June 5, 2026 -- Governor Hochul has not yet signed, but it would make New York the first state to enact such a halt.
- 2Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez introduced a federal AI Data Center Moratorium Act requiring national safeguards before new data center construction, with cosponsors across nine House districts.
- 3Practitioners should expect longer siting and permitting cycles as a state-federal regulatory arc solidifies: 100-plus local moratoriums, 12 state proposals, and now a major-state legislative passage create compounding friction for new AI infrastructure.
Scoring Rationale
New York's legislature passing the first US state-level AI data center moratorium is a notable regulatory milestone with direct capacity-planning implications for the AI infrastructure sector; the parallel federal bill from Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez amplifies national significance. Scored as notable-to-major: a concrete, signed legislative action by a large state affecting 20-MW-plus facilities, though the governor has not yet signed and the federal bill faces a very difficult path.
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