Data center bills stall as Georgia session nears final day

The 2026 legislative session began with cries to protect Georgians from the cost and pollution of data centers. 

With the last day of session quickly approaching, environmental groups fight to pass any meaningful legislation to protect residents from cost shifting and reduce tax breaks for giant technology companies.

Mark Woodall, the volunteer legislative chair of the Sierra Club in Georgia, said data centers are the hottest environmental issue on the agenda in Georgia this year.

“I mean, we’re supposed to be doing something about affordability. This session was supposed to be about saving people money, which we haven’t seen yet,” he said.

Georgia Power and big technology companies looking to build data centers in the state have large lobbying groups fighting for their interests. Woodall said these companies have teamed up to prevent protections for residents and restrictions on data centers.

“It’s people power versus big money basically, and so far the big money has prevented anything good from happening, but it’s not over,” Woodall said.

Senate Bill 34 would have protected residential customers and small businesses from cost sharing with data centers. The bill was essentially gutted in committee, but the bill’s sponsor, state Sen. Chuck Hufstetler, R-Rome, passed an amendment to restore the former bill. The bill was never taken up for a vote again in the Senate.

The hope is to amend another piece of legislation with similar protections, Woodall said.

A similar bill, House Bill 1063, passed the House but has not made headway in the Senate.

Senate Bill 410 would end sales and use tax exemption on the construction materials and equipment for data centers, but it doesn’t repeal tax breaks that have already been granted. Woodall said they learned that the tax incentives for data centers and computer equipment for the 2026 fiscal year will be $2.5 billion.

“So we’re giving the richest companies in the history of the world… these massive tax breaks taken out of the pockets of the people of Georgia, so that’s pretty disgusting and disgraceful,” Woodall said.

Included in Senate Bill 476, or the Income Tax Reduction Act, was a repeal of data center sales and use tax breaks and high-technology computer equipment sales and use tax breaks.

None of these bills have passed the full legislature to go to the governor’s desk, but Woodall said there is still time.

“If citizens are upset, they can call their state (representative) and state senator and say they want something done right up until midnight of April 2,” he said. “This stuff often goes down to day 40, the last day.”