Policy on Data Centers

As massive corporate data centers flood into Texas, their unchecked expansion strains our power grid, drains scarce water supplies, and introduces heavy industrial noise, traffic, and environmental pollution directly into residential neighborhoods. A single Data Center can draw as much electricity, water and dump pollution equal to a city.

To ensure tech conglomerates do not profit at the expense of working families, we need a community-informed approach combined with elected representative leadership in Austin that puts Texans over politics.

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The Local Threat to Grid, Water, and Environment

Data centers consume staggering amounts of electricity and water while disrupting the peace of local communities. Without proper guardrails, these facilities threaten our daily standard of living:

Electrical Load Management: The massive influx of energy-demanding facilities threatens to skyrocket utility demand. We must mandate rigorous curtailment protocols so that data centers power down during grid emergencies before a single Texas family faces a rolling blackout.

Water Stewardship: Operating in the shadow of ongoing drought conditions, data centers consume billions of gallons of water annually. We must enforce high-efficiency, closed-loop cooling standards and require complete transparency before any large-scale project is approved.
Environmental and Neighborhood Protections: Heavy industrial facilities bring persistent noise, air pollution, heavy traffic, and light pollution into residential areas. We must empower local cities and counties to enforce strict zoning laws, noise ordinances, and environmental safeguards.

Putting Voters First: No Cost Burdens and Zero Tax Abatements

Working families should never be forced to subsidize the infrastructure or profit margins of multi-billion-dollar tech companies. Our policy platform establishes strict financial boundaries to protect local taxpayers:

Zero Cost Burden on Voters: Data center developers must pay upfront interconnection fees and fully fund their own transmission upgrades. Taxpayers must never foot the bill for grid enhancements or localized infrastructure strains.
Prohibiting Tax Abatements: We must explicitly outlaw local and state tax abatements for massive data center developments and eliminate sales tax exemptions for facilities that fail to meet strict environmental and community impact standards.
Eliminate Ghost Jobs: Require funding a registered capital bond to the city or county for every job promised as a condition to build data centers. After a ten year period bond will be returned in proportion to actual job creation.

Representative Leadership: People Over Politics

For too long, Austin has prioritized special interest lobbyists and political theater over the real needs of Texas communities. Solving this crisis requires electing leaders who answer to the kitchen table, not corporate boardrooms.

By demanding informed community oversight, refusing special favors, and establishing clear, reasonable legislative limits on electricity, water, noise, traffic, and environmental pollution, we can balance technological innovation with the absolute necessity of keeping our lights on, our water flowing, and our neighborhoods safe.