Committee reviews data center tax-credit bill with explicit exclusion for cryptocurrency mining

A staff member presented House Bill 1239 to the Technology Committee as a tax-credit measure aimed at attracting data center investment to the state.

The bill would award tax credits to investors who make more than $250,000,000 in capital improvements for a data center, and it explicitly excludes cryptocurrency mining operations from eligibility, the staff member said. The presenter noted the proposal is intended to keep the state competitive with other states that use similar investment thresholds.

The presenter told the committee that most states stop at a one-time $250 million threshold but cited Mississippi as taking a different approach: Mississippi requires qualifying investment to continue at a minimum of $100 million over the following 10 years. The presenter also said the state constitution requires the committee to enact the measure in statute. The presenter noted there is a “reverse appealer” provision in the bill but did not provide further detail in the recorded remarks.

Committee business recorded in the transcript shows a motion to “house sufficient to pass as amended.” The transcript does not include the names of the mover or seconder, a detailed vote tally, or a clear statement of the final outcome or next procedural step.

Why it matters: law changes that create large tax incentives for data centers can affect state competition for investment, the tax base and which types of facilities qualify for public support. The committee’s discussion focused on preserving an incentive for traditional data centers while excluding cryptocurrency-mining facilities from the benefit.

The transcript does not record additional debate, amendments text, or a final committee vote count. Further details — including the exact statutory language, the meaning of the recorded “reverse appealer” reference and any fiscal-impact estimates — were not specified in the available remarks.