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House committee backs bill to regulate large AI data centers, sets PUC and Act 250 checks
Summary
The House committee voted to report H.727 favorably after testimony that the bill would subject large 'AI' data centers (20-megawatt threshold) to PUC contract review, Act 250 land-use jurisdiction, ANR wastewater and PFAS monitoring, and decommissioning planning; the Joint Fiscal Office said revenue impacts are expected to be minimal.
A House committee on March 20 voted to report H.727 favorably after hearing that the bill would place new state-level checks on large "AI" data centers, including Public Utility Commission (PUC) approval of large-load contracts, Act 250 land-use review and Agency of Natural Resources (ANR) wastewater monitoring.
Maria Royal, who presented the bill, said the proposal targets highly intensive facilities used for AI training and inference and sets a clear applicability threshold. "The threshold for when this bill would apply ... is 20 megawatts of power," Royal told the committee, adding that a 20-megawatt installation typically occupies 10–40 acres, could draw energy roughly equivalent to supply for 15,000–20,000 households and may use about "500,000 gallons of water a day," a quantity she compared to the needs of roughly 1,500 households.
Why it matters: Committee members and agency staff flagged three interlocking concerns—electric-system…
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