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Lawmaker’s push to make hyperscale data centers fund their own energy and infrastructure fails in tied vote; bill amended and reprinted
Summary
Representative Williams offered an amendment to House Bill 2359 to require hyperscale data centers to pay for their own energy and infrastructure, arguing utilities and ratepayers should not shoulder the costs; the amendment failed in a 101–101 recorded tie. A later amendment to accelerate transparency provisions was agreed to; the bill was reprinted and later listed for recommitment to Appropriations.
HARRISBURG — Representative Williams offered an amendment to House Bill 2359 on the House floor, arguing that “data centers need to be building their own energy” and should not pass infrastructure costs on to utilities and ratepayers. Williams said utilities’ load-forecasting requirements and exemptions for data-center equipment had contributed to higher electricity prices and urged colleagues to require hyperscale facilities to pay for their own energy and infrastructure.
The amendment (A‑03926) was put to a recorded vote and failed in a tie, with the clerk announcing the ayes as 101 and the nays as 101. Representative Cirici, the bill’s prime sponsor, urged members to oppose Williams’s change, asking colleagues for a no vote and saying the chamber should not adopt that amendment.
A subsequent amendment from Representative Miller (A‑03927) sought to make the bill’s transparency provisions effective immediately rather than 60 days after enactment. Miller told the chamber, “I would argue that transparency should take place on day 1 with this bill,” and urged a yes vote. The chair indicated that this amendment was agreed to by the membership and the clerk recorded the ayes as 201; the transcript’s roll-call wording for the nays is inconsistent and is recorded here as not specified in the official transcript excerpt.
Representative Kephart offered an amendment (A‑03835) to preserve trade secrets and proprietary information while allowing general information to be public; the sponsor opposed that change and asked members to vote it down. The clerk recorded a 87–115 vote against Kephart’s amendment, and the amendment failed.
The clerk announced that the bill, as amended on the floor, would be reprinted. Later in the same sitting the majority leader moved to recommit House Bill 2359 to the Appropriations Committee for further consideration.
Why it matters: House Bill 2359 addresses the balance between public transparency and commercial confidentiality in agreements tied to data-center projects and raises questions about which parties should bear energy and infrastructure costs associated with hyperscale computing facilities. Proponents of stricter requirements argued that customers and ratepayers should not subsidize private infrastructure; opponents warned of unintended consequences for utility planning and commercial investment.
What’s next: The bill was reprinted after floor amendments and was placed on a list to be recommitted to the Appropriations Committee, where further consideration and possible changes can occur.
