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Committee approves bill requiring data-center floor plans for first responders, 25-1
Summary
House Bill 2535 would require certain data-center owners to provide floor plans and interior-contents inventories to local first responders (with limited distribution) and imposes civil penalties for noncompliance; the committee advanced the bill on a 25-1 vote after debate over funding and preparedness.
The Veterans Affairs & Emergency Preparedness Committee voted 25-1 to advance House Bill 2535, which would require owners of certain data centers to provide local first responders with floor plans and interior-contents inventories as a condition of obtaining a certificate of occupancy.
Representative Sapi, the bill sponsor, said the measure is intended to protect first responders and neighboring communities by ensuring local agencies know what they are confronting inside large data centers. "This legislation points to the... need for floor plans and interior contents to be listed in order to obtain a permit of occupancy," Sapi said, while stressing that such information should not be widely shared for security reasons and should be limited to those who "really need to know."
Members raised operational and fiscal concerns. Representative Krupa said volunteer fire departments need tools and resources to respond safely; Representative Scott urged planning for remediation and decommissioning, and raised the potential financial burden of specialized suppression materials, noting that "the onus should not be on taxpayers when these are billion dollar corporations." Representative Stender, a firefighter, said he would not support the bill in its current form, arguing existing building codes and sprinkler systems mitigate many risks.
Committee staff (Sean) noted that some federal regulations and state law already require reporting when facilities store certain chemicals and that local emergency planning requirements exist; members discussed overlap and where additional local notification could add value.
Representative Haddock expressed strong support and recounted a local example where a developer provided large community incentives but did not support local fire or EMS, saying developers "should take care of firefighters and EMS people." Chair Gillan said the state currently lacks standardized statewide protocols for data-center fires and described the bill as a beginning step.
Clerk Jamie called the roll on the committee motion and recorded 25 yeas and 1 nay (Representative Stender). The committee moved the bill to the House floor for consideration.
The bill now proceeds to the full House; committee discussion emphasized the need to balance security concerns with first-responder preparedness and flagged funding and standardized protocol gaps for further work.
