When it comes to Texas data centers, the concerns of tech bros aren’t completely unfounded. Experts tell WIRED that the change in leadership could translate to some concrete changes in the industry—albeit with limits.
Although Democrats have control of the Texas House, Republicans still have control over the state’s senate. Robert Paterson, professor of land use and environmental planning at the University of Texas at Austin, tells WIRED that the split means that some immediate attempts at change “will probably be stymied a bit.”
Adrian Shelley, director of nonprofit consumer advocacy group Public Citizen’s Texas office, tells WIRED that the legislature would be a likely place to hash out high-impact policies like the reallocation of state agency resources. However, he adds that the governor could effect more immediate changes by issuing executive orders, or requesting the resignation of politically appointed officials in state agencies.
Shelley says that these oversight agencies—such as the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, the Public Utility Commission, and the Texas Water Development Board—have the authority to charge fines for breaking state law, or in extreme cases, to revoke permits for projects like data centers. But Paterson notes that Texas developers have particularly strong “vested rights,” which protects the terms of their projects from the moment their permits are approved, even if construction hasn’t begun yet.
Another medium-term route to reshaping Texas’s data center industry could be giving more power to its counties. Paterson noted that nearly half of the state’s data centers exist in unincorporated territory, which puts them outside the jurisdiction of city zoning laws.
Unlike other states, Paterson says, Texas counties have relatively limited enforcement abilities. Under the state’s so-called Dillon’s Rule, counties only have powers that are “specifically allotted to it by the state.” So while they have authority over things like access and egress to county roads, or construction on floodplains, he says they don’t have the zoning authority that would help closely regulate projects like data centers.
Paterson says that the new attorney general could theoretically adjust the terms in the state’s biannual handbook, which establishes the limits of county authority. He also argues that even in a split legislature, especially since anti-data center sentiment crosses party lines, state lawmakers could propose a viable bill giving counties “limited zoning authority over data centers.”
Shelley tells WIRED that since “data centers were a decisive factor in this blue wave,” the upcoming legislative season will be “very interesting.”
“I will say the data center industry hasn’t shown a lot of interest in working with state lawmakers or local leaders,” Shelley says, “and I will be interested to see if that changes.”
If not, there’s always low-Earth orbit.