New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill (D) Signs Bill on Data Center Accountability
www.c-span.org
New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill (D) signed a bill to hold data center developers accountable to the communities they build in. During the bill signing ceremony, she, along with local officials, discussed how the legislation provided an opportunity to address the issue of excessive noise or lighting before construction, holding developers accountable, encouraging developers to invest in the communities they are building in, and secuing fair wages. Additionally, they stated that the bill allowed for communities to negotiate deals and agreements on water and power usage, to make sure utility costs were driven down, and hold private companies accountable.

I can’t find any mainstream talking about it.

In May, I rolled out the nation’s first comprehensive plan to put guardrails on data center development. The plan had 4 pillars.

  • Data centers must pay their fair share for electricity
  • Tell the truth about their energy and water use.
  • Invest in the communities where they build
  • And create good paying union jobs.

It’s simple. If you want to build here, you have to play by our rules. My focus is and always will be protecting New Jerseyans.

We’ve worked all summer to turn those principles into progress. I signed a new law last month that put data centers in a new class of electric ratepayers, so you aren’t on the hook for their electric bills.

We’ve required tech companies to cover the cost of connecting to the grid and encourage them to bring more cheap, clean power online. Since day one, I’ve been on a mission to rein in your utility costs, and this law will help us do just that.

Today I’m sharing the advances we’ve made on the other 3 pillars. It starts with transparency. New Jerseyans deserve to know how much water and electricity the data centers coming into their community will use. Data center companies often treat their usage statistics like a trade secret. That poses a problem for small communities, especially a town of 5000 needs to know if a data center will consume 15,000 homes’ worth of water.

So I’m signing a bill led by Majority Leader Ruiz and Assemblyman Venetia that forces companies to show their work. From now on, data centers must report how much water and electricity they use to the Board of Public Utilities every 6 months. Here in New Jersey, we’re not going to let these developers operate in the shadows.

I’m just as focused on making sure data centers are accountable to the communities that they’re built in. If you’re going to use our land and resources, you better invest here too. That’s why we’re rolling out new guidance and support to help municipalities negotiate rock solid community benefits agreements for data center projects.

These agreements have 3 main goals prevent problems, deliver local investments, and create good paying jobs.

  • First and foremost, these agreements get towns and developers on the same page about issues like Excessive noise or lighting before construction starts. Companies need to come to the table with solutions and not just empty promises, and we can use these binding contracts to hold developers accountable if they fall short.
  • At the same time, these agreements will help secure investments from developers and things that matter to you and your community, like a new park or infrastructure upgrades to make your commute easier and your property taxes lower.
  • And they draw clear lines on labor. We’re going to make sure companies pay prevailing wage while negotiating project labor agreements on the biggest developments. We know these companies drive a hard bargain, so I’m not going to leave communities on their own to negotiate.

New Jersey is standing up as a team to help out with these agreements with experts from the Economic Development Authority, Department of Environmental Protection, and Board of Public Utilities