The state of New York could be the first in the US to pass a state-wide data center moratorium after its legislature voted on last week to approve a one-year moratorium on data centers.

The bill, which passed Thursday June 4, now goes to New York Governor Kathy Hochul, who has the power to approve or reject the ban.

S10642, otherwise known as the Responsible Data Center Development Act, seeks to impose a one-year moratorium on data centers with a peak demand of 20MW and above.

It would require operators of data centers with a peak demand of 20MW and above to invest in the local community and create a separate electric and water rate class that applies specifically to these data centers, which are defined as “large data centers.”

Data centers offering 5MW of capacity or above would be required to adhere to renewable energy use standards and goals. They would also be required to stick to certain labor standards and use iron and steel “produced or made in whole or substantial part in the US.”

New York State Senator Kristen Gonzalez, who proposed the bill, said that this was “a historic moment for New York.

“For too long Big Tech has benefited from under-regulation, writing their own rules on large-scale data center development with little accountability or transparency on local impacts. Technology should improve people's lives, not drive up our energy bills or exhaust our natural resources and increase pollution.

“That’s why this bill takes a responsible approach to hyperscale data center development, putting New Yorkers in the driver’s seat and studying the environmental and economic impacts of data centers.”

Environmental NGO Food & Water Watch, which promised to ramp up its data center opposition campaign in January, was one of the organizations backing the bill.

“Governor Hochul must sign this hyperscale data center moratorium immediately. In so doing, she would demonstrate New York’s leadership on this critical issue rapidly consuming the country,” said Food & Water Watch’s managing director of organizing Emily Wurth.

Hochul has previously cast doubt on a state-wide approach to data center regulation, according to a report by EnergyWire.

“This is a local decision for municipalities. It's land use, which is the purview of local governments. It’s not a statewide approach necessarily, but it’s something I’m looking at intensely,” she told reporters on May 28.

But Hochul has come out in support of state-wide ratepayer protection plans in the past.

Hochul spokesperson Kristin Devoe told Politico last week that “the governor will review the bill.”

New York is not the first American state to pass a state-wide data center moratorium. LD307, which would have imposed a moratorium on government accepting applications related to data centers offering more than 20MW of capacity, was vetoed by the governor of Maine, Janet Mills, after it passed both legislative houses on April 14.

Other states also trying to impose a state-wide moratorium include Georgia, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New York, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Vermont, Virginia, and Wisconsin.