Texas' next governor, Gina Hinojosa, has called for a longer data center moratorium in the state, followed by tighter regulation.

The Democratic governor-elect wants to extend an existing de facto moratorium from outgoing Republican Governor Greg Abbott, which she called "a scam."

Abbott was historically pro-data center but, amid record grid applications and a growing public anti-data center sentiment, began looking to limit the sector.

In August, Abbott directed the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) and the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) to undertake a comprehensive audit of all data center projects currently advancing through ERCOT’s interconnection process.

The following month, Abbott halted all new data center permits from the state’s environmental agency until the audit is completed.

“We weren’t really expecting it,” Raul Martynek, CEO of Dallas-based data center developer DataBank, told DCD at the time.

“The governor is addressing what you’re seeing in the country with pushback on data centers, and the fact that it is election season may have something to do with this because, from an issue perspective, it’s top of mind for voters."

ERCOT has said that it expects the review to end in December, but Hinojosa has claimed that the election-gambit will be reversed.

"A temporary moratorium is a scam because Abbott will likely lift it on November 4th, right after the election," she said ahead of the election (at time of writing, Abbott has not yet done this). "The only way Texans are protected is when real laws are passed."

Hinojosa has instead called for "an immediate moratorium on data centers to last until the legislature can meet to put in place real protections so Texans can have a seat at the table to decide if and how data centers come into their communities."

Ahead of the election, she said: "To show good faith after inviting data centers to Texas, Abbott must call a special session now. Otherwise, no one believes the arsonist will put out the fire."

Hinojosa campaigned against data center projects, holding a press conference in Red Oak, where Diode Ventures plans to build an 800-acre, 900MW facility. Diode has since withdrawn a data center proposal in Henderson, Texas.

“The people of Texas are being taken advantage of, in a big way, by corporations who are operating under no rules,” Hinojosa said in July.

“Data centers are coming in and doing as they please – they are guzzling up all our water, guzzling up all our electricity – and the people have no say. They have no power. That is the Wild West of data centers that Greg Abbott has created in Texas. People need relief.”

Hinojosa has outlined what she calls 'Texans First Data Center Priorities,' which will likely include legislation she hopes to pass following the moratorium.

It would require American union jobs, stop data center companies from using NDAs, force data center companies to prove households won’t pay more for electricity or water, stop subsidies, and make any water contract with data centers unenforceable if it threatens a community’s water supply.

Most critically, it would give local communities the right to vote on data center projects.

Across the US, locals voted overwhelmingly against data center projects and in favor of moratoriums. In exit polls, 56 percent of voters said AI data centers were a crucial or major factor in their congressional vote decision.