Borrello: Hochul May Wait Until After Election to Sign Data Center Moratorium Bill

A piece of legislation that awaits Governor Kathy Hochul's signature would impose a one-year moratorium on permits for new, large data centers across New York State. However, a local state lawmaker doesn't expect her to sign it -- at least not right away. During Wednesday's State of the State Legislature event in Dunkirk, Senator George Borrello indicated that Hochul may wait until after the November election before taking any action on the Responsible Data Center Development Act. Borrello noted that labor unions oppose the bill...

George Borrello: organized labor is opposed to the bill

The Sunset Bay Republican's stance on the issue is that local governments -- not the state -- should decide whether a data center would be good for their communities. He also pointed out that the moratorium would not include Empire AI, which was a major part of Hochul's budget message in 2024...

George Borrello: states can have data centers

Among the bill's major flaws, according to Borrello, is that it calls for an unspecified study, the results of which would not be available for 18 months. He feels that it's among the many pieces of legislation passed at the end of this year's legislative session that distract from what he calls the "poor leadership" in Albany.

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