Governor Gavin Newsom signed seven bills that establish California's first comprehensive data center regulations, requiring data centers to report water and electricity use to local governments. The laws expand state oversight of data center development while giving communities more information about energy, water, and land use impacts of proposed projects.
The regulations require data centers to pay their fair share of grid upgrade costs, preventing expenses from shifting to low-income customers and ensuring projects comply with California energy procurement requirements. Data centers must also provide information to local water suppliers and governments about water use, supply, efficiency and drought planning, with any required water supply upgrades paid for by the data center operator.
The laws make data centers ineligible for blanket environmental exemptions, requiring projects to demonstrate they will not shift costs to ratepayers and will meet state standards on energy, water, and fuel consumption before receiving streamlining approvals. The bills signed are AB 1577, AB 2383, AB 2469, AB 2619, SB 886, SB 887, and SB 1168, according to the governor's office.