Coleman, Walsh Seek to Combat Data Center Spread

May 27, 2026

HARRISBURG – Sen. Jarrett Coleman (R-Bucks/Lehigh) and Rep. Jamie Walsh (R-Luzerne) have introduced a package of bills in the Senate and the House of Representatives to repeal the tax break being given to data centers to locate in Pennsylvania and allowing municipalities to place a moratorium on data center development applications.

“The proliferation of huge data centers in the Lehigh Valley and other regions of our state is extremely concerning because their massive energy use, water use and noise output can impact residents,” said Coleman. “Rep. Walsh and I want to give our communities the opportunity to press the pause button on further development so they can adjust zoning policies to mitigate these concerns.”

“As a Commonwealth, our local municipalities need to be in the driver’s seat when it comes to protecting their residents from development projects that pose significant risks to health, resource supply and residents’ way of life,” said Walsh. “The legislation Sen. Coleman and I have crafted empowers our local communities to create ordinances to regulate these projects on their terms without fear of litigation.”

Coleman and Walsh introduced the following bills:

Senate Bill 1344 and House Bill 2532 would repeal the state Computer Data Center Equipment Exemption program enacted in 2021, which incentivizes data centers to locate in Pennsylvania by exempting computer data center equipment from the Sales and Use Tax when it is sold to, used or consumed in a certified data center by an owner, operator or qualified tenant.

The bills also direct the resulting revenue to the Motor License Fund for the sole purpose of reducing the Oil Company Franchise Tax, a tax that adds about 58 cents to every gallon of gas and 74 cents to every gallon of diesel fuel purchased in Pennsylvania.

Senate Bill 1345 and House Bill 2533 would give municipalities the option of placing an 18-month moratorium on both unapproved and new data center applications so they can revise zoning ordinances and establish policies addressing issues like power supply, water consumption, noise and setbacks which they determine protect the community’s interests.

Currently, municipalities, which decide local land use policies, are struggling to fully understand the myriads of environmental and community impacts of this new industry while also reviewing and revising their zoning ordinances to keep up with the influx of interest from data center developers. The optional moratorium in Senate Bill 1345 and House Bill 2533 would help alleviate this problem.

“While we all appreciate the technological advances that are driving the development of new data centers, I am certain most Pennsylvanians want a more thoughtful approach to where and under what requirements they can operate and don’t want to subsidize them with tax incentives,” said Coleman. “The bills Rep. Walsh and I partnered on will do just that.”

“As a legislator, I took an oath to the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. With this legislation, Sen. Coleman and I are working to fulfill this obligation under Article 1, Section 27, which reads ‘The people have a right to clean air, pure water, and to the preservation of the natural, scenic, historic and esthetic values of the environment. Pennsylvania’s public natural resources are the common property of all the people, including generations yet to come. As trustee of these resources, the Commonwealth shall conserve and maintain them for the benefit of all the people.’”

All legislation introduced by Coleman can be viewed at palegis.us/senate/members/bio/2008/sen-coleman.

All legislation introduced by Walsh can be viewed at palegis.us/house/members/bio/2032/rep-walsh.

Representative Jamie Walsh
117th Legislative District
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Media Contact: Tricia Lehman
717.772.9840
tlehman@pahousegop.com
RepWalsh.com / Facebook.com/RepJamieWalsh