September 21, 2026
SACRAMENTO – Governor Newsom on September 21, 2026 signed seven bills to strengthen California’s approach to data centers — requiring data centers to report about water and electricity use. The bills help protect California’s innovation economy while ensuring Californians have a say regarding proposed projects in their communities.
As President Donald Trump dismisses Americans’ concerns about the growing emergence of data centers in their communities, California is enacting new laws to increase transparency and prevent working families from shouldering the costs. The laws give communities more information about energy, water, workforce, and land use for proposed data centers so they can better weigh the economic costs and benefits of such projects.
“While the Trump administration moves toward deregulation, communities are left to deal with the consequences — higher electricity demand, grid constraints, water use, and pollution. Today we are once again laying the groundwork for a stronger approach, because we know that we don’t have to sell out Californians or sacrifice our well-being to innovate and succeed. California has proven that time and time again, said California Governor Gavin Newsom. “With these laws, we are ensuring that Californians remain in the driver’s seat — and that those profiting from data centers aren’t doing so at our expense.”
As the innovation economy continues to grow, data centers are being presented as a solution, but with little thought or oversight of what that means for nearby communities. Today’s announcement helps communities take a stronger role in the decision-making process and protects working families from shouldering the cost as industry reaps massive profits.
“Communities across California and the nation are increasingly concerned about skyrocketing utility bills due to the rapid growth of data centers and their energy use. Data centers not only use large amounts of electricity, but they can cause utilities to make infrastructure upgrades to handle the increased power demand. Governor Newsom’s signing of my SB 1168 helps ensure that data centers absorb the costs of their energy use and any utility upgrades they require, not ratepayers,” said Senator Jerry McNerney (D-Pleasanton)
California is implementing stronger reporting requirements, giving communities more information about the water, electricity, and land use of proposed data centers.
These are some of the nation’s strongest data center ratepayer protections – stopping Big Tech from sticking California families with the bill for their data centers while ensuring all local voices have a say on these projects and they comply with our air, water, and climate standards. Big Tech keeps promising to be good neighbors and these laws now make those promises legally enforceable. No more saying one thing in the White House and doing the opposite in our local communities. I’m incredibly grateful to Governor Newsom for signing these nation-leading protections for ratepayers and our environment into law,”said Senator Steve Padilla (D-San Diego).
Assemblymember Rebecca Bauer-Kahan (D-Orinda): “Thank you, Governor Newsom, for signing AB 1577. AB 1577 is a huge step forward in prioritizing California’s ratepayers and helping California move toward a more sustainable energy future. This will give us the transparency needed for the state and local communities to be in control of the future here in California. It allows us to understand the growing energy demands of data centers, the impact on local communities, plan for that growth, and protect California’s ratepayers. California continues to put our people first.”
Assemblymember Rick Chavez Zbur (D-Hollywood): “As California continues to lead the world in innovation, we must ensure that working families and small businesses are not left footing the bill for data centers’ enormous energy demands. Assembly Bill 2383 ensures these large energy users pay their fair share of the costs needed to serve them, protects ratepayers from unfair cost shifts, and helps California responsibly plan for the future of our electrical grid while reducing electricity costs for consumers.”
Assemblymember Diane Papan (D-San Mateo): “These bills are essential for the future of water management in California and I am grateful for the Governor’s partnership. In signing both of these bills, Governor Newsom has positioned California to balance innovation and sustainability.”
With these new laws, California is helping to ensure that communities have more information they need to decide whether data centers are right for them, including:
⚡Electricity, by making data centers pay their fair share of grid update costs, while preventing cost shifts to low-income customers. The new laws will also ensure data centers comply with California energy procurement requirements, bring new clean energy supply onto the grid, and pay for any upgrade costs. This legislation will prevent data centers from shifting costs onto everyday ratepayers.
🚰Water, by requiring that proposed data centers provide information to local governments and water suppliers about water use, supply, efficiency and drought planning. Any upgrades needed to supply water would be paid for by the data center.
🏞️Land use, by making data centers ineligible for blanket environmental exemptions and instead requiring data centers to demonstrate that the project will not shift costs to ratepayers, but will meet state standards on energy, water, and fuel consumption before any judicial streamlining could be approved.
The Governor has signed the following bills:
- AB 1577 by Assemblymember Rebecca Bauer-Kahan (D-Orinda). Data centers: reporting
- AB 2383 by Assemblymember Rick Chavez Zbur (D-Hollywood). Electricity: data centers.
- AB 2469 by Assemblymember Diane Papan (D-San Mateo). Data centers: water use disclosures.
- AB 2619 by Assemblymember Diane Papan (D-San Mateo). Water resources: data center.
- SB 886 by Senator Steve Padilla (D-San Diego) and Senator Jerry McNerney (D-Pleasanton). California Technology Innovation and Ratepayer Protection Act.
- SB 887 by Senator Steve Padilla (D-San Diego). California Environmental Quality Act: environmental leadership development projects: data centers: geothermal power plant projects.
- SB 1168 by Senator Jerry McNerney (D-Pleasanton). Data centers: Rate structures.
