Health & Environment Quiet since Jul 20 Updated Jul 20, 2026
The data center moratorium
Gov. Hochul signed a first-in-the-nation executive order pausing state permits for data centers using 50 or more megawatts, for up to a year, to shield New Yorkers from utility bill spikes while regulators write new rules on water and energy use. The fight now turns on a stricter 20-megawatt Legislature bill Hochul has not signed, and on whether she follows through on repealing data centers' sales-tax exemptions.
The story so far
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Jul 20, 2026 Latest
The Partnership for New York City, the city's largest business lobby, came out against Gov. Hochul's one-year data center moratorium, warning the pause would push AI investment to other states, the Post reported.
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Jul 16, 2026
Republican gubernatorial challenger Bruce Blakeman called Gov. Hochul's data center moratorium crazy and vowed to scrap it if elected, and President Trump separately called the pause a terrible decision.
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Jul 15, 2026
The Assembly speaker's office said it remains hopeful Gov. Hochul will still sign the Legislature's own data center bill, which sets a stricter 20-megawatt threshold, despite her narrower 50-megawatt executive order. Hochul's order exempts hospital, school, and bank back-office data centers from the moratorium.
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Jul 14, 2026
Gov. Hochul signed an executive order pausing state environmental permits for data centers of 50 megawatts or more, for up to a year, the first statewide moratorium of its kind in the country, to let the Department of Public Service write rules on water and energy use while operators pay a premium or build their own power supply. Her order is narrower than a 20-megawatt threshold bill the Legislature already passed, which she has not signed, and she said she will push in January to repeal data centers' sales-tax exemptions.
Politics | Spectrum News NY1 
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