On January 23, Director of Intergovernmental Relations Dominic Butchko testified before the Ways and Means Committee in support of HB 270 – Data Center Impact and Analysis Report with amendments. This bill requires certain departments within the State Administration to conduct an impact analysis of the data center industry on Maryland.
Recognizing the need for a delicate balance between competing priorities, counties request the Maryland Department of the Environment’s analysis to include a review of the impact of data centers on agricultural and conserved lands.
Data centers in neighboring Virginia have had a significant impact on that economy, providing predictable revenue streams, offering job opportunities, and driving technological growth. For Maryland, the sensibly managed growth of the data center industry may yield a similarly beneficial result. However, without a deeper understanding of this new industry’s indirect effects, data centers’ environmental and infrastructure challenges could outweigh their benefits over time.
HB 270’s cross-file, SB 116, was heard on February 13 in the Senate Education, Energy, and the Environment Committee. Dominic Butchko testified in support of this bill with amendments.
SB 116 was heard in the opposite chamber, the Economic Matters Committee, on March 25. MACo submitted written testimony in support of this bill with amendments.
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