Newsom clamps down on California data centers as voters turn against the industry

Contributing sentiments towards policy:

62% : Arnab Pal, the executive director of Deploy Action, a nonprofit that promotes clean energy, told CalMatters the new laws are a good step toward preventing data centers from harming consumers through utility rate increases or environmental damage.
60% : Still, Pal said, more can be done to ensure such projects actually benefit everyday people through advancements to the electrical grid and the acceleration of clean energy infrastructure.
58% : " Newsom's signature on the new laws represents a significant departure from his actions on data centers last year, when he vetoed a water disclosure bill over concerns that regulation could stifle AI growth and signed into law only a single stripped-down environmental study bill.
53% : " Business interests that oppose the measures, like the Data Center Coalition -- which counts companies like Google, Microsoft and OpenAI among its members -- warn that further regulation could push the data center industry out of California.
49% : According to the latest figures from the Data Center Coalition, the industry contributed 665,500 jobs, more than $159 billion in economic activity, and $14.1 billion in federal, state, and local taxes in California in 2024.
33% : Newsom, in a written statement, contrasted the new regulations with President Donald Trump's hands-off approach to data centers and artificial intelligence.

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