Photo by Geoffrey Moffett on Unsplash

The buzzword of the 2026 Georgia legislative session so far has been “affordability.” As costs continue to rise, legislators are focused on trying to create some financial relief for Georgia residents. This past week, multiple bills addressing data centers were introduced. Over the past few years, Georgia has seen a significant increase in the construction of Data Centers across the state. These centers are resource-hungry and don’t contribute many jobs to the economy, while taxpayers in nearby areas often face a lot of the electricity cost associated with operating them. Thus, bills regarding data centers attract attention from stakeholders concerned with affordability, but also those advocating for science and environmental concerns in Georgia.

Science for Georgia, a non-profit organization focused on advocating for science in public policy, posted a recap of the third week of legislation in the Georgia General Assembly on YouTube Shorts. Week three saw Environmental Justice Day on Jan 29th, and a lot of the bills discussed focused on data centers. The recap short mentions SB 34, sponsored by Chuck Hufstetler (R-52nd District), and SB 421, sponsored by RaShaun Kemp (D-38th District). Both of these bills address regulations on data centers’ electricity cost responsibility and the government disclosure of their use of natural resources, respectively.

These two flyers from the Georgia Coalition for Environmental Policy and Protection (GCEPP) go over SB 34 and HB 528, sponsored by Debbie Buckner (D-137th District). The GCEPP is a coalition of organizations aiming to protect and respond to environmental issues through legislation. The flyers are meant to educate Georgia residents on legislation regarding data centers and how they affect their daily lives. SB 34 focuses on ensuring data centers assume the full cost of electricity needed to operate, while HB 528 aims to create more transparency into the resource use and operation of data centers in the state.

In response to a data center construction surge, Georgia legislators have proposed seven bills to regulate the industry. Measures would end tax breaks, block costs from being passed to homeowners, and consider a temporary ban on new builds.

More: https://t.co/eafQa8MUS5

— FairCount.bsky.social (@faircount) February 3, 2026

Fair Count, a Georgia-based non-profit organization advocating for undercounted communities, shared this tweet recapping the 7 bills introduced during this session to address data centers. The post links to an article by Capitol Beat, a Georgia news organization, titled “Resistance to data centers fuels flood of Georgia bills targeting the industry”. The article goes into more detail about the construction of data centers in the state over the last few years, legislation in previous years, and some of the effects on Georgia taxpayers. It also provides an overview of the bills mentioned above, as well as SB 408, SB 410, and HB 1012, among others.