Data centers are a threat to communities across Texas. Data centers are exposing people to pollution that is harmful to public health while also consuming an extraordinary amount of water, electricity and land.

A moratorium would serve as a necessary pause to prevent irreversible loss while long-term solutions are developed. During this time, state and local governments must ensure that the future of Texas resources are not decided by corporations. Decisions of this magnitude require the input of local agricultural leaders, groundwater conservation officials, and community experts. Local governments require a pause in order to create these processes for participatory decision making. The leadership of people and communities who are most affected should be centered in this moratorium process.

The people demand that Governor Greg Abbott’s office immediately:
1. Enact an indefinite moratorium on the application, permits, planning, approval and building of data centers across the state. This includes all pending, paused, and new data center developments and ancillary infrastructure.
2. Maintain the moratorium until local democratic processes are created to address the need for public decisionmaking in the approval of local development, including data center proposals.
3. Extend the moratorium until the Texas Legislative Session prioritizes passing people-first policy around data center development and strengthens local autonomy

Governor Abbott, you have the power to call for a statewide moratorium. Your constituents need to have a voice in the process, and the only way to do that is by halting the development of these projects.