New Yorkers already pay some of the highest electric bills in the country. We can’t afford to let a handful of mega corporations drive those even higher, while stripping away our natural resources. 

That’s why I support the one- year pause on large-scale data centers introduced by Senator Gonzalez and Assemblymember Barrett. This is a common sense timeout, so that the State can do its homework before these facilities lock in higher costs for the rest of us. 

Data centers are enormous resource drains. They pull in immense amounts of electricity and water. They strain the grid and pass that cost onto families and small businesses who are already paying too much. And, for all that trouble, they create very few permanent local jobs once they’re built. 

I like that this bill asks more than “wait.” It pushes new data centers toward renewable energy, it requires companies to fund projects that actually benefit the towns hosting them. I also like that this bill requires the Department of Environmental Conservation to prepare an environmental impact report on data centers within 18 months.

I've heard the argument that this should be left to local governments. I'm a Village Trustee. I believe in local control. But the electric grid doesn't stop at the town line. A project two counties over can raise the bill for a family in Catskill or a farm in Schoharie. No village board can fix that alone. This is exactly the kind of problem a statewide pause is built for.

We've seen this play before. When New York paused fossil-fueled crypto mining in 2022, critics warned of economic ruin. It didn't happen.

This is exactly the type of action I would support in the Assembly, I call on the Legislature to pass this bill, and I urge Governor Hochul to sign it.