Gina Hinojosa, the Democrat running for Texas governor, used a Tuesday press conference in Dallas to argue that residents should have a say before data centers are built near their homes, and called on lawmakers to write new protections into state law.
Hinojosa faulted Gov. Greg Abbott, her Republican opponent, for the industry's fast growth in Texas, which she tied to tax breaks and other incentives. "There's no protections for people to have a seat at the table to decide if and how they come into their communities. There is no protection for water or electricity costs," she said. "We are left to fend for ourselves under Greg Abbott, and people are big mad in Texas about the data centers."
Abbott's position
Abbott, who earlier welcomed the artificial intelligence industry, has moved toward tighter limits, FOX 4 reported. In July he said he wants to ban data centers in rural Texas neighborhoods, and in August he ordered a pause on some data center approvals.
"We must prohibit them from building AI data centers in rural Texas neighborhoods, and we must eliminate the tax break they are getting," Abbott said at a campaign stop in Bullard. "They must be responsible for funding their own projects here in Texas."
The governor's office has pointed to a letter Abbott sent in June to the state's Public Utility Commission and to ERCOT, the grid operator, as evidence he is willing to work with legislators. Among the ideas in that letter was having the Legislature repeal sales tax exemptions for the facilities.
