Gov. Wes Moore laid out a data center policy plan Wednesday aimed at protecting Marylanders’ wallets and the environment, even as he steered clear of the statewide pauses enacted by some other governors.
Moore’s proposal, made by executive order, outlines uniform standards for reviewing new data center projects, establishes a task force within the governor’s office to help steer data center decision-making and creates a dashboard for tracking projects and their environmental impacts.
The announcement comes as concerns about data center growth and the artificial intelligence industry they power have become a top political issue. Most Maryland counties have instituted their own development pauses in recent months, and the governor’s decision to forgo a statewide moratorium underscores his view that local officials should lead the way on data center decisions.
“The state will not go around a local community’s ‘no,’” Moore said at a news conference announcing his order.
Moore also pledged to work with lawmakers to repeal a broad tax exemption for data centers that was approved by the General Assembly in 2020. According to a recent report from the watchdog group Good Jobs First, that exemption cost Maryland $22 million in forgone revenues in 2026 alone.
The governor’s administration has previously defended that exemption, offered by dozens of states. In February, Moore’s Commerce Department argued to lawmakers that ending it would “send a message to businesses, site selection consultants and others, that they are not welcome in Maryland.”
A first-term Democrat, Moore made data centers part of his plan to boost Maryland’s economy and reduce the state’s reliance on jobs in the federal government, healthcare and education.
Still, Moore argued Wednesday that the state must institute stricter policies on data centers, a shift he attributed to rapid expansion in the scale and number of proposed server farms. The order comes days after Moore told political news site Punchbowl that if the legislature approves a statewide moratorium or ban, he will “absolutely” sign it.
What’s in the order?
Moore’s 19-page order lays out standards for the state’s review of data center proposals and establishes a vetting process under the new task force to assess projects’ impacts on land and water, effects on energy costs, potential community benefits packages and other criteria.
The task force, composed of governor-appointed cabinet leaders, would issue verdicts on data center proposals. While many counties have pumped the brakes on data centers, Moore said that state standards would set a high bar in jurisdictions hoping to court development.
The order also bars state agencies from entering into nondisclosure agreements with developers — a practice that has drawn intense blowback at the county level.
Earlier this year, the Democratic-controlled General Assembly passed guardrails for data center developers, but this session lawmakers are expected to weigh moratoriums.
More than a dozen local governments have already taken that step. Counties from the deep-blue Washington, D.C., suburbs to the conservative Eastern Shore have enacted moratoriums of varying lengths, while Republican-led Harford County approved the state’s first indefinite ban in June.
Michael Sanderson, executive director of the Maryland Association of Counties, said he was still reviewing the executive order but had heard from local leaders that they were pleased the governor “went out of his way” to include them in decision-making.
Environmental groups, meanwhile, had mixed reviews. Leadership of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation called the order “a step in the right direction.”
Still, Mike Tidwell, a longtime climate advocate and director of the Chesapeake Climate Action Network, criticized the governor for not enacting a statewide pause.
The principles outlined in the executive order are mostly sound, Tidwell said, but the state will need time to implement strong guardrails against the fast-moving industry. Without a moratorium, he argued, local leaders will be left to fend for themselves as their own stoppages expire.
“If the governor would pick up the phone and talk to county council members around this state, that’s what they would tell him,” Tidwell said.
A national trend
Wednesday’s executive order also comes as governors across the country have raced to outline stricter data center policies in recent months.
Some of those governors have enacted sweeping development stoppages: In July, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul signed a one-year pause on hyperscale data centers. And on Tuesday, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott paused reviews of all data center permits.
Others, like Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger and California Gov. Gavin Newsom, have laid out policies in recent weeks to tighten restrictions on data centers and crack down on their use of land, water and energy.
Compared to the actions of governors like Spanberger and Abbott, Tidwell said Moore’s step amounts to “a thoughtful executive order without a hammer.”
Two of Moore’s opponents in November’s race for governor, Republican Dan Cox and Green Party candidate Andy Ellis, have called for data center bans and argued that the new order fell short of the mark. Candidate for the Working Class Party Cathy White, through her running mate Cathy Permut, said they remain “skeptical” the benefits of emerging technologies will be shared equitably.
Moore painted his order Wednesday as a response to President Donald Trump, who, the governor said, “granted Big Tech free rein to write their own rules.” The president has dismissed the national data center backlash against artificial intelligence as a “hoax” and has attempted to roll back federal regulations on the industry.
But the governor’s deference to county authority also contrasts with his approach to other hot-button issues, such as housing and solar development, where his administration has looked to override local restrictions. Asked what makes data centers different, the governor said he’s finding that working alongside local leaders is often the “only legal” route.
“I think we have learned over these past three years that a lot of those things are local issues as well,” he said, “some of which to my chagrin.”
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