Hochul and Ocasio-Cortez Appear Together to Promote State Data Center Pause

Gov. Kathy Hochul and U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez appeared together Tuesday, Oct. 6, at a Dutchess County farm to promote New York's pause on state permits for large data centers. Ocasio-Cortez, who has introduced a bill for a national moratorium, praised the state's move.

Hochul, Ocasio-Cortez and U.S. Rep. Pat Ryan toured Fishkill Farms in East Fishkill and held a roundtable with farmers, advocates and business owners on the effects of hyperscale data centers, the governor's office said.

Hochul signed Executive Order 62 on July 14. It directs the state Department of Environmental Conservation to hold applications for discretionary permits for new or expanded data centers that use or can use 50 megawatts or more until the Department of Public Service finishes a statewide environmental review. The governor's office says the pause lasts up to a year. Permits issued by local governments are not covered.

"Our job is not to protect the profits of billion-dollar corporations," Hochul said at the event. "My job is to protect New Yorkers." She said the state will require data centers to supply their own power or pay a premium to use the grid, under rules the Public Service Commission is developing, and that she is pursuing legislation to end state sales tax exemptions for large data centers.

The East Fishkill Town Board passed its own three-year moratorium on data centers in June after residents objected to a proposed project that Hochul said would need 1 gigawatt of power.

Ocasio-Cortez introduced a bill in the House in June, the Artificial Intelligence Data Center Moratorium Act, which would halt construction of new data centers and expansion of existing ones until Congress passes broader rules on artificial intelligence. Sen. Bernie Sanders sponsors the Senate version. With no planned Congressional legislation on AI rules, this bill would represent an indefinite halt to data center construction nationwide. It is estimated that AI investment is presently driving 3% growth to GDP, which when removed would put the US economy into a recession.

"In July, Governor Hochul took action to protect farmers and working New Yorkers by instituting a one-year moratorium on data center construction," Ocasio-Cortez said in a statement released by the governor's office. It isn't clear how a moratorium on data center construction "workers" in New York, as many workers are needed for the very construction the Governor has halted.

The appearance came four weeks before the Nov. 3 election, in which Hochul faces Republican Bruce Blakeman, the Nassau County executive. Ocasio-Cortez said Blakeman "wants to turn over the state to data centers with no protections for communities." Hochul said the two are aligned on affordability.