Maryland bill to study impact of data centers takes effect after state lawmakers override Gov Moore's veto

A bill vetoed by Maryland Governor Wes Moore mandating a study on the environmental, energy, and economic impacts of data center development in the state has gone into effect after state lawmakers overrode the veto. The bill, which was initially introduced in 2024, requires that the Department of the Environment assess potential impacts of data centers in the state on things such as air and water quality, Chesapeake Bay restoration goals, and technologies that could be available to mitigate the environmental impacts of data centers.

The Maryland Energy Administration is required to assess the energy requirements that such data centers would require, the impacts these energy requirements would have on state energy demand and supply, and impacts on the "state’s ability to meet greenhouse gas emissions reduction commitments and clean energy goals."

The University of Maryland School of Business and industry experts will be required to assess the impact of data centers on state and local revenues and expenditures, and jobs that could be created in the building and running of data centers. 

In May, the bill was vetoed by Maryland Governor Wes Moore, who wrote, "Our current budget situation requires us to reconsider bills that create expensive and labor intensive studies. While such bills can be a first step to addressing complex issues and allow the signaling of support for an issue, the practice has become so commonplace that it is now a significant financial and staff burden on the state government."

He noted that prior to the 2025 legislative session, the Department of Legislative Services "was tracking a total of 3,901 mandated reports, a number which excludes the reports required annually by the Joint Chairmen’s Report. Many of these reports are never read and simply collect dust on shelves, but nonetheless, executive branch agencies are required to dedicate funding and staff time to each, in many cases, with restrictions on their budget appropriations if they fail to comply." He estimated that the cost to do these reports "runs to the tens of millions of dollars."

The bill went into effect on December 16, 2025 after the House voted 111-23 and the Senate voted 43-0 to override the veto. 

Data centers have come under fire recently, with the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) warning that demand from new data centers could outpace supply in the country. "New data centers for artificial intelligence and the digital economy account for most of the projected increase in North American electricity demand over the next 10 years," NERC said. Several parts of the country could be at "high risk" for energy shortfalls by the end of the decade, with NERC estimating that this could be an issue for the Mid-Atlantic region starting in 2029.