GLAA-LA-002 / LEGISLATIVE ANALYSIS / NOVEMBER 14, 2026 / VERSION 1.0
Independent • Nonpartisan • Public-Minded. An evidence-based comparative analysis of U.S. Senate S. 4213 and prefiled Texas legislation affecting data centers, electric-grid reliability, water stewardship, local governance, and public accountability.
Executive summary
Federal and Texas lawmakers are considering distinct responses to the rapid development of large-scale data centers. Legislative questions go beyond whether these facilities should be built: how electric infrastructure is financed, whether regional water planning adequately anticipates cooling demand, what information should be public, which agencies and local governments should review development, and how incentives should be evaluated.
Current status, as of November 14, 2026: Federal S. 4213 remains introduced and referred to the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Texas bills analyzed below were prefiled in November 2026 for the 90th Regular Session, which convenes January 12, 2027. They are not enacted laws. Existing Texas laws—including the 2025 Senate Bill 6 framework for large electric loads and the Texas Water Development Board's water-use survey authorities—remain the relevant baseline.
Central finding: Federal S. 4213 would establish data-center energy and water reporting for facilities with peak demand of at least 25 megawatts. Texas House Bill 529 would apply to covered data centers with at least 75 megawatts of aggregate demand or at least 300,000 gallons of water obtained in any consecutive 30-day period. Texas SB 33 addresses electricity cost allocation; SB 34 addresses county siting powers; SB 35 addresses confidential ERCOT-to-TWDB information sharing; SB 36 and SB 293 address incentives, and HB 706 addresses public input before certain local development agreements. These are not interchangeable provisions.
1. Exact versions and legislative stages reviewed
- Federal S. 4213: 119th Congress, introduced-in-Senate (IS) text of March 25, 2026; referred to Energy and Natural Resources; not enacted.
- Texas SB 32, SB 33, SB 34, SB 35 and SB 36: 90(R), original filed/introduced versions, filed November 9, 2026; not enacted.
- Texas HB 529 and HB 706: 90(R), original introduced versions, filed November 9, 2026; not enacted.
- Texas SB 293: 90(R), original introduced version, filed November 9, 2026; not enacted.
This report does not treat legislative captions, sponsor statements, or filed language as enacted requirements. It identifies when the analysis is based on a sponsor description rather than the operative text of a bill.
2. What the proposals would do
Federal energy and water transparency: S. 4213
S. 4213 would collect monthly electricity and water-use measures; the sources of water; behind-the-meter power methods; energy and water-use effectiveness; and five-year demand and efficiency projections. States would ordinarily collect information, with a federal reporting route involving EPA, the Department of Energy, and the Department of Agriculture where no qualifying state program exists. Affected local governments could request data, while public federal reports would use aggregate information and protect proprietary details. The proposal also specifies possible enforcement and fees. Official introduced bill text.
Texas electricity reliability and costs: SB 32 and SB 33
SB 32's official filed caption concerns a PUCT permit for large computational-load construction, including penalties, and its sponsor describes coordination with TCEQ. SB 33 proposes allocating transmission costs attributable to computational-load sites to a separate rate class, in addition to existing interconnection-cost recovery rules. A proper cost-benefit analysis would distinguish new project-specific upgrades from costs already recovered under existing tariffs. SB 33 introduced text and Texas Senate sponsor description.
Texas local authority and public engagement: SB 34 and HB 706
SB 34 would authorize new county zoning districts for certain large computational loads in unincorporated areas, including public hearings, land-use review, water and wastewater impacts, noise, buffering and mitigation. It expressly preserves state control over electric rates and interconnection. HB 706 would require at least five public hearings and voter approval before a municipality enters certain Chapter 380 data-center development agreements; it should not be described as a statewide voter approval requirement for every data center. SB 34 and HB 706.
Texas water stewardship and confidentiality: SB 35 and HB 529
SB 35 would require ERCOT to share large-load information with TWDB for planning, but would shield the shared information from public disclosure under Texas Government Code Chapter 552. HB 529 would instead create a more extensive water reporting and disclosure program administered by TCEQ: covered facilities would register, prepare water-resource impact assessments and conservation plans, identify source and discharge information, provide monthly reporting, and participate in information hearings and comment processes. The HB 529 version reviewed does not itself create new water rights or an approval process for water permits. SB 35 and HB 529 (PDF).
Texas economic incentives: SB 36 and SB 293
SB 36 would place restrictions on certain municipal/county development agreements, abatements, and overlapping exemptions. SB 293 goes further by proposing repeal of qualifying data-center state sales/use-tax exemption provisions and termination of qualifying exemptions on its effective date. These proposals have different financial and transition effects. The existing Comptroller certification framework remains operative unless law changes. SB 36; SB 293 (PDF); Texas Comptroller rules and eligibility.
3. What current law already does
Texas SB 6, effective June 20, 2025, created an existing framework for large-load planning, interconnection, operations and cost recovery in ERCOT. Texas Water Code §16.012 supports TWDB's water-use survey process. Texas Tax Code §§151.359 and 151.3595 provide existing qualifying sales/use-tax exemptions. These statutes make accurate baseline analysis essential: a proposed bill may expand, narrow, or change an already-active obligation. SB 6 enrolled summary; TWDB 2026 survey.
4. What the evidence does and does not show
ERCOT's November 5, 2026 preliminary State and Community Impact RFI summary reported 433 responses from 465 data-center loads, representing approximately 177 gigawatts of requested interconnection capacity. That is not the same as operating electricity consumption or a guarantee that all projects will be built. ERCOT identified incomplete details for projects at earlier development stages and targeted a final report for December 10, 2026. ERCOT preliminary report (PDF).
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory's June 2026 U.S. Data Center Energy Usage Report update models an 11.8% reference-case share of U.S. electricity consumption by 2030, with a wider modeled range of 9.5%–15.3%. This is a national scenario, not a measured Texas load or site-level forecast. LBNL report.
5. Relevant perspectives
- Economic development: project investment, skill development, and technology infrastructure are relevant potential benefits; the costs and additionality of tax incentives require independent evaluation.
- Reliability and ratepayers: cost-causation rules can prevent transfers of attributable costs to other users but may be administratively complex and should account for canceled projects.
- Water resource planning: facility-level information may improve drought and wastewater assessments, while reporting should distinguish withdrawal, consumption, return, reuse, and purchased water.
- Local participation: neighbors and service providers need accessible information on noise, land use, roads, fire response, electricity, and water, while overlapping processes can increase approval complexity.
- Commercial confidentiality: public records should be meaningful without disclosing legally protected operational or security information; SB 35 and HB 529 offer different approaches.
6. GLAA's institutional review framework
- Legal and legislative mapping: bill identifier, filed version, committee action, existing statute, agency authority, and conditional effective dates.
- Demand verification: separate requests and applications from active loads, and document projected dates and utility commitments.
- Water accounting: track sources, direct withdrawals, purchased water, actual consumption, returns, reuse, and wastewater, including drought sensitivity.
- Fiscal accountability: distinguish cost attribution, existing tariffs, state/local incentives, permanent jobs, and verifiable outcomes.
- Information governance: identify source documents, permissible confidentiality, data quality, corrections, and public access.
- Public involvement: use plain-language briefings, accessible hearings, traceable public comments and documented agency responses.
7. Next review milestones
GLAA should review ERCOT's planned December 10, 2026 final RFI report if issued; assess Texas committee referrals and changes after the January 12, 2027 opening of the 90th Legislature; and track any changes to federal S. 4213. Future revisions should show exactly what changed, cite the enacted version if a measure becomes law, and update administrative deadlines. The November 2026 findings are a dated snapshot, not a prediction of legislative outcomes.
Full publication and source notes
The downloadable report contains an expanded executive summary, introduced-version legislative status table, comparative policy matrix, implementation checklist and 20 primary-source and verification links. Read the complete GLAA-LA-002 report (PDF, 10 pages).
Author: Governmental Liaison Alliance Agency (GLAA), institutional working-paper author. Research cutoff: November 14, 2026. Editorial status: Initial working publication, subject to correction and institutional review; not a formally board-adopted policy position. This is public education and institutional planning material, not legal or technical advice or evidence of governmental endorsement.
To request an executive briefing, accessible version, or correction: executiveoffice@glaagency.org.