Plain English Breakdown
The official source confirms the bill was vetoed and notes that it is unclear if lawmakers later overrode the veto.
Water resources rules for data centers
This law requires data center owners to tell their water suppliers how much water they expect or use before getting a business license, and it lets the state set different water-use standards for different types of data centers.
What This Bill Does
- Data center owners must give an estimate of expected water use to their water supplier before applying for a new city or county business permit.
- Owners must sign a statement under penalty of perjury on the application saying they gave that water-use estimate to their supplier.
- When renewing a license, data centers must tell their supplier how much water was used in the last year and confirm it with a signed statement.
- The Department of Water Resources can create different groups or tiers for data centers based on factors affecting water consumption.
- Each tier would have its own rules about water efficiency that cities and counties could follow.
Who It Names or Affects
- People who own or operate data centers in California
- Cities and counties that issue business licenses for these facilities
- Water suppliers that receive the usage estimates from data centers
Terms To Know
- perjury
- Lying on a legal document or in court, which is against the law.
- data center
- A building that holds large computers and stores information for companies like internet providers.
Limits and Unknowns
- The governor vetoed this bill, so the rules may not take effect unless lawmakers pass a new law to override the veto.
- This text does not say exactly when any final version of these rules would start working if they become active.