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HB1265 • 2026

prohibiting the construction of data centers in the state and establishing a committee to study the environmental impact of data centers.

prohibiting the construction of data centers in the state and establishing a committee to study the environmental impact of data centers.

Passed Legislature

This bill passed both chambers and reached final enrollment, even if later executive action is not shown here.

Sponsor
Peter Schmidt (D), Wendy Thomas (D), Tony Caplan (D)
Last action
2026-03-11
Official status
HOUSE
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

Using official source text because the generated explanation was unavailable or could not be confirmed against the official bill text.

prohibiting the construction of data centers in the state and establishing a committee to study the environmental impact of data centers.

prohibiting the construction of data centers in the state and establishing a committee to study the environmental impact of data centers.

What This Bill Does

  • prohibiting the construction of data centers in the state and establishing a committee to study the environmental impact of data centers.

Limits and Unknowns

  • This entry is temporarily using official source text because the generated explanation could not be confirmed against the official bill text during the last sync.

Bill History

  1. 2026-03-11 H

    Inexpedient to Legislate: MA VV 03/11/2026 HJ 7 P. 10

  2. 2026-03-02 H

    Committee Report: Inexpedient to Legislate 02/18/2026 (Vote 15-0; CC) HC 10 P. 7

  3. 2026-02-11 H

    Full Committee Work Session: 02/18/2026 10:00 am GP 229

  4. 2026-02-11 H

    Executive Session: 02/18/2026 01:00 pm GP 229

  5. 2026-02-05 H

    Public Hearing: 02/11/2026 11:00 am GP 229

  6. 2025-12-01 H

    Introduced 01/07/2026 and referred to Commerce and Consumer Affairs HJ 1 P. 13

Official Summary Text

prohibiting the construction of data centers in the state and establishing a committee to study the environmental impact of data centers.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text 
HB 1265 - AS INTRODUCED

2026 SESSION
26-2482
04/09

HOUSE BILL
1265

AN ACT
prohibiting the construction of data centers in the state and establishing a committee to study the environmental impact of data centers.

SPONSORS: Rep. Schmidt, Straf. 14; Rep. W. Thomas, Hills. 12; Rep. Caplan, Merr. 8

COMMITTEE: Commerce and Consumer Affairs

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ANALYSIS

This bill prohibits the construction of data centers in New Hampshire and establishes a committee to study the environmental impact of data centers.

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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in
bold italics.
Matter removed from current law appears [
in brackets and struckthrough.
]
Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
26-2482
04/09

STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twenty-Six

AN ACT
prohibiting the construction of data centers in the state and establishing a committee to study the environmental impact of data centers.

Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:

1 Moratorium on Construction of Data Centers.
No person, business, or entity shall begin construction of a new data center in the state of New Hampshire from the effective date of this act through one year following. For the purposes of this section, "data center" means a facility consisting of a large group of networked computer servers used for the remote storage, processing, or distribution of large amounts of data.

2 Committee Established. There is established a committee to study the environmental impact of data centers being built in New Hampshire.

3 Membership and Compensation.
I. The members of the committee shall be as follows:
(a) Three members of the house of representatives, appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives.
(b) One member of the senate, appointed by the president of the senate.
II. Members of the committee shall receive mileage at the legislative rate when attending to the duties of the committee.

4 Duties. The committee shall study the environmental impact of data centers.

5 Chairperson; Quorum. The members of the study committee shall elect a chairperson from among the members. The first meeting of the committee shall be called by the first-named house member. The first meeting of the committee shall be held within 45 days of the effective date of this section. Three members of the committee shall constitute a quorum.

6 Report. The committee shall report its findings and any recommendations for proposed legislation to the speaker of the house of representatives, the president of the senate, the house clerk, the senate clerk, the governor, and the state library on or before November 1, 2025, and shall submit a final report on or before November 1, 2026.

7 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.