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HB3698 • 2025

Directs data centers to report water and electricity used to the Water Resources Department and the State Department of Energy.

Directs data centers to report water and electricity used to the Water Resources Department and the State Department of Energy.

Energy
Passed Legislature

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

Sponsor
Representative Scharf
Last action
2025-06-27
Official status
In House Committee
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.

Directs data centers to report water and electricity used to the Water Resources Department and the State Department of Energy.

Digest: This Act tells data centers to report how much water and electricity they use each quarter.

What This Bill Does

  • Digest: This Act tells data centers to report how much water and electricity they use each quarter.
  • The Act tells the EQC to adopt emissions rules for generators used at data centers.
  • (Flesch Readability Score: 60.1).
  • Directs data centers to report water and electricity used to the Water Resources Department and the State Department of Energy.

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. 2025-06-27 House

    In committee upon adjournment.

  2. 2025-02-27 House

    Referred to Climate, Energy, and Environment.

  3. 2025-02-25 House

    First reading. Referred to Speaker's desk.

Official Summary Text

Digest: This Act tells data centers to report how much water and electricity they use each quarter. The Act tells the EQC to adopt emissions rules for generators used at data centers. (Flesch Readability Score: 60.1).
Directs data centers to report water and electricity used to the Water Resources Department and the State Department of Energy. Requires the State Department of Energy to publish summaries of reported information on a website.
Directs the Environmental Quality Commission to adopt emissions standards for standby generators used at data centers.
Relating to: Relating to data centers.
Current location: In House Committee

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text 
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83rd OREGON LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY--2025 Regular Session
House Bill 3698
Sponsored by Representative SCHARF
SUMMARY
The following summary is not prepared by the sponsors of the measure and is not a part of the body thereof subject
to consideration by the Legislative Assembly. It is an editor’s brief statement of the essential features of the
measure as introduced. The statement includes a measure digest written in compliance with applicable readability
standards.
Digest: This Act tells data centers to report how much water and electricity they use each
quarter. The Act tells the EQC to adopt emissions rules for generators used at data centers. (Flesch
Readability Score: 60.1).
Directs data centers to report water and electricity used to the Water Resources Department
and the State Department of Energy. Requires the State Department of Energy to publish summa-
ries of reported information on a website.
Directs the Environmental Quality Commission to adopt emissions standards for standby gener-
ators used at data centers.
A BILL FOR AN ACT
Relating to data centers.
Be It Enacted by the People of the State of Oregon:
SECTION 1.
(1) No later than two months after the close of each calendar quarter, a data
center, as defined in ORS 308.505, shall:
(a) Report to the Water Resources Department, in the manner provided by ORS 537.101
and the rules adopted thereunder, the amount of water used by the data center during the
previous calendar quarter. The department shall transmit reports received under this section
to the State Department of Energy.
(b) Report to the State Department of Energy the amount of electricity used by the data
center during the previous calendar quarter.
(2) The State Department of Energy shall publish on a website maintained by the de-
partment a summary of the information reported by each data center under subsection (1)
of this section.
SECTION 2. The State Department of Energy shall establish a website for publishing in-
formation reported under section 1 of this 2025 Act no later than July 1, 2027.
SECTION 3. Section 4 of this 2025 Act is added to and made a part of ORS chapter 468A.
SECTION 4. The Environmental Quality Commission shall, pursuant to ORS 468A.025,
adopt emissions standards to control the discharge of air contaminants from standby gen-
erators used at data centers, as defined in ORS 308.505.
NOTE: Matter in boldfaced type in an amended section is new; matter [ italic and bracketed] is existing law to be omitted.
New sections are in boldfaced type.
LC 4388