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PRIOR PRINTER'S NO. 1766 PRINTER'S NO. 1889
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
SENATE BILL
No. 1345
Session of
2026
INTRODUCED BY COLEMAN, GEBHARD, DUSH, PENNYCUICK AND BARTOLOTTA,
JUNE 4, 2026
SENATOR PITTMAN, RULES AND EXECUTIVE NOMINATIONS, RE-REPORTED AS
AMENDED, JULY 11, 2026
AN ACT
Amending the act of July 31, 1968 (P.L.805, No.247), entitled
"An act to empower cities of the second class A, and third
class, boroughs, incorporated towns, townships of the first
and second classes including those within a county of the
second class and counties of the second through eighth
classes, individually or jointly, to plan their development
and to govern the same by zoning, subdivision and land
development ordinances, planned residential development and
other ordinances, by official maps, by the reservation of
certain land for future public purpose and by the acquisition
of such land; to promote the conservation of energy through
the use of planning practices and to promote the effective
utilization of renewable energy sources; providing for the
establishment of planning commissions, planning departments,
planning committees and zoning hearing boards, authorizing
them to charge fees, make inspections and hold public
hearings; providing for mediation; providing for transferable
development rights; providing for appropriations, appeals to
courts and penalties for violations; and repealing acts and
parts of acts," in zoning, providing for optional TEMPORARY
moratorium on filing ACCEPTANCE or consideration of new
applications for high impact data centers.
The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
hereby enacts as follows:
Section 1. The act of July 31, 1968 (P.L.805, No.247), known
as the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code, is amended by
adding a section to read:
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Section 622. Optional TEMPORARY Moratorium on Filing
A CCEPTANCE or Consideration of New Applications for High Impact
Data Centers.--(a) A municipality may impose by ordinance
RESOLUTION a temporary moratorium prohibiting the filing or
consideration of documents relating to ON ACCEPTANCE AND
CONSIDERATION OF NEW APPLICATIONS FOR high impact data centers
as follows:
(1) A moratorium may last no longer than 18 months from
the ordinance's effective date. THE DURATION OF A TEMPORARY
MORATORIUM MAY NOT EXCEED 18 MONTHS AND SHALL BE RETROACTIVE
TO THE DATE WHEN THE GOVERNING BODY OF THE MUNICIPALITY GAVE
PUBLIC NOTICE AS REQUIRED UNDER 65 PA.C.S. § 709(C.1)
(RELATING TO PUBLIC NOTICE).
(2) A prohibition TEMPORARY MORATORIUM may apply to an
application, petition or submission seeking THAT SEEKS
approval, review or relief for a high impact data center,
including, but not limited to:
(i) a zoning map or text amendments specific to a
site or use;
(ii) conditional uses, special exceptions or
variances; OR
(iii) land development plans or subdivision
applications . ; or
(iv) a building permit or certificate tied to an
approval for a high impact data center when the permit or
certificate requires prior land use or zoning approval.
(3) A TEMPORARY moratorium may not:
(i) prohibit the consideration or filing of
documents unrelated to high impact data centers;
(ii) affect data centers that do not meet the
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definition of a "high impact data center" under
subsection (i) (L) ;
(iii) suspend enforcement actions or remedial
proceedings for violations of law; or
(iv) impair routine maintenance or safety upgrades
at existing HIGH IMPACT DATA CENTER facilities.
(b) (1) A moratorium ordinance TEMPORARY MORATORIUM
RESOLUTION RELATED TO APPLICATIONS FOR HIGH IMPACT DATA
CENTERS shall identify the planning, study or ordinance-
development activities to be undertaken during the TEMPORARY
moratorium, which may include:
(i) infrastructure capacity assessments, including,
but not limited to, assessments relating to water,
wastewater or an electrical ELECTRIC grid;
(ii) public safety and emergency services impact
analysis;
(iii) environmental and community impact
evaluations; and
(iv) drafting and consideration of zoning,
subdivision and land development, or other municipal code
amendments addressing high impact data centers.
(2) A municipality shall make reasonable progress on the
activities listed under paragraph (1) during the TEMPORARY
moratorium period identified in the ordinance .
(c) Prior to the adoption of a moratorium ordinance
TEMPORARY MORATORIUM RESOLUTION under this section, the
governing body shall conduct a public hearing with notice as
required by this act. The ordinance shall include findings
supporting the necessity of the moratorium and identifying the
moratorium's relationship to the planning activities in
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subsection (b).
(d) The moratorium may not apply to approvals or permits
previously granted. UNDER 65 PA.C.S. § 709(C.1). THE PUBLIC
HEARING NOTICE SHALL CLEARLY STATE THAT THE MUNICIPALITY INTENDS
TO CONSIDER A TEMPORARY MORATORIUM ON ACCEPTANCE AND
CONSIDERATION OF NEW APPLICATIONS FOR HIGH IMPACT DATA CENTERS.
(D) A MUNICIPALITY MAY NOT ACCEPT OR CONSIDER AN APPLICATION
FOR A HIGH IMPACT DATA CENTER BY CHANGING THE AGENDA UNDER 65
PA.C.S. § 712.1(E) (RELATING TO NOTIFICATION OF AGENCY BUSINESS
REQUIRED AND EXCEPTIONS).
(E) THE RESOLUTION SHALL INCLUDE FINDINGS SUPPORTING THE
NECESSITY OF THE MORATORIUM AND IDENTIFYING THE MORATORIUM'S
RELATIONSHIP TO THE PLANNING ACTIVITIES IN SUBSECTION (B).
(F) (1) THE TEMPORARY MORATORIUM SHALL NOT APPLY TO THE
FOLLOWING :
(I) APPLICATIONS OR PERMITS PREVIOUSLY APPROVED OR
GRANTED BY THE MUNICIPALITY PRIOR TO THE EFFECTIVE DATE
OF THE TEMPORARY MORATORIUM.
(II) ACCEPTANCE OR CONSIDERATION OF AN APPLICATION
FOR A HIGH IMPACT DATA CENTER THAT HAS, PRIOR TO THE
EFFECTIVE DATE OF THE TEMPORARY MORATORIUM, ENTERED INTO
AN AGREEMENT WITH A POWER GENERATION FACILITY BY WHICH
THE HIGH IMPACT DATA CENTER AND THE POWER GENERATION
FACILITY AGREE TO THE CONSTRUCTION AND OPERATION OF THE
HIGH IMPACT DATA CENTER AT THE SITE OF THE POWER
GENERATION FACILITY, AND FURTHER AGREE THAT THE POWER
GENERATION FACILITY WILL SUPPLY ENERGY TO THE HIGH IMPACT
DATA CENTER.
(2) AN APPLICATION FOR A HIGH IMPACT DATA CENTER THAT
MEETS THE REQUIREMENTS OF PARAGRAPH (1)(II) SHALL BE ACCEPTED
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AND CONSIDERED BY THE MUNICIPALITY IN ACCORDANCE WITH LOCAL
ORDINANCES AND THE PROVISIONS OF THIS ACT IN EFFECT ON THE
DATE OF THE MUNICIPALITY'S ISSUANCE OF A BUILDING PERMIT FOR
THE POWER GENERATION FACILITY.
(e) (G) (1) A moratorium ordinance TEMPORARY MORATORIUM
RESOLUTION shall provide a process by which an applicant may
request a waiver upon a showing that:
(i) strict application of the TEMPORARY moratorium
would result in substantial, unique and demonstrable
UNDUE hardship not created by the applicant; and
(ii) granting the waiver would be consistent with
the public interest and the purposes of this section .
(2) The governing body of the municipality may grant,
grant with conditions or deny a waiver REQUEST after a public
meeting. The decision shall be in writing and include
findings of fact and conclusions.
(f) (H) During a moratorium period TEMPORARY MORATORIUM , the
municipality shall consult, as applicable, with the county
planning agency regarding planning and ordinance updates
contemplated under subsection (b).
(I) IF A MUNICIPALITY ADOPTS, AMENDS OR REPEALS PROVISIONS
OF AN ORDINANCE RELATED TO HIGH IMPACT DATA CENTERS DURING A
TEMPORARY MORATORIUM, THE CHANGE TO THE ORDINANCE SHALL NOT
BECOME EFFECTIVE PRIOR TO THE EXPIRATION OF THE TEMPORARY
MORATORIUM AND SHALL NOT APPLY TO ANY APPLICATION FOR A HIGH
IMPACT DATA CENTER RECEIVED BY THE MUNICIPALITY PRIOR TO THE
EFFECTIVE DATE OF THE TEMPORARY MORATORIUM. AN APPLICATION THAT
IS RECEIVED BY A MUNICIPALITY DURING A TEMPORARY MORATORIUM
SHALL BE DEEMED RECEIVED ON THE DAY AFTER THE EXPIRATION OF THE
TEMPORARY MORATORIUM.
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(g) (J) A TEMPORARY moratorium authorized under this section
and implemented in compliance with this act is a reasonable,
time- limited planning measure and shall not be construed to
effect a taking or to create MUNICIPAL liability for damages if
the municipality affords the exemptions and procedures required
under this section .
(h) (K) (1) Nothing in this section shall:
(i) be construed to limit any other municipal powers
or procedures authorized under this act, nor to mandate
the adoption of a TEMPORARY moratorium; or
(ii) alter or diminish the rights of public
utilities or electric cooperatives under other applicable
statutes LAW .
(2) In the event of a conflict with another provision of
law, this section shall be harmonized with other provisions
of this act to the maximum extent possible.
(i) (L) As used in this section, the following words and
phrases shall have the meanings given to them in this subsection
unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:
"Critical IT load." The aggregate electrical power drawn by
information technology equipment under normal operating
conditions at steady state, exclusive of a non-information
technology building load.
"Data center." A facility or group of facilities that is
used to house and operate equipment that:
(1) receives, stores, aggregates, manages, processes,
transforms, retrieves, researches or transmits data; or
(2) is necessary for the proper operation of equipment
that receives, stores, aggregates, manages, processes,
transforms, retrieves, researches or transmits data. ALL OR
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PART OF A FACILITY THAT MAY BE COMPOSED OF ONE OR MORE
BUSINESSES, OWNERS OR TENANTS, THAT IS OR WILL BE
PREDOMINANTLY USED TO HOUSE WORKING SERVERS OR SIMILAR DATA
STORAGE SYSTEMS AND THAT MAY HAVE UNINTERRUPTIBLE ENERGY
SUPPLY OR GENERATOR BACKUP POWER, OR BOTH, COOLING SYSTEMS,
TOWERS AND OTHER TEMPERATURE CONTROL INFRASTRUCTURE.
"High impact data center." A facility or group of facilities
that:
(1) is a data center; AND
(2) consists of one or more parcels in this
Commonwealth, along with the buildings, substations and other
infrastructure, fixtures and personal property located on the
parcels;
(3) is owned, operated or leased by an entity or
affiliated group of entities; and
(4) (2) has a critical IT load of 25 megawatts or
higher.
"POWER GENERATION FACILITY." A FACILITY THAT IS OPERATIONAL
OR UNDER CONSTRUCTION ON THE EFFECTIVE DATE OF THIS SECTION AND
WHICH , WHEN CONSTRUCTED, WILL GENERATE ELECTRICITY THAT WILL
SUPPLY POWER TO A HIGH IMPACT DATA CENTER AND TO AN ELECTRIC
GRID BY INTERCONNECTION TO A REGIONAL TRANSMISSION SYSTEM IN
ACCORDANCE WITH THE APPLICABLE REGIONAL TRANSMISSION OPERATOR'S
INTERCONNECTION STANDARDS.
Section 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
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