Data center bill passes

Two local legislators said their bill creating a commission to study data centers in Ohio passed the state's House. State Reps. Kellie Deeter, R-Norwalk, and Gary Click, R-Vickery, co-sponsored House Bill 646, a bill seeking to form a Data Center Study Commission. The bill passed the Ohio House with a unanimous 97-0 vote on Wednesday and now moves on to the Ohio Senate. "The entire Buckeye State is experiencing angst over unresolved questions surrounding the rapid rise of data centers, and they deserve to have their voices heard," Click said. "The Ohio Data Center Study Commission is the first of its kind in the nation and will provide reasonable, rational, and meaningful answers to the questions that Ohioans are asking." Added Deeter: "With the rapid growth of the digital frontier, there are implications for our electric grid, our infrastructure and the communities that host them. Rather than waiting to react after challenges arise, this legislation allows Ohio to study these issues now so we can make smart, informed decisions for the future." What it would do The bill's sponsors explained what the law would do, if passed and signed by the governor: • Create the Data Center Study Commission within the Department of Development, with members appointed by the governor, speaker of the house and president of the Senate that meet certain criteria • Require the commission to examine various topics regarding data centers • Require the commission to submit a report of its findings and any legislative recommendations to the governor and the General Assembly not more than six months after the bill's effective date