Scope
Statutes of 2026, chapter 436 (AB 2469) adds Government Code section 65964.7: a city, county, or city and county shall not approve a discretionary or ministerial permit or other entitlement that would result in the construction, or an expansion that increases maximum peak water use, of a data center unless the applicant has provided a water supply assessment, beginning 1 January 2028 a water scarcity plan, projected water use and efficiency measures, and workforce disclosures, and the applicant assumes the full cost of required water infrastructure improvements. The section does not require a local agency to approve a data center that meets these conditions.
- Geographic scope
- California
- Jurisdiction
- State
- Authority type
- Legislature
- Issuing authority
- California Legislature
Dates
- Adopted
- 21 September 2026
- Effective
- 1 January 2027
- Scheduled expiration
- See completion condition
- Ended
- Not recorded as ended
- Completion condition
- Not yet in effect on 23 September 2026. The statute states no expiration; dates inside it are implementation deadlines, not end dates.
- Source document
- 21 September 2026
- Last checked
- 1 October 2026 (earlier than tracker date 5 October 2026; not an automatic status change)
Summary
California AB 2469, approved and chaptered on 21 September 2026 as chapter 436, bars cities and counties from approving a permit or entitlement for construction of a data center, or an expansion that increases maximum peak water use, unless the applicant provides a water supply assessment, projected water use and efficiency measures, workforce disclosures and, from 1 January 2028, a water scarcity plan, and pays for required water infrastructure. It applies to charter cities. It takes effect on 1 January 2027 and is a condition on local approvals, not a prohibition on data centers.
What this does not establish
- The finding was reviewed against the California Legislature official bulk-data file for 21 September 2026, saved and linked below. The primary link is the human-readable official bill page; that site disallows automated access, so the page itself was not checked automatically.
- 1 January 2027 is not printed in the chaptered text. It is taken from the official 2026 legislative calendar entry that statutes take effect 1 January 2027 under Article IV, section 8(c), and the chaptered text carries no urgency clause.
- The section conditions local approvals; it does not prohibit data centers and does not require approval of any project.
- The water scarcity plan requirement begins 1 January 2028; that is a phase-in date, not an expiration.
Unresolved questions
None recorded.
Relationships
Supersession means a later instrument replaces the earlier legal effect. Repeal links identify the repeal instrument and the measure it ends. A later implementation or related letter is not treated as a replacement unless the record says so.
- No related action is recorded.
Sources
Primary source · Reviewed alternate official source (23 September 2026)
Link status, checked 23 September 2026: The finding was checked against a saved copy of the California Legislature official 21 September 2026 bulk-data file. The human-readable primary bill page is kept for readers, but its robots.txt disallows automated review.
https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260AB2469
- Governor of California release announcing the signed data-center bills official announcement that the Governor signed the bill · 21 September 2026
- 2026 tentative legislative calendar (Senate) basis for the 1 January 2027 effective day of non-urgency 2026 statutes
- California Legislature official daily bulk file reviewed for this record actual official bulk evidence reviewed for this record; saved and checked as unchanged