Scope
Senate amendment 193 (Senate No. 3213), offered on 23 July 2026 to the Senate Ways and Means amendment (Senate No. 3178) of the House economic development bill (House No. 5576), would have added a section defining a data center as a facility of at least 20 megawatts of demand whose primary purpose is digital data storage, management and processing, and would have required any new or expanded data center seeking a state or local permit to procure 100 per cent new clean energy, phase fossil-fuel backup generation toward clean sources, bear the costs of fossil-fuel delivery infrastructure, obtain Department of Environmental Protection water certifications and a water resources management plan, and conduct cumulative impact analyses.
- Geographic scope
- Massachusetts
- Jurisdiction
- State
- Authority type
- Legislature
- Issuing authority
- Massachusetts Senate
Dates
- Adopted
- No adoption day is recorded
- Effective
- Never took effect (did not pass)
- Scheduled expiration
- None scheduled
- Ended
- 23 July 2026
- Completion condition
- None stated
- Source document
- 23 July 2026
- Last checked
- 23 September 2026 (earlier than tracker date 5 October 2026; not an automatic status change)
Summary
Senate amendment 193 to the 2026 economic development bill proposed permit conditions for data centers of 20 megawatts or more: 100 per cent new clean energy supply, a phase-out of fossil-fuel backup generation, developer payment for fossil-fuel delivery infrastructure, state water certifications and water plans, and cumulative impact analyses. The Senate rejected it on 23 July 2026 as one of a group of amendments considered together, and the Senate-engrossed text (Senate No. 3228) contains no data center provisions. It never took effect.
What this does not establish
- This is a floor amendment to a larger bill, not a bill of its own; it was rejected as part of a group of amendments considered as one.
- The underlying economic development bill (House No. 5576) went to a conference committee on 30 July 2026; the Senate-engrossed text opened (Senate No. 3228) has no data center text. Whether a conference report adds data center language was not established.
- The amendment text was quoted from its first pages; later subsections were summarized, not all quoted.
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
https://malegislature.gov/Bills/194/S3213.pdf
- Senate No. 3178 bill history (Massachusetts Legislature) records the 23 July 2026 rejection of amendment 193 among amendments considered as one
- Senate No. 3213 bill page identifies the amendment and refers to S3178
- Senate No. 3228, Senate-engrossed text of House No. 5576 engrossed text searched; no data center provisions