A few dozen data center opponents called on lawmakers to pause new project approvals during a rally in Lansing Tuesday evening.
Many are concerned about data centers’ massive resource needs, and that Michiganders could be left to clean up if they become obsolete.
State Representative Dylan Wegela (D-Garden City) said taking time before approving new projects would help lawmakers figure out how to protect Michiganders.
“We can put a moratorium, have regulations that protect working class jobs, that protect the environment, and we really take a chance to think what does this AI future look like. We are being driven into this future of AI, and I don’t think that everybody believes it is as inevitable as people are telling us,” Wegela told reporters after the rally.
A bipartisan bill package supported by Wegela and other lawmakers would pause new data center projects until April next year.
Michigan offers sales and use tax breaks to data center projects that follow certain requirements, like not passing on energy costs to residential customers and drawing water only from municipal sources.
Companies like Oracle, OpenAI, and Google are already looking to Michigan for massive projects.
State Representative Joey Andrews (D-St. Joseph) said Michigan’s regulations already address many of people’s concerns about those projects. He credits the data center law with ensuring data centers are also bringing things like new renewable energy projects and large scale power storage that could lower utility rates.
“Those are all the things that we wanted to see happen. I just think the issue is the public isn’t getting that message because of the wall of false information that’s flowing through social media and that’s a real challenge,” Andrews said.
Still, Andrews and other Michigan lawmakers are looking to add more data center regulations.
Senate Democrats, including some in leadership, introduced their vision last week. Andrews said a group of House Democrats plans to unveil their plans later this week.
“I think we could do more, absolutely. But it should be about guardrails and figuring out how we make these projects work in Michigan and how we make citizens and communities feel confident,” Andrews said.
He said a moratorium on data centers would kick the can down the road.
But state Senator Jim Runestad (R-White Lake) said there’s too much potential for everything to go south to keep approving projects before policymakers can further discuss environmental and economic concerns.
“I think it has to be a pause and that will really get things rolling where we’ll get some good legislation, good guardrails on this process,” Runestad said.
Runestad said he’s rarely seen such a coalition against new data center development. The rally brought out several figures, including a Michigan Democratic Party caucus chair and Republican gubernatorial candidate Perry Johnson.
Still, legislative leadership on both sides of the political aisle has signaled more willingness for data center regulation than prohibition, even in the short term.
