Contact: Tom Schuster, tom.schuster@sierraclub.org, 814-915-4231
Harrisburg, PA – The General Assembly passed, and Governor Shapiro signed, a $50.84 billion budget with no new taxes and no raid on the Rainy Day Fund. While it includes a handful of environmental provisions, the deal largely amounts to a “cost-to-carry” budget that shifts money to keep programs running rather than advancing real reforms, especially on the growing challenge of data center development.
On a positive note, the budget does sustain support for the Solar for Schools program and incorporates Advanced Transmission Technologies language into the fiscal code. However, these steps stand in contrast to several areas where the legislature fell short of meaningful reform.
The fiscal code also included very limited language on data center regulation, requiring only annual energy and water reporting requirements for facilities over 10 MW. The sales tax exemption for data centers remains and could ultimately cost the state hundreds of millions of dollars in lost revenue. No moratorium or limited pause on development, ratepayer protections, or comprehensive environmental protections were adopted. This is not meaningful regulation. With data centers continuing to drive massive increases in electricity and water demand, the legislature’s failure to act leaves ratepayers and communities exposed.
“Once again, the General Assembly chose the path of least resistance on critical environmental and consumer protection issues,” said Tom Schuster, Director of the Sierra Club Pennsylvania Chapter. “They continued Solar for Schools funding and added a modest grid modernization tool, but they shifted money from other environmental programs to bail out declining oil and gas permit revenue and handed the gas industry new flexibility on well plugging. Most disappointingly, they punted on real data center oversight. Pennsylvanians deserve better than another year of half-measures.”
The budget also delivered only modest support for DEP and DCNR. The Oil & Gas Program received roughly $19 million in shifted funding from other programs, while DCNR relies heavily on Oil & Gas Lease Fund transfers. County conservation districts and river basin commissions were level-funded, and the Governor’s request for additional Hazardous Sites Cleanup funding went unmet.
The legislature returns in September. “It is time for them to stop kicking the can down the road and pass comprehensive data center legislation, including HB 1834, that protects ratepayers, communities, and the environment,” Schuster said. “Half-measures and reporting requirements are not a substitute for real policy.”
About the Sierra Club: The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with millions of members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.