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Bill Summary · HB 710

HB 710 (Ohio, 136th General Assembly) – Summary

Purpose and intent

  • Prohibits public support for, and limits the construction of, new data centers in Ohio.
  • Establishes explicit criteria and safeguards to ensure new data centers do not receive incentives, encroach on certain lands, or impose costs on ratepayers.

Key provisions

1) Definitions
- Defines "new data center" as a facility with one or more buildings housing computer systems, servers, storage, and network equipment, and:
- Construction has not commenced, and
- No final local zoning or land use approval has been issued (as of the section’s effective date).

2) Prohibition on incentives (9.71)
- State and political subdivisions may not award incentives (tax credits, grants, loans, or any economic development assistance) for constructing or operating a new data center.
- If an incentive is awarded in violation, the recipient must refund it according to procedures adopted by the awarding entity.
- Agencies and subdivisions must adopt complaint-review procedures for violations.

3) Construction restrictions on land (9.711)
- Generally blocks construction of new data centers on:
- Prime farmland (with two exceptions noted below),
- Public land,
- Land within platted residential neighborhoods.
- Exception: A new data center may be built on prime farmland if:
- The prime farmland is voluntarily sold, and
- The county commissioners adopt a resolution authorizing the construction.

4) Eminent domain prohibition
- Prohibits use of eminent domain to acquire property for use as a new data center.

5) Utility service and ratepayer protections (4933.71)
- A new data center cannot be approved, permitted, or interconnected to receive utility service unless PUCO is satisfied that the center’s electric load will not raise electricity rates for residential, agricultural, or small business customers.
- Conclusive compliance is presumed if the developer builds or secures 100% of the data center’s projected peak load with new nuclear or natural gas–fired generation.
- If not utilizing nuclear or natural gas generation, PUCO must affirmatively find, with substantial evidence, that the data center will comply with the cost neutrality requirement.
- All costs related to generation, transmission, distribution, capacity, congestion, and ancillary services attributable to the data center must be borne entirely by the developer; no cross-subsidization to other customers.
- PUCO must require enforceable financial assurances (e.g., performance bonds, letters of credit, escrowed security) to protect ratepayers if projected cost neutrality is not achieved.

Affected parties and entities

  • Prospective data center developers and owners.
  • State government and political subdivisions (counties, townships, and other sub-state entities that might issue incentives).
  • Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) (role in approving interconnections and ensuring ratepayer protections).
  • Landowners and communities (particularly those with prime farmland, public land, or residential neighborhoods).
  • Ratepayers (residential, agricultural, and small business customers) who would be protected from potential increased costs.

Procedural and timeline aspects

  • Effective date tied to the statute’s introduction; requires agencies/subdivisions to adopt complaint-review procedures for incentive violations.
  • If enacted, the bill would repeal existing section 163.01 and replace related provisions to align property-use and eminent-domain rules with the data-center restrictions.
  • The bill emphasizes a staged process: determine eligibility for interconnection (PUCO), assess generation capacity (including potential 100% nuclear or gas-fired generation for automatic compliance), and secure financial assurances before project approval.

Notable details

  • Increases local- and state-level controls over data-center siting, land use, and economic incentives.
  • Creates a framework to ensure data-center projects do not impose new costs on non-data-center customers and do not receive public subsidies.
  • Addresses land-use conflicts by restricting construction on prime farmland, public land, and residential-platted areas, with a limited farmland exception.

Note: The bill is in the introduction stage (as of the provided text) and would require passage by the Ohio General Assembly and the governor to become law.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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