Bill
HCR 61
Create a multi‑agency task force to review and improve interagency consultation for data center planning, enhancing coordination and protection of natural resources.
Title: WATER/RESOURCES — Creates a special task force to study the interagency consultation process for data centers to ensure more complete natural resource planning and management
Classification: Concurrent resolution
Introduced: February 4, 2025
Status (as provided): Read by title and returned to the Calendar, subject to call
Note on source materials
- The document text submitted with this request contains multiple unrelated resolutions (including a National Homeownership Month resolution, a Kentucky highway naming resolution, and a Hawaii fiscal‑notes study resolution). The full statutory text of HCR 61 (the data‑center/interagency consultation task force) was not included. The summary below is based on the bill title and typical content and effects of a concurrent resolution that creates a study/task force. For a definitive account, please provide the bill’s full text or the official legislative digest.
Purpose and intent
- HCR 61 seeks to establish a special (ad hoc) task force to examine how state agencies consult with one another and with local governments and utilities during planning, siting, permitting, and oversight of large data center projects.
- The intent is to identify gaps in coordination that can lead to incomplete natural‑resource planning or management (for example, impacts on water supplies, wastewater, stormwater, habitats, land use, or energy infrastructure) and to recommend improvements.
Key provisions likely included (based on the title and standard practice)
- Creation of a multi‑agency/interdisciplinary task force or working group focused on data center planning and natural‑resource impacts.
- Specified membership (e.g., representatives from environmental, natural‑resource, water, energy, land‑use, economic development, and utility agencies; possibly local government and industry and NGO stakeholders).
- Defined scope of study: review the existing interagency consultation process for data centers, analyze environmental and resource impacts, identify bottlenecks and information gaps, and evaluate best practices for coordinated review.
- Deliverables: a written report with findings and recommendations for process, statutory, regulatory, or administrative changes; an expected submission deadline to the legislature or governor (typical for concurrent resolutions: a report within a set number of days/months).
- No direct appropriation of funds (concurrent resolutions commonly request action or create advisory groups without authorizing new spending, unless the text states otherwise).
Who would be affected
- State agencies involved in permitting, environmental review, natural resources, water, energy, and economic development.
- Local governments and planning agencies where data centers are proposed or sited.
- Data center developers and utilities (water, wastewater, electric) that must comply with permitting and resource assessments.
- Environmental, conservation, and community groups concerned about resource impacts and long‑term sustainability.
Potential impacts
- Improved coordination among agencies could produce more complete environmental and resource assessments, reduce permitting delays caused by fragmented reviews, and better protect water supplies, habitats, and other natural resources.
- Recommendations could lead to procedural changes, new interagency protocols, data‑sharing requirements, or legislative/regulatory proposals affecting data center siting and mitigation obligations.
- Industry could face clearer expectations but also potentially additional mitigation or reporting requirements.
Procedural / timeline information (from provided activity)
- Introduced Feb 4, 2025. Status noted as “Read by title and returned to the Calendar, subject to call.” Further legislative steps (committee referrals, report deadlines, or final adoption) were not provided for this specific HCR 61 text.
Next steps / recommended actions
- Provide the full bill/resolution text or the legislative digest for HCR 61 to confirm membership, deadlines, reporting requirements, and any specific statutory recommendations.
- If you want, I can draft a concise explainer of likely statutory or administrative reforms that the task force might recommend (e.g., mandatory interagency checklists, unified environmental review templates, data‑sharing protocols, or expedited review pathways with resource safeguards).
Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.
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