Law & policy

Texas data center legislation tracker

The Texas bills, statutes, and local ordinances shaping data centers, water, and landowner rights — each summarized in plain English and linked to the official record. We track accountability, not opposition to technology.

Enacted laws

4 tracked

In effectHB 49 · 89R (2025)

HB 49 — Produced Water Reuse & Liability Limit

Stage 8 of 8 · Law

Sets rules for treating and beneficially reusing produced water — the salty wastewater from oil and gas operations — and limits the tort liability of those who treat, transport, or use it. The liability limit does not cover gross negligence, intentional misconduct, or violations of Railroad Commission rules or TCEQ permits, and it does not change a producer's existing liability to landowners.

Why it matters: As industry and data centers eye treated produced water as a new supply, this law shapes who bears the risk if reuse causes harm — while leaving landowners' existing claims intact.

Stolen Water

See where it stands Effective · September 1, 2025

In effectSB 1583 · 89R (2025)

SB 1583 — Groundwater District Management Plan Criteria

Stage 8 of 8 · Law

Adjusts the criteria local groundwater conservation districts use to write their state-mandated management plans — the plans, built around each area's Desired Future Conditions and the resulting Modeled Available Groundwater, that govern how much groundwater may be permitted and pumped.

Why it matters: These district plans set how much groundwater can be permitted and pumped — directly affecting landowners who own and rely on the water beneath their land.

Stolen WaterRuined Property Value

See where it stands Effective · September 1, 2025

In effectSB 6 · 89R (2025)

SB 6 — Large-Load Grid Interconnection (Data Centers)

Stage 8 of 8 · Law

Overhauls how very large electricity users — explicitly including data centers — connect to and operate on the Texas grid (ERCOT). It sets a default 75-megawatt threshold for a 'large load,' requires transmission screening studies and a screening fee, lets ERCOT directly curtail these loads during grid emergencies, and adds disclosure and review requirements for on-site (co-located) generation.

Why it matters: Data centers' enormous power demand drives much of the strain landowners feel on electricity and water. SB 6 is Texas's first major attempt to make large loads share grid costs and give up power during emergencies.

See where it stands Signed by the governor · June 20, 2025

In effectSB 7 · 89R (2025)

SB 7 — Texas Water Supply & Infrastructure Financing

Stage 8 of 8 · Law

A package of financing, administrative, and infrastructure measures aimed at Texas's current and projected water shortages, expanding state water-supply funding and long-term planning.

Why it matters: It frames how Texas pays to secure future water — the backdrop against which heavy new water users like data centers compete with farms, ranches, and households for a limited supply.

Stolen Water

See where it stands Enacted, 89th Legislature (2025)

Local ordinances

2 tracked

AdoptedSan Marcos

San Marcos — Citywide Zoning Ban on Data Centers

Stage 4 of 4 · Adopted · In effect; a state-law challenge has been threatened.

On June 16, 2026, the San Marcos City Council voted 4–3 to amend its land development code to define data centers and make them ineligible in every zoning district — effectively barring new data center construction anywhere in the city. Reporting describes it as the first outright ban of its kind by a Texas city. It takes the form of a permanent zoning-code change rather than a temporary moratorium.

Why it matters: The ban is being watched as a test case for how much authority Texas cities retain to block water- and power-hungry data centers. A state senator has signaled a legal challenge, arguing it functions as a de facto moratorium capped by state law; land-use experts counter that a zoning change is not a moratorium.

Stolen WaterRuined Property Value

See where it stands Ban adopted by City Council (4–3) · June 16, 2026

RepealedHill County

Hill County — Data Center Pause, Adopted Then Repealed

Repealed · Adopted · Adopted May 2026, repealed June 5, 2026 under a $100M developer lawsuit.

Hill County adopted a one-year pause on new data center construction in May 2026, citing water use, power demand, noise, and public safety. Weeks later, on June 5, 2026, the commissioners repealed the pause after a developer, RCM Hill, LLC, sued for $100 million — arguing it held contracts to buy more than 800 acres for over $80 million and that the county had exceeded its lawful powers. In place of the blanket pause, the county adopted a checklist of requirements for data center developers, which the county judge said draws its authority from existing state statutes.

Why it matters: The reversal is a real-world test of how much power a rural Texas county actually has to slow data center development — and of how quickly the threat of a developer lawsuit can push a county from a broad moratorium to a narrower, statute-based review.

Stolen WaterRuined Property Value

See where it stands Pause repealed; developer checklist adopted · June 5, 2026

Texas holds regular legislative sessions in odd-numbered years; the next is in 2027. During the interim this page tracks enacted laws and local action, and fills in as bills are filed. Summaries are our own words, for general information only and not legal advice — follow each link for the official record.