A Massachusetts citizen filed an initiative petition with the state Election Division that would prohibit local permitting agencies from issuing a data center permit until certain conditions are met and the data center is approved by two-thirds of the local electorate. The conditions include:
- establishing a utility cost-shielding contract with its electric company;
- acquiring a water-supply certification that guarantees the data center's water demand fits within existing system capacity; and
- developing a drought contingency plan.
A data center is a physical facility that houses computer systems and related equipment used to store, manage, process, and transmit digital information. Data centers typically contain rows of computer servers, data storage systems, and networking equipment, along with the power and cooling infrastructure needed to operate them. Data centers vary in size and type. A large, warehouse-sized facility is known as a hyperscale data center. According to the Congressional Research Service, increasing demand for data storage and computing power, particularly for AI, has driven the construction of hyperscale data centers.
The indirect initiative was filed for the November 2028 election; in Massachusetts, initiated state statutes are only placed on the ballot during even-numbered election years. The initiative’s next step toward the ballot is a review by the Attorney General’s office. It will announce if the initiative petition meets the state’s constitutional and procedural requirements by Sept. 2. If approved, sponsors of the initiative can begin gathering signatures from supporters. Petitioners would need to collect 74,574 signatures to advance the initiative.
In 2024, the Massachusetts General Court created a sales and use tax exemption for qualifying data centers. The exemption applies to the purchase of equipment used to construct, furnish (including with computer equipment and software), and maintain the data center. To qualify for the exemption, a data center must cost at least $50 million to construct or refurbish, maintain at least 100 Massachusetts jobs, and cover at least 100,000 square feet of space over one or more buildings.
On June 25, 2026, Gov. Maura Healey (D) announced a pause on data center sales tax exemption applications. She said, "I am halting any tax incentives for data centers until we have strong protections in place for our residents and communities against higher gas and electric bills. Data centers can support innovation and economic growth, but if developers want to build in Massachusetts, they need to first demonstrate that they can do so without driving up costs or harming our communities."
The Massachusetts initiative is the second statewide initiated ballot measure to address data centers in the United States. In March 2026, Conserve Ohio filed an initiated measure that would prohibit the construction of data centers that are used for digital data processing with an aggregate power demand exceeding 25 megawatts. On June 22, 2026, Conserve Ohio announced that it would aim to place the measure on the 2027 ballot instead of the 2026 ballot.
While only two statewide ballot measures concerning data centers have been introduced, at least eight local ballot measures related to data centers have been certified for the 2026 ballot. The eight measures would either:
- allow data center development or advise government officials to support their development; or
- limit or prohibit data center development or add requirements before certain projects can move forward.
As of August 11, 2026, voters had decided four of the measures. In each case, a majority of voters favored greater limits on data center development, either by approving new restrictions or requirements or by rejecting a measure that would have facilitated or supported development.
Additionally, Ballotpedia is tracking 17 potential local measures concerning data centers in 10 states. The state with the most potential measures is Ohio, with seven.
Additional reading: