HARRISBURG, Pa. – Gov. Josh Shapiro on Tuesday signed an executive order putting new restrictions on proposed AI data centers across the state. He says there are reports of more than 100 data center proposals being discussed.

"Developers must bring their own power and pay for all of the costs associated with that electricity,” Shapiro said. “They will not be permitted to saddle homeowners and businesses with the added costs of their development.”

Gov. Shapiro signs executive order establishing ‘strictest guardrails in the nation’ on AI data centers

And the communities come first.

"They must earn local legal approval before they can work with us. Let me put that succinctly. If the local community doesn't approve a project, the state won't approve it either," Shapiro said.

Berks County Sen. Judy Schwank (D-11) supports the move. In a statement she said:

"Governor Shapiro's executive order centers the decision-making about data center development where it belongs: with the communities that will be most affected."

Republican Sen. Tracy Pennycuick, who serves Berks and Montgomery counties, also called the order an important step. In a statement she said:

"Local control must be nonnegotiable. If a community does not want a data center, then developers and tech companies should not force one into that community."

And in Cumru Township, where commissioners already approved local data center regulations, Commissioner Greg Miller says the governor's order complements what the township has put in place.

He says Cumru's ordinance handles the local review, while the state's new rules address issues the township can't.