Sen. RaShaun Kemp Introduces Legislation to Address Data Center Transparency

ATLANTA (January 23, 2026) - Yesterday, Sen. RaShaun Kemp (D-Atlanta) introduced Senate Bill 421, titled the Data Center Transparency Act. This legislation would require local governments, authorities and political subdivisions to publicly disclose their water and electricity usage relating to data center projects.

"Properly addressing the spread of data centers and their impact on our state is long overdue," said Sen. Kemp. "Data centers absorb untenable amounts of water, take up hundreds of acres of arable land and drive electricity rates through the roof; in some cases, these facilities use more water than entire towns. It was alarming to learn that cities can enter into nondisclosure agreements that prevent the public from seeing just how high these usage numbers are. While these facilities are often necessary to support Georgia's technology infrastructure, there must be guardrails in place to protect people's neighborhoods and prevent undue strain on our electrical grid. This bipartisan piece of legislation is especially important at a time when prices for daily necessities keep rising. Passing this bill is critical to discourage any more crucial funding from being lost to data centers and to keep Georgians informed on exactly how much they impact utility rates."

SB 421 is awaiting its first reading and committee assignment.

Find more information on this bill here.

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Sen. RaShaun Kemp represents the 38^th Senate District, which includes a portion of Fulton County. He may be reached by phone at (404) 656-0105 or by email at [email protected].

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