Blue Pennsylvania: Little House of Slackers

Over the past few months, the proliferation of data centers has angered residents across the commonwealth, regardless of their political hue.  Although many people believe these facilities have a reason to exist, they don’t want to subsidize the developers and investors in these projects through a rise in their electricity and water rates.

The actions of the Democratic controlled Pennsylvania House appear to be much more in alignment with public sentiment than their counterparts in the Republican controlled Pennsylvania Senate, as evidenced by the following bills, which have all been voted off of the floor of the Democratic controlled state house:

·       House Bill 1834 would protect energy consumers from rate hikes caused by data centers and requires data centers to obtain a growing percentage of their electricity from clean energy sources.

·       House Bill 2150 would require that data centers report their energy and water usage to the state so that the legislature can curb dangerous practices that they didn’t anticipate.

·       House Bill 2151 directs the state to create model ordinances for municipalities regarding data center developments in their locations.

·       House Bill 2246 would require data centers that plan to use more than 100,000 gallons of water per day to notify the state before beginning construction.

Some decent legislation has also been introduced in the State Senate.  Democratic State Senator Katie Muth has introduced Senate Bill 1359, that would create a three-year statewide moratorium on the siting, construction, and permitting of hyperscale data centers.

Even right-wing Republicans such as Jarrett Coleman have introduced two decent pieces of legislation:

·       Senate Bill 1344 - that would repeal the program that exempts data centers from paying state and local taxes, and

·       Senate Bill 1345 - which would give municipalities the option of placing a moratorium on data center applications so that, if they choose, they can revise their ordinances and establish conditional use policies addressing issues like power supply, water consumption, noise and setbacks which they determine protect the community’s interest.

Why are Republicans suddenly interested in what their constituents can afford?  A recent communication from our friends at Red Wine and Blue may shed some light on the question. 

“With elections on the horizon, it's important not to confuse campaign messaging with policy results. Introducing a new bill can generate headlines, but passing protections into law requires sustained commitment and action. As communities evaluate where candidates stand on data centers, they should consider not only what politicians are promising today, but also how consistently they have acted on the issue and whose interests they have prioritized over time.”

The cynicism of this remark is only matched by its reality when “State Senate majority leader Joe Pittman recently announced that he will not consider any bills this year that concern data centers.  The Jarrett Coleman’s of the world can therefore safely appease their constituents by introducing progressive legislation while placating their benefactors by voting for leaders who will block such legislation from advancing.

And it’s Not Only Data Centers

Senate Republican allergy to work is not only confined to data centers.  House Bill 2189 would gradually raise the minimum wage to $15/hr. from its current $7.25/hr. over the next three years.  Although it does not entirely solve the affordability crisis that the federal administration has created, it will put much more money into the hands of those 60,000 Pennsylvania workers currently making minimum wage. The House passed this bill in March, and sent it to the State Senate where it has languished in the Labor & Industry Committee.  This week State Senator Jay Costa (D., Allegheny County) filed a discharge petition to force the Senate Labor and Industry Committee to release the minimum wage bill.  So far, 22 senators have signed the petition.  If that numbers rises to 26, the full senate will be forced to debate and vote on the bill.

So, what you can do?

Data Center regulations and minimum wage legislation are both a part of the budget that Governor Shapiro proposed in February, and the the PA House passed in April.  We need the state senate to fulfill its constitutional duty to assure that a budget is passed by July 1. 

First, if you have not already done so, you can send a letter to your state senator to tell them to work immediately on a fair budget by the June 30 deadline.  If you change the text (and we hope you do), please use the following guidelines:

1.   Using your own words;

2.   Personalizing the email.  Why is a timely budget important to you?  Will it affect your property taxes, or will a family member lose income, or something else;

3.   Considering the following topics:

a.   Last year’s budget was late, and people lost their jobs, and school districts and nonprofits needed to take out loans, sometimes very steep loans;

b.   The Governor has already proposed a budget for next fiscal year, and the PA House has already approved it.  The State Senate, however, has done nothing;

4.   Requesting, not demanding a response;

5.   Being concise.

Meanwhile, let’s make sure that we have a General Assembly that will pass future fair budgets on time.  Let’s support these candidates (below) that have a good chance of coloring both houses of our state legislature a nice shade of blue.

PA Senate

Candidate (Democrat)	District	Count(y/ies)	Incumbent (Republican)
Eileen Harnett Albillar	SD-6	Bucks	Frank Farry
Mark Pinsley	SD-16	Bucks/Lehigh	Jarrett Coleman
Chris Thomas	SD-24	Berks/Montgomery	Tracy Pennycuick

PA House

Candidate (Democrat)	District	Count(y/ies)	Incumbent (Republican)
Kristin Egan	HD-142	Bucks	Joe Hogan
Jeff Warren	HD-137	Northampton	Joe Emrick
Elizabeth Moro	HD-160	Chester/Delaware	Craig Williams

Thanks,

Coleman