HARRISBURG, July 11, 2026 – As budget negotiations continue in Harrisburg, Senator Katie Muth is urging Pennsylvanians to remain vigilant against last minute amendments and budget deals that could be presented as meaningful data center reform but fail to provide the protections communities have been demanding.

“Pennsylvanians should not be fooled by performative policies that sound good in a press release but leave families and communities just as vulnerable as they were before,” said Senator Katie Muth. “We cannot allow weak proposals to be packaged as solutions while the strongest legislation available continues to sit without a vote.”

Senator Muth cautioned that budget negotiations often become a vehicle for rushed policy changes that receive little public scrutiny. She warned that any proposal claiming to solve the data center crisis should be judged by what it actually protects, not by its title or talking points.

“If a bill allows massive hyperscale data centers to move forward without meaningful statewide setbacks from homes, schools, hospitals, and drinking water resources, it is not protecting communities,” Muth said. “If it relies on promises that developers will simply bring their own power while ignoring the enormous impacts on land use, water consumption, public health, emergency services, and local infrastructure, it is not a real solution.”

Muth also criticized proposals that rely primarily on incentive programs or voluntary standards while leaving fundamental questions unanswered.

“It is absurd to talk about incentive programs like GRID, or methane gas fired power plants before Pennsylvania has even established basic health and safety protections for the people who will live next to these facilities. Communities deserve protections based on science and fact first, not incentives for billionaire tech bros.”

Senator Muth reiterated that Senate Bill 1359, which establishes a three year moratorium on new hyperscale data centers, remains the most comprehensive proposal before the General Assembly because it creates the time needed to fully evaluate the statewide impacts before irreversible decisions are made.

“A moratorium is what responsible governance would be right now,” Muth said. “Once these facilities are approved and built, Pennsylvania cannot simply undo the impacts on our electric grid, water resources, or surrounding communities. We have one opportunity to get this right.”

Muth called on residents, local officials, environmental organizations, ratepayer advocates, and community groups across the Commonwealth to remain united around meaningful protections rather than accepting half measures.