It was impossible to miss the public outcry over a proposed data center in Nottingham, New Hampshire a few weeks ago. Thousands of local residents and concerned citizens from around the state descended on the town’s Planning Board to register their outrage. With the support of Democratic gubernatorial candidate Cinde Warmington, who has called for a moratorium on data center development, the Planning Board balked and the developer went away — for now.
But long before Nottingham, Republicans in Concord were doing everything they could to roll out the red carpet for data centers. Senate Bill 439, which began as a Democratic attempt to allow towns the power to impose some guardrails, was hijacked by Republicans and turned into something that would have taken away Nottingham’s ability to say no to an electricity-guzzling, habitat destroying data center. And it would have denied that right to every town in the State, allowing data centers, in the bill’s own words, “by right” in all commercial zones.
Every Republican on the House Municipal and County Government Committee voted for the bill. Every Democrat opposed it. And when it came to the floor, Democrats on that committee fought to table it just before the term ended — effectively killing it for the current biennium. The trouncing — a 304 to 11 vote — coincided with a reluctantly released statement by Governor Kelly Ayotte saying she opposed data centers. It was the first time she’d spoken on the subject and a total retreat from her ongoing record of propping up bills that trample on local control.
Make no mistake, SB439 will be back in 2028 if Republicans retain their majority chokehold on the House, the Senate, and the Corner Office. And under those circumstances it will pass and be signed into law. Once that happens it will be a green light for tech giants and developers to swallow up thousands of acres of New Hampshire land for AI data mining centers that use 300 to 400 megawatts of electricity and unfathomable amounts of water every day. Centers that produce only a handful of jobs, despoil natural resources, emit intolerable noise and generate heat for miles around.
Voters should be asking now, not later, whose rights will get trampled every time the words “by right” appear in proposed legislation. In the case of SB439 and the bills that will surely follow, “by right” means no rights for New Hampshire residents. It will take away our ability to control the communities we live in, while adding to the fortunes of developers and tech giants.
Democrats on the Municipal and County Government Committee will be working this summer on a suite of legislation designed to restore power back to the rightful owners — the people of New Hampshire. But that legislation will only pass if Republican majorities in the House and Senate — and in the Governor’s Office — are overturned. Your rights as a citizen are up for sale to the highest big tech bidder this November. Don’t negotiate. Instead, return good governance to Concord by sending Cinde Warmington to the Governor’s office, and every Democratic State Senator and Representative in your district to Concord.
Stavis represents Lebanon’s Ward 1 in the state House of Representatives and is ranking member of the House Municipal and County Government Committee. She is also a member at large on the Lebanon City Council.