Georgia
Active Bans / MoratoriumsAll statewide data center bills (HB 1012 moratorium, SB 408 and SB 410 tax exemption repeal) failed when the 2026 legislative session ended. Local momentum continues: Camden County's Board of Commissioners voted on May 5, 2026 to adopt a six-month moratorium (the first on Georgia's coast) amid a contested industrial-park rezoning push, and Lee County commissioners weighed extending their existing moratorium in late May. Local action continued through July 2026: Walker County adopted a 30-day application moratorium on July 10 with a 180-day extension pending an August 6 hearing, Marietta adopted a temporary moratorium through December 31, and DeKalb County extended its pause into early 2027. Multiple counties in central/west Georgia retain active moratoriums including DeKalb, Pike, Lamar, Troup counties and the City of LaGrange. Atlanta requires special use permits within the Beltline radius. Cherokee County joined on July 22, 2026 with a 30-day moratorium that commissioners plan to extend into early 2027, and residents in Dalton — which third-party data shows has the highest documented data center count in its region — are organizing for a pause over the county administrator's objection. Governor Brian Kemp was among the 23 Republican governors who signed the White House Ratepayer Protection Pledge on July 23, 2026. Albany adopted a 12-month moratorium in early August 2026. On August 13 the Marietta City Council voted 5-2 to approve an 11-acre data center despite the city's own six-month moratorium, because developer Prime Group Holdings' application predated the pause; dozens of residents protested. Montgomery County gave first reading to a strict ordinance requiring a 1,500-foot buffer, a three-mile separation from water bodies and farmland, and a no-tax-abatement pledge. Development also continues at scale: on August 3 Effingham County approved OpenAI's Project Camellia, a $20 billion, 1,440-acre campus with a 50% property tax abatement for 15 years and $32 million for local schools. A Maysville City Council meeting was adjourned after 14 minutes on August 3 when an update on the Northern Data/Rumble project drew shouting from the audience. Early September 2026 brought further local action: Forest Park approved a 90-day moratorium to draft zoning rules, Dougherty County unanimously extended its moratorium another 180 days on August 31, and Bulloch County commissioners rejected a permanent ban 4-3 while keeping their existing moratorium through the end of 2026. In late September 2026 Lovejoy banned data center construction citywide (September 29) after opposition to a proposed 3.5-million-square-foot campus near schools, and Jesup gave first reading 4-2 to an ordinance restricting data centers to conditional uses in light industrial zones.
Legislation
| Bill | Title | Status |
|---|---|---|
| HB 1012 | Data Center Moratorium Act | Failed |
Local Actions
22-mile Beltline radius requires special use permits for data centers.
Moratorium on data center development, originally adopted December 2025 and extended in July 2026 to run through early 2027. Triggered by a 1M sq ft proposal on 95 acres.
Temporary moratorium on data center construction.
Temporary moratorium on data center construction.
Temporary moratorium on data center construction.
One-year moratorium expired November 2025. County now drafting permanent regulations.
Resolution 2025-193 placing moratorium on new data centers
Moratorium enacted after data center proposal denied; extended March 2026 for 3 more months
Moratorium on new data center applications in unincorporated areas
Board of Commissioners voted May 5, 2026 to adopt a six-month moratorium on new data centers — the first county on Georgia's coast to do so — amid a contested industrial-park rezoning push for a Kingsland-area site (the related 700-acre rezoning was withdrawn May 5).
Commissioners considered extending the county's existing data center moratorium in late May 2026 while finalizing a permanent data center ordinance, framing it as 'protection, not invitation.'
Commission approved a 30-day moratorium on accepting data center applications; an extension to 180 days is pending an August 6, 2026 hearing.
Council adopted a temporary moratorium running through December 31, 2026 and postponed a pending data center rezoning.
Commissioners approved a 30-day moratorium on data center development with plans to extend the pause into early 2027 while zoning rules are drafted.
Board of Commissioners unanimously suspended new data center applications, zoning requests and civil plan reviews until January 1, 2027, to allow officials to overhaul county land-use codes and evaluate safety guidelines for large-scale technology facilities. The vote followed months of resident protest over zoning loopholes.
Augusta commissioners voted to extend the city's existing moratorium on new data centers while officials continue work on permanent regulations.
City adopted a 12-month moratorium on data centers in early August 2026.
First reading of a strict data center ordinance requiring a 1,500-foot buffer, three-mile separation from water bodies and farmland, and a pledge of no tax abatement.
City Council approved a 90-day moratorium in early September 2026 to draft zoning changes defining data center uses, establish residential buffers and create a community advisory committee; the city previously allowed data centers by right and Digital Realty has already built a facility there.
Commissioners voted unanimously on August 31, 2026 to extend the county data center moratorium another 180 days, with no cap on renewals, while ordinances addressing noise, setbacks and water use are drafted.
Commissioners voted 4-3 to reject a proposed text amendment that would have permanently banned data centers, but kept the county's existing moratorium in place through December 31, 2026 for continued study.
City Council approved an ordinance on September 29, 2026 banning data center construction citywide, repealing the special administrative permit article that would have allowed them. The ban followed opposition to Stillwater Development's proposed 3.5-million-square-foot campus near schools.
City commission approved on first reading (4-2) on September 30, 2026 an ordinance defining data centers and permitting them only as a conditional use in light industrial zones; a second reading was scheduled for October 6. Residents urged a complete moratorium instead.