New Mexico

New Mexico Democratic lawmakers have announced a statewide data center moratorium bill for the 2027 session and gave it its first public airing on August 11, 2026 before the interim Science, Technology and Telecommunications Committee. Reps. Micaela Lara Cadena (D-Mesilla) and Angelica Rubio (D-Las Cruces) told the committee the pause would let the state set parameters around data center development before more capacity is locked in; Rep. Eleanor Chávez (D-Albuquerque) is a co-sponsor and Sen. Carrie Hamblen (D-Las Cruces) is backing the proposal. The driver is Project Jupiter in Doña Ana County — the roughly 2.5 GW Oracle and OpenAI campus that is among the largest data center projects in the country. Republicans on the committee pushed back: Sen. Jay Block (R-Rio Rancho) called for a formal economic impact statement on jobs, investment and tax revenue that a moratorium would forgo. Santa Fe, Sierra and Socorro counties have already enacted local pauses. Separately, state regulators rejected a natural gas pipeline serving Project Jupiter for a second time.