- Feb 26
- 2 min read
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 26, 2026
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Senate Republicans Avoid Forcing Data Centers To Pay Their Fair Share
Atlanta, Ga. — Senate Republicans adjourned the floor session early today to avoid voting on Senate Bill 34. The Democrat-backed bill would force energy-intensive companies, like data centers, to pay their fair share of electric bills and stop them from offloading it onto Georgians.
“Senate Bill 34 is about accountability and protecting Georgians’ wallets. They are not a slush fund for the Big Tech Billionaires who own these data centers. Republicans already hand them $2.5 billion in tax breaks every year. It’s taken two years for us to get to this point because Republicans drag their feet at every moment,” Caucus Chair Elena Parent (D-Atlanta) said. “This is real affordability legislation in a year where Georgians face higher utility bills, grocery prices, and health insurance premiums. Republicans need to drag themselves back to the Capitol, stop kissing Donald Trump’s ring, and pass this bill. The data centers cannot be allowed to keep leeching off our state. 65% of Georgians voted for change in last fall’s PSC elections. Let’s take some action for them.”
The bill is cosponsored by Democratic Senators Elena Parent (D-Atlanta), Kim Jackson (D-Stone Mountain), Michael “Doc” Rhett (D-Marietta), Sally Harrell (D-Atlanta), RaShaun Kemp (D-Atlanta), Freddie Powell Sims (D-Dawson), Josh McLaurin (D-Sandy Springs), Ed Harbison (D-Columbus), Nabilah Parkes (D-Duluth), Sheik Rahman (D-Lawrenceville), Derek Mallow (D-Savannah), Emanuel Jones (D-Decatur), Tonya Anderson (D-Lithonia), and Kenya Wicks (D-Fayette).
Background
Senate Bill 34 would protect consumers’ utility bills from increased energy demand from large load customers that have peak demand of 100 megawatts or greater. Large load customers can include data centers, power plants, cryptocurrency mining centers, and industrial facilities.
Utility companies would be prohibited from increasing ratepayers’ bills for services that are substantially related to powering large load customers. Utility companies could recover the increased cost from these customers by charging them exclusively or in substantial part.
Both Minority Leader Harold Jones II (D-Augusta) and Senator Michael “Doc” Rhett (D-Marietta) are cosponsors of Senate Bill 408. This bill would advance the expiration date for the Data Center Sales & Use Tax Exemption from 2033 to 2027.
In January 2026, the Department of Audits and Accounts revised a Christmas Eve 2025 report that showed Georgia gave away more than $474 million in unnecessary tax breaks to data centers. The same report said that approximately 70% of current data centers would’ve come to Georgia without the tax exemption.
Earlier this month, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that Governor Brian Kemp’s Office of Planning and Budget projected the tax breaks to give away more than $2.5 billion.
Caucus Chair Elena Parent is available for comment
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