Paxton Unveils Texas Data Center Plan, Backing $3 Billion Tax Break Repeal
Updated
Updated · CBS New York · Aug 25
Paxton Unveils Texas Data Center Plan, Backing $3 Billion Tax Break Repeal
3 articles · Updated · CBS New York · Aug 25
Summary
Ken Paxton on Monday rolled out a "Texas First Data Center Plan" that backs Gov. Greg Abbott's state guardrails while adding federal proposals on power, water and AI oversight.
The plan would require data centers to fund their own electricity, expand grid capacity, use closed-loop water systems and stay out of rural neighborhoods so they do not raise Texans' utility bills.
Paxton also said he would co-sponsor the proposed DATA Act, file a bill banning Chinese technology in U.S. data centers, and seek criminal liability when AI chatbots from those facilities endanger children.
More than $3 billion in Texas data-center sales tax incentives is projected over the next two years, and Paxton now joins both parties in calling for those breaks to end when lawmakers return in January.
The rollout lands as data centers become a 2026 election flashpoint, with Democrats demanding a moratorium and special session while Abbott keeps new permits paused pending months-long ERCOT and PUC audits.