By admin 
After Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed her data center water disclosure bill last year, Assemblymember Diane Papan, D-San Mateo, returned this year with a two-bill package.
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One of the bills, AB 2619, was passed by the Legislature Thursday morning, sending to Newsom a measure that would require data centers to report their water consumption annually. The other bill, AB 2469, which would require information about projected water demand before new data centers are approved, is still moving through the Legislature.
“When it comes to water, when it comes to California’s future, we cannot manage what we do not measure,” Papan said before the Assembly voted to approve the Senate’s changes to AB 2619.
The bill’s passage sends part of Papan’s broader proposal back to the governor, who rejected it last year when he vetoed AB 93.
At the time, Newsom said he was “reluctant to impose rigid reporting requirements about operational details on this sector without understanding the full impact on businesses.”
Papan argued the need for the legislation has only grown since Newsom’s veto, pointing to increasing public concern as data center development expands.
“I’m inviting the government, the governor, to be a part of leadership here, and that’s what I’m focused on,” Papan said in a July interview with The Sacramento Bee.
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Supporters of the bills argue California does not currently have a complete picture of how much water data centers use, making it more difficult for local water suppliers to plan for facilities that can become large, long-term customers.
Opponents have argued that existing state law already gives local water agencies the information they need to plan for new development and that additional reporting requirements would place unnecessary burdens on the industry.
“We believe any requirements for reporting, assessments, and classification systems should strike a balance of addressing resource planning needs without imposing unnecessary burdens on the industry,” said the Data Center Coalition in a statement to The Bee in July. “This legislation would fail to meet those benchmarks and would instead make the state less competitive for future investment.”
Papan has rejected arguments that the legislation unfairly singles out data centers, saying some facilities can consume large amounts of water and that greater transparency would help communities plan for that demand.
AB 2619 now heads to Newsom, who will decide whether to sign or veto the measure. AB 2469 has not yet cleared the Legislature.
“We presented the bill again, and we’re very optimistic that California is going to show a lot of leadership,” Papan said after the vote.
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