Ohio lawmakers grilled lobbyists with Amazon, Google, Meta and Microsoft for hours Thursday, and while the Joint Data Center Committee hearing stretched into the afternoon, its members said they adjourned with some questions unanswered.
The four lobbyists each defended the longterm investments made by their companies in Ohio. In some cases, they said industry issues are better addressed by utilities, the regulators of those utilities or local governments.
“The locals have a lot of power, right?” Google Data Center Market and Policy Manager Liz Schwab testified. “They have all the local control and authority to determine how these projects or if these projects move forward, and if we go against any of our local agreements, they can shut us down.”
Microsoft has committed to end its use of non-disclosure agreements with locals, but Amazon Web Services Head of Energy and Sustainability Public Policy Craig Sundstrom said Thursday that AWS sees them as another “tool.”
Residents have criticized NDAs for shrouding data center decisions in secrecy. “That’s causing a lot of the distrust and anxiety,” Rep. Adam Holmes (R-Nashport) told reporters.
Rep. Heidi Workman (R-Rootstown) asked why the companies building data centers had fallen behind on messaging. “You’re doing a terrible job actually selling your product on the public scale,” Workman said.
Some concerns from citizens, Schwab said, boiled down to misinformation or false narratives.
“I agree with you,” she testified. “We’re behind, and we’re dedicated to doing more and doing better.”
Lawmakers asked questions about state and local tax incentives, and electric and water usage, too. The committee is scheduled to meet at least two more times next week.
Speaker Matt Huffman (R-Lima) told reporters Wednesday that before summer break, he wants lawmakers to take action and pass "some sort of data center legislation, and that's why we formed this joint committee." When the committee was announced, Chavez had said it was intended to help in "just gathering facts and information on what's happening out there, what reality is."
Lawmakers have been expected to leave for summer break next week, with no plans to return until after the November election. There are two House sessions and a Senate session set for next week, and two as-needed House sessions and one in the Senate later in June.
