As Introduced

136th General Assembly

Regular Session H. B. No. 710

2025-2026

To amend section 163.01 and to enact sections 9.71, 9.711, and 4933.71 of the Revised Code to prohibit public support for, and limit the construction of, new data centers.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:

Section 1. That section 163.01 be amended and sections 9.71, 9.711, and 4933.71 of the Revised Code be enacted to read as follows:

Sec. 9.71. (A) As used in this section:

(1) "Economic development assistance" has the same meaning as in section 9.66 of the Revised Code.

(2) "Incentive" means any tax credit, grant, loan, economic development assistance, or funding of any kind from the state, a state agency, a political subdivision, a taxing authority, or the nonprofit corporation formed under section 187.01 of the Revised Code or any of its subsidiaries.

(3) "Political subdivision" has the same meaning as in section 2744.01 of the Revised Code.

(4) "New data center" means a facility that meets both of the following:

(a) The facility consists of one or more buildings dedicated to housing computer systems, servers, storage, and network equipment to collect, process, store, and distribute large amounts of data.

(b) As of the effective date of this section, both of the following are met:

(i) Construction of the facility has not commenced;

(ii) No final local, zoning, or land use approval regarding the facility has been issued.(B)(1) Neither the state nor any political subdivision shall award an incentive for the construction or operation of a new data center.

(2) If the state or a political subdivision determines that an incentive has been awarded in violation of this section, the entity shall refund the incentive according to the procedure adopted by the state agency or political subdivision that awarded the incentive.

(3) Any state agency or political subdivision that awards incentives shall adopt procedures for the review of complaints pertaining to violations of division (B)(1) of this section.

Sec. 9.711. (A) As used in this section:

(1) "New data center" has the same meaning as in section 9.71 of the Revised Code.

(2) "Political subdivision" means a county, township, or any other body corporate and politic that is responsible for government activities in a geographic area smaller than that of the state, except for a municipal corporation.

(3) "Prime farmland" has the same meaning as in section 1513.01 of the Revised Code;

(4) "Public land" includes real property located in this state that is owned by the state or a political subdivision.

(B) Except as provided in division (C) of this section, no new data center shall be constructed on prime farmland, public land, or land located within a platted residential neighborhood.

(1) The prime farmland is voluntarily sold.

(2) The board of county commissioners adopts a resolution authorizing the construction of a new data center on the prime farmland.

Sec. 163.01. As used in sections 163.01 to 163.22 of the Revised Code:

(A) "Public agency" means any governmental corporation, unit, organization, instrumentality, or officer authorized by law to appropriate property in the courts of this state.

(B) "Private agency" means any corporation, firm, partnership, voluntary association, joint-stock association, or company that is not a public agency and that is authorized by law to appropriate property in the courts of this state.

(D) "Court" means the court of common pleas or the probate court of any county in which the property sought to be appropriated is located in whole or in part.

(E) "Owner" means any individual, partnership, association, or corporation having any estate, title, or interest in any real property sought to be appropriated.

(F) "Real property," "land," or "property" includes any estate, title, or interest in any real property that is authorized to be appropriated by the agency in question, unless the context otherwise requires.

(G) "Public utility" has the same meaning as in section 4905.02 of the Revised Code and also includes a public utility owned or operated by one or more municipal corporations, an electric cooperative, and an agency holding a certificate of public convenience and necessity granted by the federal energy regulatory commission.

(H)(1) "Public use" does not include any taking that is for conveyance to a private commercial enterprise, economic development, or solely for the purpose of increasing public revenue, unless the property is conveyed or leased to one of the following:

(a) A public utility, municipal power agency, or common carrier;

(b) A private entity that occupies a port authority transportation facility or an incidental area within a publicly owned and occupied project;

(c) A private entity when the agency that takes the property establishes by a preponderance of the evidence that the property is a blighted parcel or is included in a blighted area.

(2) "Public use" does not include any taking to acquire property for use as a new data center, as that term is defined in section 9.71 of the Revised Code.

(3) ~~All~~ Except as otherwise provided in division (H)(1) and (2) of this section, all of the following are presumed to be public uses: utility facilities, roads, sewers, water lines, public schools, public institutions of higher education, private institutions of higher education that are authorized to appropriate property under section 3333.08 of the Revised Code, public parks, government buildings, port authority transportation facilities, projects by an agency that is a public utility, and similar facilities and uses of land.

(I) "Electric cooperative" has the same meaning as in section 4928.01 of the Revised Code.

(J) "Good faith offer" means the written offer that an agency that is appropriating property must make to the owner of the property pursuant to division (B) of section 163.04 of the Revised Code before commencing an appropriation proceeding.

(K) "Goodwill" means the calculable benefits that accrue to a business as a result of its location, reputation for dependability, skill or quality, and any other circumstances that result in probable retention of old, or acquisition of new, patronage.

(L) "Municipal power agency" has the same meaning as in section 3734.058 of the Revised Code.

(M) "Port authority transportation facility" means any facility developed, controlled, or operated by a port authority for the purpose of providing passenger, cargo, or freight transportation services, such as airports, maritime ports, rail facilities, transit facilities, and support facilities directly related to any airport, maritime port, rail facility, or transit facility.

Sec. 4933.71. (A) As used in this section, "new data center" has the same meaning as in section 9.71 of the Revised Code.

(B) Notwithstanding any provision of the Revised Code to the contrary, no new data center shall be approved, permitted, or interconnected to receive utility service unless the new data center developer demonstrates to the satisfaction of the public utilities commission that the new data center's electric load will not result in increased electricity rates for residential, agricultural, or small business customers.

(C) Compliance with division (B) of this section shall be conclusively presumed where the new data center developer constructs or contractually secures newly constructed nuclear or natural gas–fired electric generation capacity equal to one hundred per cent of the data center's projected peak electric load.

(D) A new data center not utilizing nuclear or natural gas–fired generation may be approved under division (B) of this section only upon an affirmative finding by the commission, supported by substantial evidence, that the data center will comply with division (E) of this section.

(E) All generation transmission, distribution, capacity, congestion, and ancillary service costs attributable to a new data center shall be fully borne by the developer and no cross-subsidization or cost shifting to other customer classes shall occur.

(F) The commission shall require enforceable financial assurances, including performance bonds, letters of credit, or escrowed security, sufficient to fully protect ratepayers in the event that projected cost neutrality under this section is not achieved.

Section 2. That existing section 163.01 of the Revised Code is hereby repealed.