Local Control Protection Act

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 9262 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 9262

To protect the authority of local governments to make zoning decisions
  regarding data center development, and to require community benefit
         agreements as a condition for Federal tax incentives.

_______________________________________________________________________

                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             June 11, 2026

Mr. Bresnahan introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
 Committee on Ways and Means, and in addition to the Committee on the
 Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker,
 in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the
                jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

To protect the authority of local governments to make zoning decisions
  regarding data center development, and to require community benefit
         agreements as a condition for Federal tax incentives.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Local Control Protection Act''.

SEC. 2. PROTECTION OF LOCAL GOVERNMENTS.

    A court of the United States shall not have jurisdiction to hear
any challenge to the determination of a unit of local government to
preclude the development of a covered data center, if the determination
was made by a recorded vote along with documented findings.

SEC. 3. FEDERAL AGENCY ACTION PROHIBITION.

    No Federal agency may approve permits related to the construction
or operation of a covered data center if the owner, operator, or
developer of such covered data center has initiated or is maintaining a
legal action in any court seeking to challenge, overturn, or otherwise
override a zoning denial issued by a unit of local government with
respect to that covered data center, if the determination was made by a
recorded vote along with documented findings.

SEC. 4. COMMUNITY BENEFIT REQUIREMENT FOR TAX CREDIT ELIGIBILITY.

    (a) In General.--Part IV of subchapter A of chapter 1 of subtitle A
of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by adding at the end
the following new subpart:

``Subpart H--Community Benefit Requirement for Credits for Data Centers

``SEC. 54. COMMUNITY BENEFIT REQUIREMENT FOR CREDITS FOR DATA CENTERS.

    ``(a) In General.--No credit against the tax imposed by this
chapter for any taxable year shall be allowed under this part to a
taxpayer developing a covered data center (as defined in section 5 of
the Local Control Protection Act) during such taxable year if such
taxpayer does not include on their return of tax for such taxable year
and make publicly available an executed legally enforceable agreement
with the chief executive of the unit of local government in which the
covered data center will be developed that includes terms related to
local tax liabilities, infrastructure mitigation measures addressing
road, water, stormwater, and utility impacts, environmental and noise
monitoring protocols, and that is accompanied by a Local Workforce
Utilization Plan that--
            ``(1) documents the good-faith efforts of the developer to
        recruit and hire workers from the region in which the covered
        data center is located before sourcing labor from outside the
        region;
            ``(2) identifies partnerships with registered
        apprenticeship programs, career and technical education
        centers, community colleges, and local workforce development
        organizations serving the region; and
            ``(3) demonstrates a preference for local contractors and
        subcontractors whenever qualified local firms are available.
The Local Workforce Utilization Plan shall be publicly filed as part of
the agreement required under this subsection and shall be updated
annually for the duration of the construction period.
    ``(b) Related Party.--All persons which are treated as a single
employer under subsections (a) and (b) of section 52 shall be treated
as a single taxpayer for purposes of this section.''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of subparts for part IV of
subchapter A of chapter 1 of subtitle A of such Code is amended by
adding at the end the following new item:

 subpart h. community benefit requirement for credits for data centers.

    (c) Effective Date.--The amendment made by this section shall apply
to taxable years beginning after the date of the enactment of this Act.

SEC. 5. DEFINITION.

    In this Act, the term ``covered data center'' means--
            (1) a data center (as defined in section 453(a) of the
        Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (42 U.S.C.
        17112(a))) with a power demand of 20 megawatts or more; or
            (2) any group of facilities--
                    (A) under common ownership or control;
                    (B) the majority of which primarily contain
                electronic equipment used to process, store, and
                transmit digital information;
                    (C) located on a contiguous or proximate site
                within the same municipality or county; and
                    (D) that, in the aggregate, have a power demand of
                20 or more megawatts.
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