{"AmendmentNumber":"108","ParentBillNumber":"S3143","Bill":null,"Sponsor":{"Id":"DAF0","Name":"Dylan A. Fernandes","Type":1,"Details":"https://malegislature.gov/api/GeneralCourts/194/LegislativeMembers/DAF0","ResponseDate":"2026-06-26T13:31:35.65"},"Category":null,"Action":"Rejected","RollCall":[],"Title":"Relative to data centers","Branch":"Senate","RedraftNumber":null,"IsFurther":false,"GeneralCourtNumber":194,"Text":"Mr. Fernandes moves that the proposed new text be amended by inserting at the end thereof the following two sections:-\r\nSECTION X. Chapter 23A of the General Laws is hereby amended by striking out section 70 in its entirety and replacing it with the following section:- \r\nSection 70. (a) The terms defined in paragraph (zz) of section 6 of chapter 64H shall apply to this section unless the context clearly requires otherwise.\r\n(b) The secretary of the executive office of economic development, in consultation with the commissioner of revenue , shall determine qualifications for qualified data centers, to qualify for a sales and use tax exemption pursuant to paragraph (zz) of section 6 of chapter 64H.\r\n(c) To apply for the sales and use tax exemption pursuant to paragraph (zz) of section 6 of chapter 64H, the owner or operator of a data center shall submit to the secretary of economic development an application on a form prescribed by the commissioner of revenue that shall include:\r\n(i) the name, address and telephone number of the owner or operator;\r\n(ii) the address of the site where the qualified data center is or will be located, including, but not limited to, information sufficient to identify the facility composing the data center, and the expected commercial operations date of each data center building that will be located at the data center facility;\r\n(iii) the anticipated aggregate square feet of the qualified data center for which the sales and use tax exemption is being sought; provided, that in determining whether the facility has the required square footage, the total square footage of the data center facility shall include the space that houses the computer information technology equipment, networking, data processing or data storage, including, but not limited to, servers and routers and the following spaces that support the operation of enterprise information technology equipment including, but not limited to, office space, meeting space, loading dock space and mechanical and other support facilities;\r\n(iv) the anticipated investment associated with the qualified data center for which the sales and use tax exemption is being sought;\r\n(v) the anticipated number of jobs that the data center will create and maintain within 1 year, 5 years and 10 years of operations after certification; and\r\n(vi) all project labor and labor peace agreements or proof that prevailing wage was paid;\r\n(vii) community benefits agreement;\r\n(viii) an affirmation, signed by an authorized executive representing the owner or operator, that the data center is expected to satisfy the certification requirements in this section as a qualified data center;\r\n(ix) an estimate of the annual electricity consumption of the proposed Qualified Data Center; and\r\n(x) an estimate of the annual consumption of water and chemical discharge.\r\n(d)(1) Within 60 days after receiving a completed application, the secretary of economic development shall review the application submitted by the owner or operator of a data center and certify the data center as a certified qualified data center if the data center meets all requirements of this section.\r\n(2) The secretary shall issue a written certification that the data center qualifies for the sales and use tax exemption or provide written reasons for its denial and an opportunity for the applicant to cure any deficiencies.\r\n(3) Failure to approve or deny the application within 60 days after the date the owner or operator submits the application to the secretary shall constitute approval of the qualified data center and the secretary shall issue written certification to the owner or operator within 14 days.\r\n(4) The certification shall provide the following information related to each data center:\r\n(i) the effective date of the certification;\r\n(ii) the total square footage of the qualified data center;\r\n(iii) the total amount of land costs, construction costs, refurbishment costs and eligible data center equipment; and\r\n(iv) the beginning and ending dates of the sales and use tax exemption for the first data center building, which shall begin on the effective date of the certification and be valid for qualification period, and for a qualified data center that is comprised of more than 1 data center building, the expected commercial operations dates and expected qualification periods for subsequent data center buildings expected to be located at the qualified data center\r\n(5) The secretary shall send a copy of the certification to the commissioner of revenue.\r\n(e) The effective date of the certification shall be the date on which the application was submitted to the secretary or a prospective date stated in the application that does not exceed 5 years after the date on which the application was submitted; provided, that the certification shall be valid through the qualification period.\r\n(f) The secretary and commissioner shall review the certification after 4 years.\r\n(g)(1) For the purposes of this section, the term “material noncompliance” shall mean the failure of a qualified data center to substantially achieve the investment requirements and minimum number of jobs or to comply with this section or paragraph (zz) of section 6 of chapter 64H.\r\n(2) The secretary may revoke the certification of a qualified data center after an investigation by the executive office of economic development, in consultation with the department of revenue, and a written determination that the qualified data center is in material noncompliance with this section, paragraph (zz) of section 6 of chapter 64H or the certification.\r\n(3) Revocation shall take effect on the first day of the tax year in which the executive office of economic development determines the qualified data center to be in material noncompliance. The commissioner of revenue shall, as of the effective date of the revocation, disallow any credits, exemptions or other tax benefits allowed by the original certification of tax benefits pursuant to paragraph (zz) of section 6 of chapter 64H.\r\n(h) Each qualified data center shall file an annual report with the secretary and commissioner detailing its progress towards the requirements established pursuant to this section, the specific investment requirements pursuant to paragraph (zz) of section 6 of chapter 64H.\r\n(i) Qualified data centers shall also meet the following requirements. The secretary and commissioner shall revoke the certification of a qualified data center and require the qualified data center to pay the department of revenue all sales tax exempted since the effective date of certification for failure to comply with the requirements enumerated below.\r\n(1) The qualified data center shall execute project labor agreements and labor peace agreements or pay prevailing wage for the construction and operation of a qualified data center and any associated power generation built to serve the qualified data center.\r\n(2) The qualified data center shall execute a community benefits agreement entered into by member of the community in which the qualified data center is located.\r\n(3) The qualified data center shall meet or exceed the building energy requirements of the most recent data center building standard adopted by the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers.\r\n(4) The qualified data center shall install and maintain a solar photovoltaic system or systems on all permanent buildings, where possible, for at least the duration of the qualification period. All solar photovoltaic systems must enroll, when eligible, in any solar incentive program established pursuant to section 25 of chapter 25A.\r\n(5) The qualified data center shall only utilize clean energy generation sources eligible for backup generation and shall not utilize any source of back-up generation that is fueled by a fossil fuel.\r\n(6) The qualified data center must enroll in all available energy efficiency and load management programs provided by their electric company.\r\n(7) The qualified data center must limit waste thermal energy vented to the air, ground, or water by capturing and delivering waste heat as a thermal energy source to outside loads such as through thermal energy networks, networked geothermal districts, or to adjacent buildings. If the qualified data center believes that capturing and delivering waste heat to outside loads is cost prohibitive, it must present a technical and financial analysis for demonstrating the reason for it being cost prohibitive.\r\n(8) Each July 1, the qualified data center must make an annual energy source report to the department of energy resources that identifies the amount of energy, disaggregated by the source of energy, consumed by the data center in the previous calendar year. In such report, the qualified data center must demonstrate that the equivalent of one hundred percent of its electricity is provided by new clean energy generation sources and that at least sixty percent of the electricity generated by such sources matches the data center electricity consumption on an hourly basis. Such clean energy generation sources must be incremental to existing resources and be built as a result a contract or other financial commitment made by the data center.\r\n(j) Each qualified data center shall pay an annual fee to based on the qualified data center's peak electricity demand: (1) $750,000 for facilities with demand above 20 megawatts and at or below 75 megawatts; and (2) $3,000,000 for facilities with demand above 75 megawatts.\r\n(k) The secretary, in consultation with the commissioner of revenue, shall promulgate regulations and shall issue instructions or forms necessary for the implementation of this section. Such regulations may require qualified data centers to pay sales tax exempted for non-compliance.\r\nSECTION X+1. Chapter 164 of the General Laws is hereby amended by inserting after section 151 the following section:-\r\nSection 152. (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, costs to serve the load of a qualified data center, as defined in paragraph (zz) of section 6 of chapter 64H, shall not be charged to any other customer.\r\n(b) Each electric company shall develop a load flexibility program for qualified data centers to reduce peak load.\r\n(c) On or before January 1, 2027, each electric company shall file with the department tariffs, as necessary, to implement subsections (a) and (b).\r\n"}