California Governor Gavin Newsom has signed seven state bills requiring datacenter operators to significantly increase disclosure of their water and electricity consumption and to involve local communities in future facility planning. The legislation mandates that datacenters pay for grid connections, electricity generation costs, and an expanded share of wildfire mitigation expenses. This regulatory shift reflects growing public opposition to datacenter expansion and marks a reversal from Newsom's previous opposition to such measures, contrasting sharply with the Trump administration's push toward deregulation of the sector.

Community concerns about datacenters—including water depletion, energy cost increases, pollution, and effects on employment—have sparked nationwide resistance. Sixteen states are currently considering datacenter construction bans, whilst over thirty state legislatures have introduced some form of datacenter regulation. Data Center Watch estimates that at least 45 projects worth approximately $68 billion were blocked or delayed during the second quarter of 2026 alone, demonstrating the scale of public pushback. Transparency advocates argue the new disclosure requirements will help communities understand datacenters' environmental impact and protect consumers from bearing infrastructure costs.