State Rep. James Talarico, a Democratic Senate candidate, said Wednesday that data center construction in Texas should not be allowed to contribute to the state’s ongoing affordability crisis.
Talarico was speaking during a Q&A dialogue with the United States Hispanic Business Council (USHBC), moderated by USHBC President Javier Palomarez. He said data centers are “exacerbating the affordability crisis” and that they should only be built if they can meet community demands, pay for their own energy and water, recycle their water, and gain police approval.
“If a data center company can’t meet the demands of the community where they seek to operate, if they can’t pay for their own energy, if they can’t pay for their own water and recycle their water, if they can’t get the consent and the input of the police who live in these communities, then they shouldn’t be built,” Talarico said.
What Talarico Wants From Data Centers
Talarico argued that data centers should work with communities rather than strong-arm them. He said he believes in local control and has fought for it in the state legislature.
His conditions for new projects are specific:
- Meet community demands
- Pay for their own energy and water
- Recycle their water
- Gain police approval
He also criticized Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, alleging that Paxton has taken campaign donations from data center companies.
“I have not taken a dime from data center companies,” Talarico said. “But Paxton has taken nearly half a million dollars from them.”
Paxton’s Own Session
Paxton participated in his own Q&A session with the USHBC earlier this week, calling for balancing border security with immigration reform to help labor-starved business sectors.
The talks covered healthcare and immigration, with the full discussions available on the USHBC’s website.
The Politics Behind It
Talarico’s remarks come as he runs for the Senate against Paxton. His argument is about who gets to decide where data centers land.
He is asking data center companies to do three things before they build:
- Get permission from local police
- Pay for the energy and water they consume
- Recycle their water so they do not drain local supplies
Talarico framed the issue as local control against corporate overreach. He wants economic development decisions to stay at the community level rather than being made by Austin or Washington.
What Is At Stake
Data centers need water, electricity, and room to grow. They also need approval to operate.
Talarico’s position is that those approvals should not be automatic. Communities should have a say, and companies should have to meet basic standards before they break ground.
Talarico’s list — police approval, paying for energy and water, recycling water — is not unreasonable on its face.
What is telling is the contrast with Paxton. While Talarico has taken no money from data center companies, Paxton has accepted nearly half a million dollars from them.
That difference is the core of Talarico’s complaint. He is running for Senate against Paxton, who, by his account, has taken money from the very companies he wants to regulate.
The USHBC’s website hosts the full recordings of both sessions, so anyone who wants to hear the arguments in full can do so.
Talarico is doing the work of making the case.
Source material: “Talarico says data centers shouldn’t be ‘running over’ Texas communities and local governments,” Houston Public Media.
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