Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that every American and community impacted by the construction or operation of an artificial intelligence data center should have the right to transparency and local autonomy.

H.Res. 1471 is a non-binding resolution expressing the "sense of the House of Representatives." It formally states that Congress should pass future legislation establishing a "Data Center Bill of Rights." Because it is a non-binding resolution, it does not directly change federal law, grant legal rights, or impose immediate mandates. Instead, it lays out a proposed legislative framework to give local communities more authority and transparency over the construction and operation of artificial intelligence (AI) data centers.

If the legislation proposed in the resolution were enacted in the future, it would affect: * **Local communities and residents:** Particularly households, schools, childcare facilities, hospitals, and nursing homes located near potential AI data center sites. * **Small businesses and utility customers:** By offering protections against rising electricity rates tied to data center energy demands. * **State and local governments:** Including cities, counties, and state legislatures seeking to regulate, pause, or reject data center developments. * **AI data center developers and owners:** Who would face new zoning limits, tax rules, environmental standards, and reporting requirements. * **Water and power utilities:** Which would interact with data centers under new transparency and resource-demand standards.

The resolution calls on Congress to enact legislation that would establish the following standards: * **Zoning Restrictions:** Allow local governments to ban AI data centers in residential areas and within 2,500 feet of homes, schools, childcare facilities, hospitals, or nursing homes. * **Local Control:** Prevent state governments from overruling or preempting local decisions to regulate or prohibit data centers. * **Statewide Pauses:** Give states the explicit right to place temporary pauses (moratoria) on new data center construction until protective laws regarding utility rates and water usage are enacted. * **Utility and Environmental Rules:** Protect households and small businesses from electricity rate increases caused by data center power demands. Mandate that data centers use clean, reliable energy and comply with strict limits on noise and air pollution. * **Impact Reports:** Require an independent, publicly available impact report before a project can be approved. Reports would evaluate effects on electricity demand, health, noise, air pollution, housing availability, rents, consumer prices, 10-year economic impacts, and job creation. * **Water Transparency:** Require data centers to publicly disclose projected water consumption, obtain a written compatibility determination before approval, and report actual water usage every six months. * **Community Agreements:** Mandate legally binding agreements requiring data center developers to support local workforce training, affordable housing, water and infrastructure upgrades, public computing resources, and local tech jobs.

This resolution does not authorize or spend federal funds. However, it calls for future legislation regarding taxes, fees, and subsidies: * **Tax Payments:** Data center owners and developers would be required to pay state and local taxes. * **Subsidies and Tax Breaks:** Any public subsidies or tax exemptions granted to data centers would be tied to strict labor standards and transparency rules. * **Clawback Provisions:** Mandates that developers return public subsidies or tax exemptions if they fail to meet the agreed-upon conditions. * **Utility Protection:** Prohibits data centers from causing utility rate or fee increases for residential consumers and small businesses.

* **Non-Binding Status:** The primary limitation is that this resolution carries no force of law. It does not set legal mandates, change current zoning laws, or restrict data centers on its own. * **Unclear Scope:** The resolution text provided does not specify criteria for defining what qualifies as an "AI data center" versus standard computing infrastructure, nor does it list specific exemptions for existing facilities.

H.Res. 1471 is an official statement expressing that the House of Representatives wants Congress to pass a "Data Center Bill of Rights." While it outlines strong proposed protections for local communities, water supplies, and electricity rates regarding AI data centers, it does not directly change any laws today.