Texas House candidate calls for data center moratorium in Big Country

Democratic candidate Diana Luna has highlighted data center expansion and housing affordability as key issues in her campaign for Texas House District 71 in the Big Country region.

Luna expressed support for a temporary moratorium on new data center projects across the area. She noted that a pause would give local governments time to assess long-term infrastructure and public service costs, municipal tax abatements, and the potential economic impacts if the data center sector encounters a market downturn.

Luna also proposed creating a specialized regulatory commission to monitor data center operations. Her stated concerns include the volume of water consumed during construction, water usage in cooling mechanisms, and the potential for cooling chemicals such as PFAS to contaminate local groundwater if closed-loop systems leak.

On residential development, Luna stated that escalating housing costs are making communities such as Abilene less accessible. She advocated for legislation to expand the regulatory authority of local officials and county commissioners, aiming to address rising rents, large-scale investment purchases of residential homes, and land use in unincorporated areas.