On the last day of their legislative session (Jun 4), New York lawmakers passed a one-year moratorium on data centers. The one-year pause is intended to give the state time to gather data, craft regulations for future development amid concerns over water and energy use, and study other environmental impacts and grid load. The bill awaits action by Gov. Kathy Hochul, who has indicated a preference for local land-use control and has not committed to signing the legislation. If Hochul signs the measure, it would enact the nation’s first statewide moratorium. Earlier this spring, Maine lawmakers passed legislation that would have made their state the first to impose a statewide moratorium, but Gov. Janet Mills vetoed it.
The Oregon Prosperity Council, an advisory body created by Gov. Tina Kotek in January to develop actionable strategies to accelerate the state's economy, grow its GDP, create good-paying jobs, and recruit and retain businesses, is expected to release its final report with recommendations for Kotek on June 25. As part of the report, numerous sources say the panel will recommend an overhaul of Business Oregon, the state’s economic development agency. According to reporting by the Oregon Journalism Project, a nonprofit newsroom, stakeholders describe Business Oregon as “underperforming relative to peer states” and plagued by several issues, including “small scale of programs and diffuse focus.” In a draft report circulated in May, the panel was recommending that the agency be remade into a Department of Commerce.
On June 9, Tennessee officials introduced the nation’s first state-level regulatory framework for nuclear fusion machines. The new rules establish a technology-neutral approach for overseeing fusion systems and set out formal definitions, licensing requirements, and safety standards for fusion facilities and operations. Tennessee has been a Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) Agreement state for more than 60 years, giving it limited authority to regulate nuclear activities within its borders. With this framework, it becomes the first state to create its own comprehensive regulations for fusion technologies and advances its role as a growing hub for advanced nuclear technologies.