California enacts seven data center laws under Newsom

California Governor Gavin Newsom signed a package of seven bills on September 21, 2026, imposing new reporting and cost-recovery requirements on data centers, a move that could reshape the economics of building artificial intelligence facilities in the state. The laws require data center operators to disclose their water and electricity use, pay for necessary grid and water infrastructure upgrades rather than shifting those costs to other customers, and forgo blanket environmental review exemptions. Three of the measures shift electric infrastructure costs away from residential customers and toward operators, three mandate disclosures of water usage and other resources, and one makes data centers ineligible for categorical exemptions under the California Environmental Quality Act. Under Assembly Bill 1577, proposed data centers must provide the California Energy Commission and local regulators with estimates of their yearly electricity consumption and other operational data. AB 2383 sets electricity tariff requirements aimed at recovering costs from incremental generation and grid losses.