Doylestown Township and New Britain Township have spent months drafting zoning rules for data centers. A bill advancing in Harrisburg would add a statewide layer of protection: no local or state government could sign a non-disclosure agreement with a data center developer.

The Pennsylvania Senate Communications and Technology Committee voted unanimously Tuesday, Sept. 29, to approve Senate Bill 1408, as Central Bucks Now reported. The bill now goes to the full Senate.

Under SB 1408, any public agency would be barred from entering an NDA with a data center owner, operator or representative concerning a facility's construction, development or location. Any agreement signed in violation would be void and unenforceable. The bill would take effect 60 days after enactment.

Sen. Tracy Pennycuick, a District 24 Republican who chairs the committee, sponsored the bill along with Sens. Malone, Brown and Vogel. Pennycuick said local officials have a responsibility to communicate openly with residents about data center development and that NDAs restrict that duty.

Central Bucks Now reported that in nearly half of Pennsylvania municipalities hosting prominent data center projects, local officials or staffers had signed NDAs.

SB 1408 is not the only NDA measure moving through Harrisburg. A companion bill, HB 2359, sponsored by state Rep. Joe Ciresi, a Montgomery County Democrat who chairs the House Communications and Technology Committee, passed the House 171-31 in June. That bill would require data center operators seeking the state's sales tax exemption to attest they have not entered an NDA with any government entity. It awaits action in the Senate Finance Committee.

"Anything that says they can't sign an NDA, I will be for," Ciresi said Sept. 29. "Everything should be full disclosure."

The committee vote came on the second day the Legislature was back in session after an 11-week break. Lawmakers left Harrisburg on July 12 without passing any data center legislation.

Gov. Josh Shapiro signed an executive order Aug. 18 barring state agencies from signing data center NDAs. That order does not reach local governments. SB 1408 would close that gap.

Locally, Doylestown Township supervisors unanimously authorized advertisement of a proposed data center zoning ordinance in August. The draft would limit standalone data centers to the light-industrial district as a conditional use, with setbacks of at least 100 feet and 200 feet near residential property. Officials said the ordinance could come up for adoption in October.

New Britain Township supervisors also voted unanimously in August to begin a six-month curative amendment process to develop data center zoning rules. No data center application was pending at the time.

SB 1408 now awaits a vote by the full Senate. No floor date has been scheduled.