Howard County, Maryland, adopted a data-center moratorium on June 2, 2026. Its status in this snapshot is enacted.
Howard County, Maryland, adopted a data-center moratorium on June 1, 2026. Its status in this snapshot is pending.
The records read: "The Howard County Council passed CB31-2026, a temporary moratorium pausing data center development through November 2027 to modernize the county's roughly 1993-era zoning regulations covering energy, water, and siting. Sponsored by… (datacentertracker.org)." "Data-center moratorium, adopted 2026-06-01, adoption pending or unconfirmed (Moratorium Nation)."
Details
| Action | Class | Status | Date | MW threshold | Scope | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Moratorium | restriction | enacted | June 2, 2026 | county-wide | datacentertracker.org | |
| Moratorium | restriction | pending | June 1, 2026 | county-wide | Moratorium Nation (ALEA Institute) |
Jurisdiction type: county. County: Howard County. Dataset: datacentertracker. Snapshot August 15, 2026; documented actions, not a census.
Maryland context
Maryland has 18 documented local actions across 14 jurisdictions in this snapshot. At the state level, the state has a ratepayer-protection law (enacted).
A town that says no to a data center gives up local tax revenue, not jobs: one large campus pays $2M to $90M a year depending on the tax regime, against roughly 50 permanent jobs. The parent piece prices it and lists the conditions that beat a ban.