Today it is data centers. Tomorrow it could be any business someone decides is unpopular.

NBC4 reports that new legislation would require local voter approval before communities could approve data center projects, while also barring local officials from signing nondisclosure agreements with developers.

Ohio Manufacturers’ Association (OMA) President Ryan Augsburger pushed back on the proposal, warning that creating a special approval process for one industry is a dangerous precedent.

“We’ve seen laws happening at the local level and at the state level that impact data center businesses specifically,” Augsburger told NBC4. “My association contends that that’s discrimination against a business activity.”

OMA has also been clear that data centers should pay the full costs they create, including necessary grid upgrades, up front rather than shifting those costs and risks onto existing customers. But holding large new loads accountable for their costs is very different from creating a separate political approval process for one type of business.

Augsburger also warned that a patchwork of local approval rules would undermine the predictability businesses need when deciding where to invest.

Data centers are generating plenty of legitimate policy questions in Ohio. The answer should be clear rules, full accountability and no cost-shifting, not a new political test for whether a business gets to operate. 8/21/2026