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[Multiple US State Officials Push for Data Center Halt Order: Maryland Governor Says He “Will Absolutely Sign”] (1) Maryland Governor Wes Moore (Democrat) said Thursday that he would “absolutely sign” a statewide data center halt order bill if it were on the table, joining other governors and elected officials in calling for a freeze on new data center development. (2) Moore said in an interview that he would sign the bill, believing that local jurisdictions should have a say, but he has strict guidelines on state approval and state power. 13 of Maryland’s 24 jurisdictions have already implemented temporary bans, including Baltimore, Montgomery, and Prince George’s counties; residents strongly oppose the impact of data centers on housing and utility costs. Moore, who is running for re-election in November, urged data centers to be self-powered and comply with environmental regulations, essentially leaving the decision-making power to local officials. (3) At the federal level, Senator Martin Heinrich (Democrat of New Mexico) blocked a Republican-led bill on Thursday that would require states to consider having tech companies bear the increased electricity costs of their operations. Heinrich said that this is not enough, and Congress needs to pass truly binding legislation, not voluntary commitments or suggestions. (4) New Mexico gubernatorial candidate Deb Harland (Democrat) announced his support for the moratorium on the same day, emphasizing the environmental impact and calling for data centers to build their own renewable energy infrastructure to prevent the public from paying for soaring energy costs. (5) Texas Governor Greg Abbott (Republican) on Monday instructed the Texas Water Resources Development Commission to penalize data centers that fail to comply with the state's water requirements, or face criminal consequences and lose their licenses or renewals. (6) President Trump has stated that data centers must pay for their own water and electricity consumption, a growing bipartisan consensus; however, in July he criticized New York Governor Hozul's statewide freeze on data center development, saying that data centers are a huge win for states and communities that have them, and that the radical left should not be allowed to cause the United States to lose out on data centers, AI, and new technologies.