This policy toolkit, developed by the AI Now Institute, is primarily geared toward stopping, slowing, and restricting rampant data center development in the US at the local and state level. This toolkit is intended to help organizers and policymakers identify the strongest possible actions. Recognizing that the North Star policy may not always be feasible, we also offer scaffolded protections that put people above corporate profits.
The toolkit provides concrete policy recommendations, primarily targeted toward jurisdictions in the US that do not yet have a data center in their community, or that are working to strengthen existing legislation or regulation to account for new hyperscaler proposals. The resource is organized into local and state policy recommendations to stop and restrict data center development.
Published Apr 1, 2026