Maryland Governor Wes Moore signed an executive order establishing guardrails for data center siting and operations, addressing community concerns over water and energy use.

Governor Wes Moore signed an executive order establishing five guardrails for data center development in Maryland: ratepayer and grid protection; economic benefit for Marylanders; community voice; environmental protections; and transparency and accountability. The order does not impose a statewide moratorium on data center construction.

"Communities deserve to be heard," Moore said at a press conference on September 23. "They deserve a real say in what happens in their communities."

The economic benefits framework requires local hiring, apprenticeships, and partnerships with labor unions and workforce training programs. Environmental protections mandate that data center developers assess their water consumption and backup generation practices.

A public dashboard will provide transparency and accountability, allowing residents to review proposed projects, anticipated electricity and water usage, and whether companies meet their commitments. "A company seeking state support will have to put those commitments in writing," Moore said. "These are not suggestions. This is the standard."

The order addresses Senate Bill 397, enacted in 2020, which created a personal property tax exemption for data centers. Moore said his administration will work with the General Assembly to repeal the exemption. "That approach prioritized data centers and not people," he said. "Data centers were calling the shots."

The executive order took effect immediately.

Dan Cox's campaign, representing the Republican challenger for governor, responded with a statement questioning Moore's timing. It noted that Cox had previously called for a ban on Maryland data centers and highlighted $24,000 in campaign donations Moore received from TeraWulf Inc. owner Paul Prager, as well as fast-tracked permits for TeraWulf's acquisition of the Charles County Morgantown Power Plant. "Now, Wes Moore deceitfully and impulsively issues a so-called moratorium order on other data centers," the statement said, claiming he was "reacting based on being exposed" and providing "an unfair business advantage to TeraWulf over other data center businesses."

The data center order followed Moore's announcement the previous day of an artificial intelligence framework designed to protect residents, data center workers, and children. This framework includes establishing a statutory Right of Publicity, examining AI's impact on Maryland's workforce, and implementing a "do no harm" policy for AI use in schools. "With the speed at which AI is moving, Marylanders deserve guardrails that safeguard their rights, privacy and dignity," Moore said.

Local action on data centers advanced simultaneously. Calvert County commissioners voted to extend their data center moratorium from six months to two years. "We know what the public wants," Commissioner Catherine M. Grasso said during the meeting.

In Charles County, commissioners held a town hall addressing resident concerns. Alana Davis of Waldorf, a leader of the Charles County Against Data Centers Coalition, asked whether commissioners support a ban and when Commissioner Gilbert "BJ" Bowling would introduce promised legislation. Bowling said he supported a legislative proposal to ban data centers and planned to pursue a local resolution.

Davis also requested community advocate representation on a forthcoming data center task force. Commissioner President Reuben B. Collins II responded: "Any type of task force would have to have absolute public support. We want to ensure that if this process moves forward, it includes a diversity of voices." Collins could not specify when the task force would form but said his staff owed the commission an update.

Earlier this year, Charles County commissioners had denied a zoning text amendment that would permit data center construction and asked staff to establish a task force while awaiting a state data center report not yet released.

Nationally, President Donald Trump announced a terminology shift during his address to the United Nations, directing all official U.S. government documents to refer to "artificial intelligence" as "super intelligence," arguing that the term "artificial" makes the technology sound "fake." He stated, "Whoever wins super intelligence, wins. The United States leads the world in super intelligence."