Meta's Texas Data Center Incentives Face New Legislation

Rep. Vince Perez, D-El Paso, filed five bills on Nov. 9 aimed at the incentive agreements behind Meta's data center in Northeast El Paso and the gas plant El Paso Electric proposes to serve it. Perez, who represents House District 77, filed 15 bills on the first day of prefiling for the 90th Legislature. "Data centers have reaped billions in tax breaks from state and local governments while ordinary Texans struggle to get by," he said.

House Bill 729 would cap any data center tax break at 10 years and require a city council or commissioners court vote on each new phase, held only after construction on that phase begins. Companies could no longer add phases, land or deadline extensions on their own, though nothing already underway would be canceled. Perez described the goal as putting "every phase back at a vote."