Will Ohio enact a data center moratorium by December 31, 2026?

- [2026-04-03] The Ohio Ballot Board unanimously certified a citizen-initiated constitutional amendment (25 MW+ data center construction ban) for potential signature gathering toward the November 3, 2026 ballot; AG Dave Yost had certified the petition language on March 26, 2026. The Ohio Ballot Board on Thursday unanimously certified the proposed amendment that would prohibit the construction of data centers with a peak load of more than 25 megawatts per month. Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost certified the petition last week. - [2026-07-01] Organizers needed 413,488 valid signatures from at least 44 of 88 counties by this date to qualify for the 2026 ballot. 413,488 valid signatures from at least 44 of Ohio's 88 counties by July 1, 2026 to qualify for the November 3, 2026 ballot. - [2026-09-14] Reporting confirms the statewide petition drive failed to meet that deadline: Organizers with Conserve Ohio are hoping the statewide petition will make the 2027 ballot after missing a signature deadline in July. This means the constitutional-amendment route cannot produce a Nov. 2026 vote/enactment before Dec 31, 2026. - [2026-09-30] Ballotpedia's current page status is inconsistent between snapshots ("Cleared for signature gathering" vs "Pending official review"), but no source indicates certification for the November 2026 ballot actually occurred; no statewide vote on this amendment is scheduled before the market deadline. - [2026-03-18/2026-06-10] The legislature's own vehicle, HB 646 (Data Center Study Commission — not a moratorium), passed the House 97-0 on March 18, 2026, was substituted in the Senate Energy Committee, and as of June 10, 2026 was "Recommitted: Energy" at roughly 50% progression; it does not itself impose any moratorium and has not been enacted. - [2026-05-27] Gov. Mike DeWine directed a pause on new data-center tax exemption applications while the legislature studies the issue; the state explicitly stated "This action only suspends the ability for data centers to request tax exemptions in Ohio; it is not a data center ban." This is an executive/administrative tax-incentive pause, not a statutory moratorium, and per the question rules would not qualify even if broader. - [2026-09-22] Ohio Capital Journal/Capital & Main reporting states plainly that despite gubernatorial and Senate candidates in both parties calling for various conditional moratoriums, "Ohio has seen a remarkable policy shift from lawmakers in both parties" rhetorically, but "State and federal lawmakers have floated several ideas to rein in data centers, and candidates in Ohio's governor and U.S. Senate races outlined plans to regulate them if elected. So far, little has been passed into law." - [2026-09-22] The only data-center-adjacent bill actively moving in the legislature, SB 294, passed the Senate 24-9 on June 10, 2026 and is a fossil-fuel-favoring "clean energy" redefinition bill unrelated to any moratorium; it remains pending in the House with no moratorium language. - [2026-09-17/19] Local (not statewide) moratorium activity continues to surge: At least 136 Ohio municipalities and townships have active moratoriums on data centers as of Sept. 16, local government records and news reports show. A day later, count updated to At least 138 Ohio municipalities and townships have active moratoriums on data centers as of Sept. 17 , but these are explicitly local, not statewide, and thus do not meet the question's definition. - [2026-09-26] Follow-on coverage reiterates that "Ohio's legislature hasn't caught up" with local-level momentum, underscoring that no statewide statutory moratorium bill has advanced to floor votes, let alone passage. - [2026-08-07] The Ohio Supreme Court ordered the Ashville data-center referendum petition to be placed on the Nov. 3, 2026 ballot, but this is a single-village referendum on a local project/agreement, not a statewide moratorium, and falls outside the resolution criteria (local-government measures are explicitly excluded). - [2026-09-30] No bill establishing a mandatory, statewide moratorium (as defined in the resolution criteria) has been introduced, passed either chamber, or signed by Gov. DeWine as of this date; the only statewide actions in force are the discretionary/administrative tax-exemption pause and ongoing study-commission efforts. BOTTOM LINE: As of September 30, 2026, no statewide statutory or constitutional data-center moratorium has been enacted in Ohio, the one plausible near-term vehicle (the citizen-initiated 25 MW ban constitutional amendment) missed its July 1, 2026 signature deadline and is now aimed at 2027, and the legislature's own bills (HB 646, SB 294) are study/energy-definition measures, not moratoriums — making enactment by Dec. 31, 2026 highly unlikely absent an unforeseen, fast-moving statutory action. NOT FOUND: No evidence of any new statewide moratorium bill introduced after the July 2026 signature-deadline failure; no confirmation of final Ballotpedia certification status (page showed conflicting "Cleared for signature gathering" vs "Pending official review" labels with no dated signature-count/certification update); no record of any floor vote scheduled on a moratorium-specific bill before Dec. 31, 2026.

- [2026-06-19] The Ohio citizen-initiated constitutional amendment banning data centers over 25 MW (backed by "Conserve Ohio") formally missed its July 1 signature deadline for the November 2026 ballot, having collected roughly "roughly 70,000 of the 413,000 signatures required by the" July deadline, and organizers now target the 2027 ballot instead — removing the only referendum pathway to a statewide moratorium within this question's window. (https://tiffinohio.net/posts/conserve-ohio-data-center-ban-ballot-delayed-2027/) - [2026-09-22] Ohio legislative efforts have focused on tax-exemption rollbacks and ratepayer protections, not moratoriums; a House bill to cut the data-center sales tax break "went nowhere, even with the House speaker's support," per Ohio Capital Journal reporting. (https://ohiocapitaljournal.com/2026/09/22/candidates-rune-against-data-centers-but-ohio-legislature-didnt-get-the-memo/) - [2026-03-18]/[2026-06-09] The only Ohio-specific bill with real traction, HB 646, creates a study commission and revises tax exemptions/tariff rules — "proposes establishing a commission to study the data center development issue in Ohio," and the House passed a revised version on March 18, 2026 — it is not a moratorium bill. - [2026-03-12] As of spring 2026, Ohio Capital Journal noted state lawmakers "haven't proposed yet... the kind of short-term moratorium that a handful of Ohio cities and townships have approved," while "lawmakers in at least 11 other states have also proposed such temporary bans." - [2026 (ongoing)] Reference class of local Ohio action is large (35 tracked local moratoriums per one tracker) but "these are primarily enacted by cities, counties, and townships — not state governments," underscoring that Ohio's moratorium activity has occurred at the sub-state level, not statewide. - [2026-07-14] National base rate: the only "statewide moratorium" enacted anywhere in the US in 2026 was in New York, and it was done via gubernatorial **executive order** (EO 62), not a statute — "On July 14, 2026, New York became the first state to enact a statewide data center moratorium when Governor Hochul signed Executive Order 62" — which under this question's rules would not count as "enactment" in Ohio's case either, since EOs are explicitly excluded. - [2026-06-04] New York's legislature-passed statutory moratorium (the Responsible Data Center Development Act) cleared both chambers but has not been reported as separately signed into law by the Governor as of the search date; "The legislature's broader bill (S10642, covering 20 MW+) has not been signed separately." - [2026-04] Maine's legislature is the only other body to pass a full statewide statutory moratorium (LD 307, 20 MW threshold), but "Maine was on the verge of becoming the first U.S. state to enact a statewide moratorium on large data centers, but Governor Janet Mills vetoed the bill in April 2026." - [2026-04] Other states' moratorium bills have largely stalled or failed: "Multiple states have introduced bills that ultimately stalled or were carried over... Georgia's moratorium bills failed when the Senate adjourned abruptly, and Virginia's HB 1515 was carried over to 2027." Michigan's statewide bill is "moving through the legislature, but the governor has said she won't sign it." - [2026-09-15] Across the whole country, zero states have achieved a *statutory* (legislature-passed-and-signed, or voter-approved) statewide data center moratorium to date in 2026; the sole statewide action (New York) was executive, and the sole legislature-passed one (Maine) was vetoed — an outside-view success rate of 0-for-2 attempts that reached a governor's desk. BOTTOM LINE: The reference class — over a dozen state legislatures attempting statewide data center moratoriums in 2026 — shows zero successful statutory enactments nationwide (Maine's passed bill was vetoed; New York's version was an executive order, which wouldn't satisfy this question's enactment definition), and Ohio's own citizen ballot-initiative route has already missed its 2026 signature deadline and won't reach voters before 2027, while Ohio's legislature has shown no serious moratorium bill moving, only tax/tariff measures. This outside view strongly implies a very low base-rate probability of Ohio enacting a statewide moratorium by December 31, 2026. NOT FOUND: No evidence of any Ohio legislative bill specifically titled or drafted as a "moratorium" bill (as opposed to tax/tariff/study bills) currently pending in the Ohio General Assembly; no polling or formal odds/forecasts specific to Ohio's moratorium prospects from pollsters or prediction aggregators other than this market itself.

YES means: the Ohio General Assembly passes, and Gov. DeWine (or his successor before Jan 1, 2027) signs, a bill — or a bill becomes law without signature — that imposes a mandatory, generally-applicable statewide prohibition/suspension on new data-center approval, permitting, construction, or interconnection (for all facilities or for a >100MW-equivalent subset), on or before Dec 31, 2026; alternatively, a statewide constitutional/referendum vote approving such a ban before that date (not currently scheduled). - [2026-06-29] The General Assembly's own tracking confirms HB 646 remains in the Senate Energy Committee until lawmakers return to Columbus in November, when it will be reconsidered, including possible changes to the tax-break dispute that stalled it. This creates a concrete, dated legislative window (Nov–Dec 2026) inside the market period where the single most-advanced data-center bill could be finalized. - [2026-06-29] The same tracker states H.B. 646 was fast tracked by the legislature and seems as though it is the data center legislation most poised to pass when they return in November, making it the most plausible vehicle for any last-minute moratorium language, should legislators choose to reinsert it. - [2026-03-12] Notably, HB 646's own sponsor originally wrote a moratorium into the bill: Initial drafts of the bill included a six-month statewide moratorium on data centers, but Click removed it before filing the bill, demonstrating that a sitting Republican author already has moratorium legislative text ready to redeploy if political pressure mounts further. - [2026-06-29] A separate tracker adds that ideas from other bills, including tougher siting/incentive bills, are still being merged: With that being said, there are several other bills addressing data centers that we have been following. It appears some ideas from these bills have found their way into the newest version of H.B. 646. It's possible additional pieces of these bills could be incorporated into H.B. 646 when the General Assembly returns, or that they could pass on their own, leaving room for a harder-edged amendment during the lame-duck session. - [2026-02-24] HB 710 (Demetriou/Workman), explicitly titled to "Prohibit public support for, and limit the construction of, new data centers," remains alive in committee (still only 25% progression as of the search date) and could theoretically be fast-tracked alongside HB 646 in the same November–December session, giving a second statutory vehicle with prohibition-oriented language already drafted. - [2026-08-10] Political pressure for a moratorium is now bipartisan and unanimous among major gubernatorial candidates: Each of the candidates for Ohio governor now wants to restrict the data center boom, all proposing some form of moratorium unless certain guidelines are met... Democrat Amy Acton announced hers in July, Libertarian Don Kissick in August, and several days later, Republican Vivek Ramaswamy unveiled his. This cross-partisan consensus increases incentive for sitting legislators (facing re-election Nov. 3) to act on a moratorium-style measure before year-end to claim credit ahead of, or in response to, the election. - [2026-09-21] Acton's detailed platform explicitly frames her policy as a moratorium "immediately in effect": "My stance on data centers is a conditional moratorium immediately in effect to protect our energy needs," and her plan is structured as default-prohibition-until-conditions-met, which is the exact structure the resolution criteria says qualifies (suspension until an objectively determinable condition is satisfied) — meaning if legislators translated her platform into statute this fall, it could satisfy the resolution criteria even though a full ban. - [2026-09-18] Escalating local moratorium count (138 as of Sept. 17, per prior reports) and continuing local backlash create sustained pressure that Ohio Capital Journal's Sept. 18 piece notes state lawmakers have "floated several ideas to rein in data centers" in response, evidencing the political salience needed to push a statewide bill over the finish line in a compressed post-election session. - [2026-09-18] The same outlet flags a little-known budget-bill provision already restricting local referendums on "megaprojects," showing the legislature's demonstrated willingness to move data-center-related statutory language quickly and via omnibus vehicles — a mechanism (rider on a must-pass bill) that could similarly be used to attach moratorium language in a lame-duck budget or energy bill before Dec. 31. - [2026-09-11] Even mainstream legal/policy analysis (KJK) frames both leading candidates' plans as converging on a "moratorium… with a series of conditions," suggesting that whichever party's candidate wins Nov. 3 may use post-election momentum to press the outgoing or incoming legislative majority to enact conditional-moratorium statutory language before year's end, especially given Governor DeWine has frozen new tax incentives until a new policy can be created, after it was revealed that current data center incentives had foregone over $2 Billion in revenue throughout Ohio, showing the Governor's own office is already primed to sign further restrictive data-center legislation. BOTTOM LINE: The single most plausible YES path is the General Assembly reconvening in November 2026 and using HB 646 (or a merged HB 646/HB 710 package) — for which moratorium language has already been drafted once and quickly discarded — to enact a conditional or time-limited statewide suspension on data-center approvals before Dec. 31, 2026, driven by unprecedented bipartisan gubernatorial-campaign pressure and a fast-approaching statutory drafting window; this remains a live, dated legislative opportunity even though no such bill has yet been reintroduced. NOT FOUND: No confirmed post-recess floor schedule, hearing notice, or draft amendment specifically reinserting moratorium language into HB 646 or HB 710 for the November 2026 session; no statement from House Speaker Huffman or Senate President McColley committing to a moratorium vote before Dec. 31, 2026.

YES means: Ohio's state government enacts a binding statewide law or constitutional provision that generally prohibits/suspends new data center approvals, permitting, construction, interconnection, or operation (or a qualifying 100MW+ subset), between market creation and Dec. 31, 2026. - [2026-03-04] The bill sponsor himself stripped out the only moratorium language ever attached to the legislature's lead data-center vehicle: "Click, a Sandusky County Republican, said his bill originally included a six-month pause on all data center projects statewide, but he decided to drop that requirement to ensure the proposed law would move forward." This confirms the moratorium concept was deliberately traded away for passability, and no replacement moratorium provision has since been reinserted. - [2026-09-18] Legislative update services report "The General Assembly remains on its 2026 campaign break, so things continue to be relatively quiet on the legislative front," with "House and senate leadership are making plans for the upcoming (and dreaded) lame duck session that is expected to begin in mid-November." That leaves roughly six working weeks (mid-Nov–Dec 31) for any bill to be introduced, amended into moratorium form, pass both chambers, and be signed — an extremely tight window given no moratorium bill currently exists in either chamber. - [2026-06-29] A farm-office legislative tracker states plainly that when lawmakers left for recess, "the Ohio House was signaling that it might come back to consider House Bill 646... That did not come to pass, and now both chambers of the General Assembly are on recess until November," and separately calls HB 646 "the data center legislation most poised to pass when they return in November" — yet HB 646, even in its newest form, is confirmed to be a tax/rate-class/study-commission bill with no mandatory moratorium language. - [2026-09-22] Ohio Capital Journal's own reporting frames the gap between rhetoric and statute: "Ohio has seen a remarkable policy shift from lawmakers in both parties... Every candidate for governor has now called for restrictions on the data center boom, each proposing some form of moratorium unless certain conditions are met," yet even a narrower measure — "a House bill to cut the sales tax break for new data center projects from 100% to 50% went nowhere, even with the House speaker's support" — stalled despite leadership support, illustrating how even incremental, non-moratorium bills can't get traction, let alone a full moratorium. - [2026-09-15/2026-09-16] The citizen-initiative route is now explicitly targeting a different election entirely: Conserve Ohio's own statement says "Conserve Ohio wants everyone to get a chance to vote on the decision... the group is not stopping until it gets the measure placed on the November 2, 2027, ballot" and as of Sept. 8 organizers had only "gathered 130,000 signatures in the group's quest to force a statewide vote" — far short of the ~410,000-verified-signature threshold and aimed at a 2027 election date that falls entirely outside this market's Dec. 31, 2026 deadline (enactment for a ballot measure occurs on election day under the resolution criteria, and no statewide vote is scheduled before then). - [2026-09-30 reporting window] No statewide candidate has translated a "conditional moratorium" campaign pledge into a filed bill; both gubernatorial candidates' proposals (Acton's conditional moratorium, Ramaswamy/Husted-aligned positions) are campaign promises for a term beginning in January 2027, i.e., structurally after the market's deadline even if elected and acted upon immediately. - [2026-09-17] National reference-class check reinforces status-quo inertia: of all U.S. states, "As of mid-2026, at least 321 moratoriums have been tracked across 32 states, with 261 currently in force... these are primarily enacted by cities, counties, and townships — not state governments," meaning even nationally the "state government" bar has almost never been cleared, and Ohio's own 125+ local moratoriums (Sept. 18 count) sit entirely outside the resolution criteria's "statewide" requirement. BOTTOM LINE: Every concrete vehicle that could produce a Dec. 31, 2026 statewide Ohio moratorium has either had its moratorium language explicitly deleted (HB 646), stalled short of a floor vote (tax/rate bills), or been pushed to a 2027 election (Conserve Ohio initiative) — leaving only a ~6-week lame-duck session with no pending moratorium bill as the sole hypothetical path, which is a very high bar given the legislature's demonstrated preference for study commissions and tax tweaks over binding bans. NOT FOUND: No draft or introduced bill text for a lame-duck-session moratorium proposal; no Ohio Ballot Board or Secretary of State certification confirming the 2027 Conserve Ohio timeline as locked in (vs. still being pursued); no statement from Gov. DeWine or legislative leadership ruling in/out a moratorium vote before year-end.