Will Missouri enact a data center moratorium by December 31, 2028?

- [2026-05-15] The 2026 Missouri legislative regular session ended without passing any data center legislation; Missouri lawmakers passed 100 bills during the 2026 session, but none of them was about data centers. The only relevant bill (HB 3362) never made it to the House floor for debate https://www.kxcv.org/regional-news/2026-06-30/missouri-lawmakers-passed-nothing-on-data-centers-this-year-that-could-change - [2026-06-23] Sixteen Republican state representatives, led by Rep. Don Mayhew, formally asked Governor Mike Kehoe to call a special session of the General Assembly to address data centers . https://www.aol.com/news/coalition-state-representatives-urge-gov-221506440.html - [2026-06-24] Governor Kehoe declined the special-session request; his office said he looks forward to working with legislators on data center issues during their regular legislative session, which is next year , and reiterated that data center investments should be considered at a local level… he does not believe the state should interfere with local economic development efforts and the rights of individual landowners . https://www.aol.com/articles/kehoe-responds-request-special-session-224332000.html - [2026-08-11] At a press conference, House Future Caucus members (none of whom backed a special session) said they will again push for more guardrails in the next legislative session , with Rep. Wellenkamp planning to reintroduce his grid/water bill came too late in last year's session to get traction and would return again in 2027 . https://spectrumlocalnews.com/mo/st-louis/news/2026/08/11/missouri-data-center-reform - [2026-09-16/17] Roughly 200 protesters rallied inside the Missouri Capitol rotunda during the annual veto session, demanding a statewide moratorium on the construction of hyperscale data centers ; a scheduled House hearing on data centers was canceled and replaced by the rally, and after the rally, protesters marched to the Governor's Mansion to deliver petitions . https://www.krcu.org/2026-09-17/data-center-protesters-fill-missouri-capitol-seeking-a-statewide-construction-moratorium - [2026-09-16] Reporting notes it is unclear if lawmakers will address data centers when the 2027 session convenes in January , indicating no firm legislative commitment to a moratorium bill yet. https://www.stlpr.org/government-politics-issues/2026-09-16/data-center-protesters-fill-missouri-capitol-seeking-a-statewide-construction-moratorium - [2026-09-17] A companion report states plainly that the Missouri legislature has yet to act on data centers, with one bill on the topic only getting a House hearing last year , and that Gov. Mike Kehoe has repeatedly touted the benefits of building data centers in the state . https://www.kcur.org/housing-development-section/2026-09-17/data-center-protest-missouri-capitol-legislature-construction-moratorium - [2026-09-?] Third-party tracker (Programs.com) lists Missouri's "Statewide action" as "None" and "Statewide moratorium bills (2025–26)" as "None," while noting nine local moratoriums/bans (e.g., Peculiar, St. Charles zoning bans). https://programs.com/resources/data-center-moratoriums-tracker/ - [2026-10-01] An independent crypto-market commentary notes market pricing indicates decreased support for a Missouri statewide data center moratorium, with odds dropping in the wake of the Senate decision on a federal data center electricity bill — a secondary signal, not a Missouri legislative action. https://cryptobriefing.com/us-senate-rejects-bill-on-data-center-electricity-costs - [2027-01-06] The next Missouri regular legislative session is scheduled to convene, per multistate legislative calendars, with adjournment by 5/14/27; prefiling for the 2027 session opens 12/1/26. https://www.multistate.us/resources/2027-legislative-session-dates - [2026-05-15] A hyperscale-focused bill (HB 3390) that would have imposed siting restrictions (not an outright moratorium) died in committee without a floor vote. https://legiscan.com/MO/bill/HB3390/2026 - [2026 (session recap)] Missouri Coalition for the Environment's review confirms the nationwide proliferation of AI hyperscale data centers sparked 6 bills in the Missouri Legislature, with regulatory frameworks proposed by both houses and both parties , none of which passed, and chairman Jeff Farnan…refused to put them up for a committee vote, effectively killing the legislation . https://moenvironment.org/blog/missouri-2026-legislative-session-in-review/ - [2026 local activity] All current Missouri moratorium-style actions remain local/municipal (Jackson County, St. Charles County, St. Peters, Camdenton, Neosho, Webster County, Springfield, Peculiar's zoning ban), none of which constitute a statewide measure under the question's resolution criteria. https://savrn.com/data-center-moratorium-tracker BOTTOM LINE: As of October 2, 2026, Missouri has no statewide data center moratorium bill that has even reached a floor vote — six bills died in the 2026 session, the Governor declined a special session and favors local-level decision-making, and the only concrete legislative vehicle planned (Wellenkamp's grid/water bill) is a regulatory, not a moratorium, measure slated for the 2027 session (Jan 6–May 14, 2027). Momentum is building (large rallies, GOP legislator pressure) but there is no current bill text, hearing schedule, or gubernatorial support pointing toward enactment of a statewide moratorium before Dec 31, 2028. NOT FOUND: No evidence of any introduced or prefiled 2027 bill that specifically proposes a statewide moratorium (as opposed to regulatory guardrails); no official Missouri General Assembly bill-tracker page showing a moratorium bill with a hearing date; no statement from Gov. Kehoe suggesting he would sign a moratorium bill if passed.

- [2026-06-05] State Rep. Mike Costlow's bill and others regulating data centers failed to get a vote in the Missouri legislative session that ended May 15, 2026 ; St. Charles became one of the first cities in the country to pass a temporary moratorium on data centers in 2025 , but no statewide measure has advanced. https://missouriindependent.com/2026/06/05/theyre-already-here-regulating-data-centers-stalls-in-missouri/ - [2026-09-16] The legislature has yet to act on data centers, with one bill on the topic only getting a House hearing last year , and it is unclear if lawmakers will address data centers when the 2027 session convenes in January . https://www.stlpr.org/government-politics-issues/2026-09-16/data-center-protesters-fill-missouri-capitol-seeking-a-statewide-construction-moratorium - [2026-09-02] Governor Kehoe said data centers can bring once-in-a-generation opportunities but stressed that local leaders should have the final say on whether projects move forward , and acknowledged growing interest among lawmakers in establishing statewide standards, with legislators expected to file proposals next year aimed at creating guardrails while still allowing economic growth — guardrails, not a moratorium. https://www.missourinet.com/2026/09/02/kehoe-open-to-data-center-guardrails-in-missouri/ - [2026-05-19] The Governor's own office states Missourians elected Governor Kehoe to both protect our state's resources and promote Missouri as a premier destination for transformational investment, and that data centers strengthen Missouri's economy, create high-paying jobs, and position our state for long-term growth , signaling a pro-development executive unlikely to sign a moratorium. https://governor.mo.gov/official-statements/data-centers-missouri - [2026-06-18 approx] More than a dozen Republican lawmakers urged Gov. Mike Kehoe to call a special session to enact guardrails for data centers, raising alarm about electrical infrastructure, water resources, roads, residents' quality of life and data protection — but even this internal GOP pressure sought "guardrails," not a moratorium, and stopped short of criticizing Kehoe's stance on data centers and AI . https://www.aol.com/articles/missouri-governor-embraced-data-centers-181945000.html - National base rate: as of mid-2026, only one state (New York) has actually enacted a formal legislative moratorium (one-year, ≥20MW, via Responsible Data Center Development Act); both houses of the New York State Legislature passed the Act on June 4, 2026, clearing the Senate 44-16 and the Assembly 102-39 , and Governor Hochul ultimately acted via Executive Order No. 62 imposing a temporary moratorium rather than signing the legislative bill — meaning even NY's "moratorium" is executive, not statutory, under this market's own definitions excluding executive orders. - [2026-04-24] Maine, the state furthest along toward a statutory moratorium, failed: Maine was on the verge of becoming the first U.S. state to enact a statewide moratorium, but Governor Janet Mills vetoed LD 307 in April 2026, which would have imposed a temporary halt on projects requiring at least 20 megawatts until late 2027 , and the override vote was 20–11 in the Senate, shy of the two-thirds majority required . - [2026-06-30] Across the country, as of the end of June 2026, 116 municipalities have imposed local moratoriums, while at the state level California, Minnesota, Montana, and Kansas have all passed legislation that either incentivizes or disincentivizes data center construction — i.e., zero other states have passed binding statutory statewide moratoriums; South Dakota's enacted bill was explicitly "not a moratorium" per trackers. - [2026 session recap] Multiple Missouri moratorium-adjacent bills (HB3362, HB3364, HB2239, and Costlow's, Cupps', McCreery's bills) were introduced in the 2026 session but none of these bills had a legislative hearing (except the Future Caucus bills which got a hearing but no floor vote); none approached a true statewide moratorium in drafting, focusing instead on transparency, cost-allocation, and environmental reporting. - Local-level pattern in Missouri shows the state's actual response channel is municipal/county moratoria (St. Charles, Jackson County, Columbia, Camdenton, Webster, Independence, Festus) rather than state law, per Columbia and Camdenton each passed one-year moratoriums in May on the applications and building of data centers and St. Charles, Webster and Jackson counties have enacted temporary moratoriums on new data center projects while officials study potential impacts — this local-first pattern (mirrored in Iowa, Indiana, Michigan, Maryland per the Fast Company national roundup) suggests state legislatures are reluctant to preempt or match local bans statewide. - Political control: Missouri's legislature and governorship are entirely Republican-controlled, and Republicans hold every statewide office and control both chambers, with leadership (Senate committee chair Cierpiot) on record skeptical of further data-center regulation, reducing the odds of a moratorium bill clearing committee, let alone passing and being signed. BOTTOM LINE: The reference class (similar 2026 state legislative sessions nationwide) shows roughly 0-of-~20 states achieving a true statutory, non-executive statewide moratorium so far, with Maine's attempt vetoed and New York's "moratorium" ultimately delivered by executive order rather than the legislature's bill; Missouri's own 2026 session produced no hearing-stage moratorium bill, a pro-development governor, and a GOP trifecta skeptical of statewide bans, implying a low base-rate probability even before accounting for the 2027-2028 sessions still to come. NOT FOUND: No evidence of any specific Missouri statewide moratorium bill pre-filed for the 2027 session (which convenes January 2027) with bill number or sponsor; no polling or betting-market history specific to Missouri moratorium odds prior to this Polymarket contract; no confirmation of whether Gov. Kehoe has explicitly stated he would veto a moratorium bill if passed.

YES means: Missouri enacts, via legislature-passed bill signed/allowed to become law, or via a voter-approved initiative petition/referendum at a statewide election, a binding statewide moratorium (meeting the resolution's 100 MW+ or broader threshold) on new data centers, with that enactment occurring on or before December 31, 2028. - [2026-09-16] The legislature has yet to act on data centers, with one bill on the topic only getting a House hearing last year , but the same rally shows organized, growing grassroots capacity: a speaker named Gabe Cotton of Festus, where voters ousted members of its city council who were in favor of data centers, delivered petitions to the Governor's Mansion , demonstrating an activist base already structured for petition-gathering rather than just protest. https://www.stlpr.org/government-politics-issues/2026-09-16/data-center-protesters-fill-missouri-capitol-seeking-a-statewide-construction-moratorium - [2026-08-06/2026-09-27] Missouri's initiative-petition infrastructure is demonstrably capable of overcoming a hostile Secretary of State and legislature on short notice: the Respect Missouri Voters campaign said it collected more than 367,000 signatures, with more than 330,000 submitted to the secretary of state , and after Hoskins rejected it, the Missouri Supreme Court ordered the Secretary of State to place the initiative petition back on the November general election ballot — showing courts will enforce ballot access even against an unfriendly GOP Secretary of State, a mechanism a future data-center moratorium campaign could invoke. https://missouriindependent.com/2026/08/06/lawsuit-seeks-missouri-ballot-spot-for-amendment-limiting-changes-to-voter-approved-initiatives/ ; https://themissouritimes.com/breaking-missouri-supreme-court-orders-initiative-petition-back-on-november-ballot/ - [undated, constitutional text] The statutory bar for a citizen-initiated statewide law (as opposed to a constitutional amendment) is explicitly lower: initiative petitions proposing amendments to the constitution shall be signed by eight percent of the legal voters in each of two-thirds of the congressional districts, and petitions proposing laws shall be signed by five percent of such voters , and every such petition shall be filed with the secretary of state not less than six months before the election and shall contain an enacting clause and the full text of the measure — meaning a moratorium statute (not even a constitutional amendment) could reach the November 2028 general-election ballot with a lower signature threshold than the 2026 "Respect Missouri Voters" campaign cleared. - [2026-09-?] National momentum behind statewide moratoria has sharply accelerated just in the past month, giving Missouri activists and lawmakers fresh models to cite: the week of September 21-28, 2026 marked the sharpest escalation yet in statewide action on data centers, coming simultaneously from both parties' flagship states, with more than 300 local moratoriums and bans now adopted nationwide and polling showing data center siting a liability in the 2026 midterms, restriction — not incentive — now the default posture . https://www.datacenterbans.com/ - [2026-09-23] A rival national tracker counts Missouri already among the most-restricted states for local action — St. Charles City permanent ban (May 19), Jackson County 180-day, St. Charles County 6-month, St. Peters, Camdenton, Neosho 1-year, Webster County 6-month, Springfield 120-day, and Peculiar removed DCs from zoning code — a density of local bans (9+, growing with Columbia's new one-year pause) that creates exactly the "patchwork chaos" dynamic other states have used to justify moving to a uniform statewide rule. https://www.electricchoice.com/datacenters/moratoriums/ - [2026-06-27] Even GOP special-session proponent Rep. Don Mayhew frames the 2027 regular session as too slow, arguing Governor Kehoe will opt for the issue to be considered in the next regular session, which Mayhew says will be too late for any substantial measures, because of a constitutional bar on post-facto law and because data center agreements will happen before the legislature reconvenes — implying that if the pressure continues building through 2027-28 without legislative action, frustration could tip toward the initiative-petition route rather than waiting on Jefferson City. https://www.krmsradio.com/governor-kehoe-will-not-call-for-special-session-on-data-centers/ - [2026-08-12] Confirms that unlike the single blocked 2026 bill, multiple bipartisan legislators are already committed to filing new data-center bills for the 2027 session: a bipartisan group of Missouri lawmakers announced plans to introduce artificial intelligence and data center legislation once the legislature reconvenes in January 2027, unveiling a new evaluation framework in the meantime to help local governments assess data center proposals — a legislative vehicle that activists could seek to amend into a moratorium on the floor or in conference, rather than starting from zero. https://writing.strisker.com/data-centers-daily-notes-august-12-2026/ - [2026 cycle] Mayhew himself is running for state senate , and Republican legislative pressure for stronger action (beyond "guardrails") persists into the 2027-28 cycle, meaning the pro-restriction faction's institutional strength inside the GOP trifecta could grow rather than shrink by the 2028 deadline. https://www.aol.com/news/kehoe-responds-request-special-session-224332255.html - [2026-07-17/09-28] The broader data-center backlash is shown to be bipartisan and cross ideological lines at the gubernatorial level nationally, which could pressure Missouri's 2028 electoral cycle (governor up for reelection considerations) toward a moratorium compromise bill as a political necessity rather than mere "guardrails," especially if local bans keep multiplying ahead of the 2028 session. https://www.electricchoice.com/datacenters/moratoriums/ BOTTOM LINE: The strongest realistic YES path is not a sudden conversion by Governor Kehoe or the GOP legislature but a voter-driven initiative petition — a historically potent tool in Missouri (300,000+ signatures gathered in under a year for Amendment 6, enforced onto the ballot by the state Supreme Court over the Secretary of State's objection) — combined with intensifying local-moratorium density and national momentum that could force a floor vote on a moratorium-strength bill in the 2027 or 2028 regular session, or a successful petition drive culminating in a November 2028 ballot measure that would count as "enacted" under the resolution criteria before the December 31, 2028 deadline. NOT FOUND: No evidence yet of any Missouri data-center moratorium initiative-petition campaign actually formed, named, or filed with the Secretary of State; no confirmed 2027 prefiled bill text proposing an outright moratorium (as opposed to guardrails); no polling data on Missouri voter support levels for a statewide moratorium specifically.

YES means: Missouri's General Assembly or voters enact a statute or constitutional provision that, by its own mandatory terms, prohibits/suspends approval, permitting, construction, grid interconnection, or operation of all new data centers (or all new ones above 100 MW) statewide, with the Governor's signature, veto override, voter approval, or other constitutional enactment mechanism — by Dec 31, 2028. - [2025] Missouri's actual statewide legislative response to the data-center boom to date is regulatory cost-allocation, not a moratorium: Senate Bill 4 was passed by the General Assembly and signed by Governor Kehoe in 2025, requiring the Public Service Commission to adopt rates for large load customers — including data centers — that reflect their share of costs , establishing the "guardrails" model lawmakers have repeatedly pointed to instead of a construction ban. - [2026-06/07] Even sympathetic Republican sponsors frame their 2027 vehicle as cost/transparency regulation, not prohibition: "This legislation was designed to put them on a much better, more transparent footing, where all of this would be public information, because you would have to disclose how much water, how much energy are you using, and how are you going to achieve that in order to get the permit," Wellenkamp said — a permitting-disclosure bill, explicitly not a ban. - [2026-06] The Senate gatekeeper for any such bill was outgoing Sen. Mike Cierpiot, who is on record opposing further restriction: bills likely would have been referred to the committee chaired by outgoing state Sen. Mike Cierpiot, a Republican from Lee's Summit, who has signaled reluctance to implement further regulations on large-load users , and Cierpiot has said he doesn't get the opposition to data centers, especially at a local level, citing the taxes they bring to school districts and local governments . - [2026-06-19] Gov. Kehoe personally champions data-center investment and treats SB4 as the finished state response: Kehoe, like most elected officials in the state, pointed to SB 4, a law passed in 2025 that overhauled the utility regulation process as preparation for an influx of data centers , and zoning, noise ordinances and the like are made at the local level in his view — a position fundamentally incompatible with signing a statewide ban. - [2026-09] Even the GOP legislators pushing hardest for action stop short of demanding a moratorium: the mid-2026 letter from Republican lawmakers urging a special session sought only "guardrails" and explicitly avoided criticizing Kehoe's pro-data-center stance (per colleagues' report), consistent with no floor-ready moratorium bill existing as of the Sept. 16-17 Capitol rally. - [2026] Third-party data confirms zero statewide moratorium bills have cleared even a hearing: Missouri's status is "Active," with "Statewide action: None" and "Statewide moratorium bills (2025–26): None" , versus nine local moratoriums/bans. - [2026] Missouri's observed policy channel is consistently municipal, not statewide — e.g., Columbia's and Pacific's one-year moratoriums from overflowing public meetings to recall efforts and a 12-month moratorium... a one-year moratorium in Pacific... following opposition to a proposed 500-acre data center — showing the legislature's practical inertia is to let localities (and courts) absorb the conflict rather than legislate a statewide ban. - [2026] A citizen-initiative statutory/constitutional route exists in theory (Article III, Ch. 116 MRS) but no campaign has filed moratorium petition language; instead, the only active major initiative fights concern the initiative-process rules themselves (Amendment 4/6) and tax policy, not data centers, per Ballotpedia and Respect MO Voters tracking — indicating no voter-initiative moratorium is currently in motion that could reach a 2028 ballot. - [2026] Missouri's initiative-petition mechanics require signatures filed six months before the election, per Ballotpedia's summary: Signatures must be filed with the secretary of state six months prior to the next biennial election, leaving a maximum of 18 months to circulate petitions — meaning even a hypothetical 2028 citizen-initiated moratorium would need organizing to begin almost immediately and has not yet started. - [2026] A local Joplin case shows industry/utility reliance on SB4 as the answer to moratorium demands: a recently passed law in Missouri, Senate Bill 4, would protect consumers from adverse utility effects — reinforcing that officials treat the existing regulatory fix as sufficient, undercutting momentum for a harder statewide ban. - [National pattern] No U.S. state has yet enacted a true statutory (non-executive) statewide data-center moratorium as of late 2026 (per colleagues' base-rate research), and Missouri's GOP trifecta, pro-investment governor, and skeptical outgoing Senate utilities chair place it well behind even the most advanced failed attempts (Maine's vetoed bill, New York's executive-order workaround). BOTTOM LINE: Every concrete piece of 2026 evidence shows Missouri's state-level response path is regulatory cost-allocation (SB4) and local moratoria, not a statewide ban; the Governor, the outgoing Senate utilities chair, and even the most active GOP reform sponsors are on record favoring guardrails/transparency over prohibition, and no bill, hearing calendar, or ballot-initiative campaign currently points toward a statewide moratorium being enacted before Dec 31, 2028. NOT FOUND: No evidence of any prefiled 2027 Missouri bill text that is an outright statewide moratorium (vs. regulatory guardrails); no announced or filed citizen-initiative petition proposing a statewide data-center moratorium for the 2028 ballot; no statement from Gov. Kehoe or his likely 2027 successhabitat-committee chairs indicating willingness to sign a moratorium bill.