Lawmakers in New Jersey will consider a ban on data center non-disclosure agreements after the state Senate passed an identical bill in October. The ban aims to encourage greater transparency around data center developments in New Jersey.
At the end of October, the New Jersey Senate passed Bill 4304. The bill stipulates that data center applicants and their agents shall not enter into any agreement, including non-disclosure agreements, with approving authorities, municipal agencies, or property sellers that has the purpose of concealing the details of data center developments.
“Transparency is crucial during the data center development process, especially since these projects can have a major impact on our communities,” said Senator Linda Greenstein (D-Mercer/Middlesex) in a press statement in October. “This legislation establishes clear consequences for applicants who attempt to conceal data center development plans and makes clear that these agreements have no place in the approval process.”
The bill further states that data center developers applying for approval will have to attest that no party to the property transaction has entered into an agreement with the seller that obfuscates the details of the project or prevents public review of the development plans for the property.
“As data center development continues to expand across New Jersey, communities deserve a voice in how these projects affect their neighborhoods,” said Senator Brian Stack (D-Hudson). “This legislation will help ensure residents and local officials have the opportunity to review proposed developments and understand their potential impacts before projects move forward.”
Following the passing of Bill 4304 in the Senate, it has now been referred to the Assembly Science, Innovation and Technology Committee, which meets on Monday November 16, 2026.
The Assembly has its own version of this bill, Bill 2774, which was introduced on January 13, 2026 as a carry-over from December 2025. Once the Senate’s bill was referred to the committee, the two were classified as the same or similar. Save for the sponsors of the bill, the Senate’s version and the Assembly’s version are identical.
New Jersey lawmakers join a growing number of states pushing back against data center developments. In August, w.media reported that Pennsylvania governor Josh Shapiro had signed what he called the strictest guardrails for AI data center developments in the US. The guardrails require developers to pay the full cost of new electricity generation, transmission, distribution, and other infrastructure, and to commit to open, transparent engagement with local residents and leaders.
Earlier this year Texas governor Greg Abbott directed the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) and the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) to conduct a verification audit of all data center projects moving through ERCOT’s interconnection process. The governor also ordered the two bodies to assess the extent to which data centers are paying their own way or depending on state financial incentives.
The history of pushback also appears to have elevated fears that incoming Democratic governors and senators, elected during the midterm elections last week, will stall or stop data center developments. These fears reached a breaking point last week when US$ 2.5 trillion in market value evaporated.