After Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed her data center water disclosure bill last year, Assemblymember Diane Papan, D-San Mateo, returned this year with a two-bill package. One of the bills, AB 2619, was passed by the Legislature Thursday morning, sending to Newsom a measure that would require data centers to report their water consumption annually. The other bill, AB 2469, which would require information about projected water demand before new data centers are approved, is still moving through the Legislature. … Opponents have argued that existing state law already gives local water agencies the information they need to plan for new development and that additional reporting requirements would place unnecessary burdens on the industry.

Other data center water use news:

• Las Vegas Review-Journal: Nevada lawmakers could hit pause on data centers, end their tax breaks
• CalMatters (Sacramento, Calif.): The data center backlash is here — and Big Tech is spending big to shape it
• Knowable magazine: How much of a problem is AI’s water use?