Texas local moratoria
Every local infrastructure moratorium in the inventory for Texas, current through August 19, 2026.
3 instruments — 1 in force, 1 pending, 1 past.
State policy is tracked separately: 11 actions (10 bills and 1 non-bill action) in state_legislation.csv. These are not included in the local count above.
| Jurisdiction | Type | Enacted | Sectors | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Austin County | County | 2026-07-27 | data center, battery storage | 🟡 Pending |
| Harlingen | City | 2026-05 | data center | 🟢 Active |
| Hill County | County | 2026-05-12 | data center | 🔴 Rescinded |
Detailed entries
Austin County
- Type: County
- Status: 🟡 Pending
- Date enacted: Reportedly 2026-07-27, Commissioners Court unanimous vote, following a July 13 public hearing and extended July 27 discussion
- Normalized date:
2026-07-27(unverified) - Duration: Until a comprehensive health and safety review is complete, per the posted draft order; no fixed term confirmed
- Current end date:
— - Sectors: data center, battery storage
- Moratorium ID:
tx-austin-county-2026 - Legal basis: Reportedly a countywide temporary pause on new AI data centers and battery energy storage systems, suspending county permits, plan reviews, inspections, and related approvals in unincorporated areas, with limited exemptions; no signed July 27 order or minutes were located as of 2026-07-31, only the hearing notice and an unsigned draft order
- What prompted it: Comprehensive health and safety review of AI data centers and battery energy storage systems
- Affected projects: —
- Detailed status: Reported adopted per Wharton Post and Austin County News Online; the county website provided only the hearing notice and an unsigned draft order as of 2026-07-31 [VERIFY instrument number; primary source (news-only evidence) not confirmed at confidence 0.5 in the 2026-07 refresh]
- Outcome: —
Harlingen
- Type: City
- Status: 🟢 Active
- Date enacted: Approximately 2026-05-20/05-21 (ValleyCentral.com reported 'Harlingen approves 120-day data center moratorium' on 2026-05-21; KRGV reported the same action on 2026-05-23; The Real Deal on 2026-05-26). Exact commission meeting date not confirmed in sources reviewed.
- Normalized date:
2026-05(month_only) - Duration: 120 days
- Current end date:
— - Sectors: data center
- Moratorium ID:
tx-harlingen-2026 - Legal basis: City commission ordinance
- What prompted it: Precautionary study of potential future data center impacts and modernization of land use regulations; one source (Rio Grande Guardian) noted no data center projects were formally proposed within city limits at the time
- Affected projects: None formally proposed within Harlingen city limits as of the moratorium's adoption, per Rio Grande Guardian reporting
- Detailed status: Active as of 2026-07-31 (120 days from ~2026-05-20 would run to approximately 2026-09-17). No source reviewed reports expiration, extension, or rescission. [VERIFY instrument number; primary source (news-only evidence) not confirmed at confidence 0.6 in the 2026-07 refresh]
- Outcome: 120-day moratorium adopted to study potential data center impacts and modernize land use regulations
Hill County
- Type: County
- Status: 🔴 Rescinded
- Date enacted: 2026-05-12 (Hill County Commissioners Court approved a 1-year moratorium on data center construction, per KWTX)
- Normalized date:
2026-05-12(exact) - Duration: One year (as adopted; rescinded before completing its term)
- Current end date:
— - Sectors: data center
- Moratorium ID:
tx-hill-county-2026 - Legal basis: Commissioners Court order
- What prompted it: Development pressure from multiple (reportedly up to eight) proposed data center projects in a rural North Texas county
- Affected projects: Multiple proposed data center projects in Hill County; the specific developer plaintiff in the $100 million lawsuit is described in coverage as 'RCM Hill'
- Detailed status: Rescinded. Following a $100 million federal lawsuit filed by a data center developer (~2026-05-28) alleging the moratorium was illegal, the Hill County Commissioners Court voted to rescind the moratorium on 2026-06-04 and adopted new data center review requirements/policies instead (per KWTX, KCENTV, KXXV, and The Texas Tribune). The developer subsequently dismissed the lawsuit (KWTX, 2026-07-15) after the county's about-face and a settlement of up to $100,000.
- Outcome: One-year moratorium adopted 2026-05-12; rescinded 2026-06-04 under litigation pressure and replaced with new development-review policies
Source: moratorium_inventory.csv · Methodology · Codebook.