Vermont
Data Center
Defense

Community Toolkit — Full Edition

vtdatacentertoolkit.org

Published 2026 · All content sourced from public record

Vermont came within seven votes of passing the strongest data-center rules in the country. The Governor vetoed them — but the door is still open. This is the plain-language field guide to what happened, why it reaches your bills and water, and how you help finish the job.

What's inside

The case — what a giant data center would do to your bills, water, and voice, and how close Vermont came to stopping one.
Action playbooks — nine ways to act, from a five-minute email to sustained organizing.
Action tools — find your decision-makers and send ready-made messages.
The federal backdrop — and why Vermont's own levers matter more.
Sanders' record — the federal counterpart on AI data centers.
Sources & notes — every claim sourced from public record.

Vermont State House in Montpelier, a Greek Revival building with a golden dome, on a clear day — Carol M. Highsmith / Library of Congress

Vermont Community Resource

Vermont almost made Big Tech play by the strongest data-center rules in the country. The Governor said no. Here's how you finish the job — starting today.

Vermont has no giant data center — yet. Our grid is too small for one. Lawmakers passed a bill to stop it: H.727. The Governor said no — by just seven votes. The door is still open. The tools to close it are yours.

Find your 3 decision-makers →See what you can do this week →Download the printable toolkit (PDF)View printable version

Why this matters to you

What a giant data center would mean for you

A giant data center won't stay in one town. Here's how it touches your life.

The situation

What happened — and what comes next

A classic Vermont covered wooden bridge spanning a stream amid autumn foliage — Carol M. Highsmith / Library of Congress

Legislative timeline

Completed:
Jan 6, 2026
S.205 introduced — temporary moratorium on AI data centers >100 MW until 2030-07-01
Sen. Rebecca White's bill referred to Senate Finance; stalled in committee. The vehicle that moved was H.727. S.205 died at adjournment May 29, 2026.
Completed:
2026 session
H.727 passed Senate 26–3
"VT Sustainable Data Centers Act" — a 20 MW framework (megawatts, or MW, measure electricity demand), plus ratepayer protections, water/PFAS monitoring, and on-site renewables.
Completed:
2026 session
H.727 passed House — near-unanimous voice vote
One of the most decisive data-center votes in any state legislature.
Completed:
May 28, 2026
Governor Scott vetoed H.727
Vermont has no data-center-specific law as a result. H.727 did not become law.
Completed:
May 29, 2026
House override failed 83–52 — seven votes short of the 90 needed
S.205 also died at adjournment the same day. No operative data-center statute exists in Vermont.
Pending:
Next session
Revive H.727 — the mandate already exists
The bill text is ready. The supermajority voted for it once. The job is to close a seven-vote gap.

A vetoed bill and a failed override are not defeat — they are a mandate with a seven-vote gap.

The grid

Vermont's grid — the facts

You just read how this could raise your bills and touch your water. Here are the numbers, with sources. Vermont's power grid is small. So one huge building can change it for everyone.

Each of these numbers comes from two or more sources.They all say the same thing. Vermont's grid is small. Any big new user changes it for every home that pays a power bill.

Why this matters: together, these four numbers show how big one data center is next to Vermont's whole grid — and the cost to connect it can land on your power bill.

One data center vs. all of Vermont

One data center vs. all of Vermont
Category	Value (MW)
Vermont's data centers today: ~5 MW	5
One big new data center: up to ~300 MW	300
All of Vermont at peak: 880 MW	880

The 300 MW bar is an example — no specific facility is represented. Big AI data centers elsewhere have requested 100 to 500+ MW. Sources: Vermont Dept. of Public Service, 2026 Annual Energy Report; VTDigger, 2026-02-24.

~880 MW

Vermont statewide peak electric demand

Vermont Dept. of Public Service, 2026 Annual Energy Report

+7.5%

GMP rate increase effective Oct 1, 2026

PUC Case 26-0096-TF (confirmed)

~$30M

Estimated grid hookup cost that stopped the St. Albans proposal, 2025

VTDigger, 2026-02-24

~5 MW

Vermont's current total data-center electric load — three small Chittenden Co. facilities

VTDigger, 2026-02-24 · Vermont Public

Regulatory landscape

Vermont's regulatory tools — what exists today

Vermont regulatory tools for data-center oversight — scope, data-center coverage, and current status
Lever	Type	Covers data centers?	Status
30 V.S.A. §248	Energy — generation & transmission	No — covers gen/tx infrastructure, not load	Active
Act 250 / Act 181 / S.325	Land-use environmental review	Yes — criteria 1 (water), 8 (aesthetics), 9 (energy), 10 (town plan)	Active (S.325 updated 2026)
H.727 — 20 MW threshold	Data-center-specific PUC framework	Yes — but vetoed May 28, 2026	NOT in force
Act 179 / Global Warming Solutions Act	Climate — 100% renewable by 2035	Indirect — fossil backup directly conflicts with statute	Active
Town Meeting / Zoning (24 V.S.A. §4414 / §4415)	Local siting — bylaws & interim rules	Yes — conditional use, interim bylaws, moratorium	Active

Reference

30 V.S.A. §248 — PUC Certificate of Public Good (generation & transmission)

§248 is Vermont's power-plant permit law.It covers new power plants and power lines. It does not cover "load." Load means the electricity a building uses. A data center is a big user of power. It is not a power plant. So §248 does not review a data center by itself.

Here is when §248 does apply.Say the project builds its own power source, like gas turbines on site. Or say it needs new power lines or a substation. That kind of work does trigger §248 review by the PUC. The PUC is the state board that approves power projects. That is where cost and energy questions go on the record. It is also where anyone who pays a power bill can speak up.

Here is the gap, and why H.727 mattered.§248 does not cover data-center load. So Vermont had no rule aimed at the center itself. No rule for its power use, its water use, or its backup diesel. H.727 would have fixed that. It set a 20 MW size that triggers PUC review of the center itself. But H.727 was vetoed. So the gap is still open.

What that means: Vermont can review the power lines, but not the data center itself.

What that means for you: A data center could be built with no direct state review.

30 V.S.A. §248 · legislature.vermont.gov (H.727 bill status)

Vermont §248 Certificate of Public Good process — applies to generation and transmission infrastructure, not to data-center load directly

Environmental context

Water and energy: what the national record shows

A 1941 wind turbine on a Vermont hilltop, an early example of renewable energy infrastructure in the region — U.S. DOE / NREL — public domain

Vermont-specific water-use figures for a hypothetical facility aren't independently corroborated, so we don't state them here as fact.In plain words: we could not double-check those local numbers, so we leave them out. But here is what the national record does show:

Action Playbooks

Nine ways to act — ordered from easiest to most sustained

Each playbook is a real out-of-state win, re-aimed to a Vermont mechanism. Start at Playbook 1. Each step makes the next one easier.

At a glance

Compare all nine tactics

Each row is a full playbook below. Find your entry point, then read the card.

Nine playbooks comparison — effort level, timeline, and who each tactic is best suited for
#	Tactic	Effort	Timeline	Best for
1	Email your real decision-maker	Low	10 min	Any resident
2	Write a Letter to the Editor naming H.727	Low	30 min	Any resident
3	File a Vermont Public Records Act request	Low	~1 hour	Any resident
4	Show up at Town Meeting and warn an article	Medium	Days–weeks	A small core team
5	Ask your selectboard to adopt an interim bylaw	Medium	Weeks	Organizers with board relationship
6	Write data centers into your town's zoning	Medium	Months	Organizers + Planning Commission
7	Take party status in Act 250 review	High	Months	Committed resident or org
8	Intervene in the PUC §248 docket	High	Months	Organizers; counsel helpful
9	Revive H.727 — campaign for re-introduction	High	Session-long	Organized coalition

Playbooks 1–9

The nine playbooks

Email your real decision-maker

10 min

In other states, one constituent email proving "I'm a local voter and I'm watching" moved officials to take a public position.

Vermont steps

Find your decision-maker
Use legislature.vermont.gov/people to get your House Rep and Senator (for H.727 revival). Use sos.vermont.gov/elections/town-clerks to find your town clerk (for local siting).
Aim your email at the right body
1. State policy ask (revive H.727) → email your legislators.
2. Local siting matter → email the town clerk, Planning Commission, or Development Review Board — not your legislator. The town body decides siting, not Montpelier.
Use the Vermont-aimed template on the Actions page
Add one sentence in your own words. Include your town and ZIP to prove you're a constituent. Then send.

Write a Letter to the Editor naming H.727

30 min

Letters to the editor are the cheapest earned-media lever — they reach decision-makers and neighbors at once.

Vermont steps

Pick one point
For example: "The Governor's veto left Vermont with no data-center law." One clear argument lands harder than three.
Write 150–200 words
1. Open with why a neighbor should care.
2. Tie it to a recent VTDigger, Vermont Public, or local paper article for placement odds.
3. Name your target: your legislator (revive H.727) or your selectboard (adopt interim bylaws).
Submit to the opinion editor
Email the opinion editor. Paste in the body — do not attach a file. Find a ready-to-customize template on the Actions page.

File a Vermont Public Records Act request

~1 hour · template provided

In Wisconsin, public-records law forced Microsoft to disclose water-use data it had claimed as a trade secret. Opacity broke under the law.

Vermont steps (1 V.S.A. §§315–320)

Identify the records officer
Town clerk for local records. Agency records officer for state agency records.
Email a short, specific request
Name the records and date range. Cite the Vermont Public Records Act, 1 V.S.A. §§315–320. Use the copy-paste template on the Actions page.
Track the clock
1. Substantive response required within 3 business days.
2. Any extension must be in writing and is limited to 10 additional business days.
Challenge "trade secret" withholding
If energy or water data is withheld as a trade secret under §317(c)(9), demand segregation and release of non-exempt portions plus the specific factual basis. A bare "trade secret" label is not self-executing.
Appeal if denied
Appeal in writing to the agency head (5-business-day decision), then Superior Court. The agency bears the burden; attorney's fees are recoverable if you substantially prevail.

Show up at Town Meeting and warn an article

Days to weeks

A local body in DeKalb County, Georgia passed a 100-day moratorium to study a project. Vermont has a stronger tradition: Town Meeting direct democracy backed by statute.

Vermont steps (Vermont has no operative county government — go to your town)

Contact your town clerk
The town clerk keeps the warnings and identifies the Selectboard, Planning Commission, and Development Review Board.
Force an article onto Town Meeting yourself
1. Draft the article text.
2. Collect signatures from 5% of registered voters — name, signature, and address.
3. File with the town clerk at least 47 days before the meeting (17 V.S.A. §2642).
Turn out neighbors to decide it on the floor
Organize carpools, reminders, and a clear "ask" for the meeting.

Ask your selectboard to adopt an interim bylaw

Weeks · the Vermont moratorium

A moratorium buys time to write real rules before a developer can lock in approvals under existing zoning.

Vermont steps (24 V.S.A. §4415)

Ask the Selectboard — not a citizen petition
Ask the Selectboard to adopt an interim bylaw under 24 V.S.A. §4415. This is a board action, not a direct citizen petition.
Pair it with a planning study request
§4415 requires an active planning effort. Ask the board to simultaneously commission a data-center planning study or bylaw update.
Turn residents out for the public hearing
The board adopts after one warned public hearing. Your job: fill that room.
Use the window to push permanent bylaws
The interim bylaw lasts up to 2 years (plus a 1-year extension). Use that window to drive permanent data-center bylaws through §4441/§4442.

Write data centers into your town's zoning

Months

Prince William County, Virginia passed zoning that confined data centers to industrial-zoned areas only.

Vermont steps (24 V.S.A. §4414(3))

Bring a proposal to the Planning Commission
Propose making data centers a conditional use under strict standards — or limit them to an industrial-only district. Under 24 V.S.A. §4414(3), conditional use must not cause undue adverse effect on community-facility capacity, area character, or traffic.
Include Act 250 criteria in the conditional-use standards
A town may adopt Act 250 criteria into its conditional-use review, adding water, energy, and aesthetics standards.
Testify at warned hearings
1. Planning Commission warned hearing.
2. Selectboard adoption hearing.
Know the adoption timeline
Board adopts (effective 21 days later) or warns it to ballot. To defend a board-adopted bylaw against repeal, know the §4442 process.

Take party status in Act 250 review

Months

Act 250 is a statewide environmental review where residents can question, rebut, and appeal a large project — but through party status, not open online comment.

Vermont steps

Watch for the public notice for your district
Find your District Environmental Commission (one of nine) at act250.vermont.gov.
File a Party Status Petition before the deadline
Name the specific criteria you'll contest: Criterion 1 (water pollution), Criterion 8 (aesthetics/light), Criterion 9 (energy/soils), Criterion 10 (town/regional-plan conformance).
Participate in the hearing fully
Present evidence, cross-examine witnesses, and keep your party status to the end to preserve appeal rights.
Appeal if aggrieved
Appeal within ~30 days to the Environmental Division (de novo review, your criteria only). Engaging your Regional Planning Commission and town Planning Commission early is critical — they are automatic parties and Criterion 10 turns on their plans.

Intervene in the PUC §248 docket for power infrastructure

Months · counsel helpful

The data-center building goes through Act 250 and zoning. The dedicated power infrastructure — a substation, line, or on-site generation — triggers PUC §248 review (30 V.S.A. §248). That's where the ratepayer-cost argument goes on the record.

Vermont steps

Find the docket
Go to puc.vermont.gov → Public Participation → ePUC. Search by company, town, or case number.
Watch the scheduling order for the intervention deadline
The petitioner must give 45-day advance notice. The scheduling order sets the intervention deadline.
Attend the public hearing
Public comment at PUC hearings requires no party status. Show up in the host community.
File a motion to intervene for full party status
File through ePUC before the deadline, stating your stake: abutter, environmental interest, or ratepayer.
Lean on the Department of Public Service and ANR
Both are automatic parties. Put the ratepayer-cost and environmental arguments to them — they can carry the analysis with far more staff capacity.

Revive H.727 — put the mandate back to a vote

A session-long campaign

The policy already commands the votes. It passed both chambers once. The bill text exists. The job is to re-introduce it next session and close the gap.

Vermont steps

Build a coalition
CLF, VNRC, VPIRG, town officials — small core team, clear goal, public meetings.
Ask your legislators to re-introduce H.727's framework next session
1. ~20 MW trigger for PUC review of the data center itself.
2. PUC-approved large-load equity contract insulating ratepayers from infrastructure costs.
3. Quarterly public reporting of energy and water use.
4. Limits on fossil-fuel backup generation.
5. On-site renewables requirement.
6. Closed-loop cooling and PFAS monitoring.
7. Public Records Act carve-out so energy and water data cannot hide behind "trade secret."
Route to the right committees
House Energy & Digital Infrastructure / Senate Natural Resources & Energy (heard H.727), Government Operations (records carve-out), Ways & Means (incentives).
In testimony, cite the demonstrated supermajority
Senate 26–3, near-unanimous House. Only the override math (83 of 90 votes) fell short. The mandate is real.

Next step

Ready to act?

Start with Playbook 1 — a 10-minute email. Use the Actions page to find your decision-makers and copy the template.

Go to Action Tools →

Action Tools

Find your decision-makers. Use the templates. Act this week.

Vermont has two chains of decision-makers, depending on what you're asking for. Get the right person. Send the right message.

Step 1

Your action checklist — step by step

Work through these in order. Each step earns the next.

Commit out loud: tell one person which step you'll finish first. A commitment said to someone else is one you're far more likely to keep.

Find your state legislators
Go to legislature.vermont.gov/people.
Send Template A to your House Rep and Senator
Find your town clerk
Go to sos.vermont.gov/elections/town-clerks.
Send Template B to your Selectboard and Planning Commission
Write a 150–200-word Letter to the Editor (use Template C)
Submit to VTDigger, Seven Days, or your local paper.
File a Public Records Act request
Request any existing town correspondence with data-center developers.
Attend your next Selectboard or Planning Commission meeting
Ask when data-center siting will be warned for public discussion.
Bookmark the H.727 bill-status page
Go to legislature.vermont.gov/bill/status/2026/H.727 and check back each session for its re-introduction.

Step 2

Find your 3 decision-makers

Card 1 — State legislators

Use when: asking for H.727 revival or any state-level change.

Find your House Rep(s) and Senator by town at the Vermont Legislature directory:

Find my legislators →

Returns your House Rep + Senator with email and phone. Use the email template below for the H.727 revival ask.

Card 2 — Town officials

Use when: asking about local siting, interim bylaws, or zoning.

Start with your town clerk.The clerk identifies your Selectboard, Planning Commission, and Development Review Board, and keeps the warnings and records.

Find my town clerk →

Vermont has no operative county government for siting. Never go to a county body — go to your town.

Card 3 — Vermont PUC

Use when: power infrastructure for a data center triggers §248 review.

Find open dockets, scheduling orders, and hearing notices at Vermont Public Utility Commission ePUC:

Vermont PUC dockets →

Public comment at PUC hearings requires no party status. Intervention for full party status requires a motion before the deadline.

Step 3

Email templates — copy, personalize, send

Add one sentence in your own words. Include your town and ZIP to prove you're a constituent. Then send.

Tip: the moment you tap Copy, switch to your email, paste, and send. Acting in one sitting turns reading into a sent message.

Template A — Legislator

Send to your House Rep and Senator via legislature.vermont.gov/people

Show Template A — Legislator email

Subject: Please bring back H.727 — Vermont still has no data-center law

Dear [Representative/Senator Name],

I'm a constituent in [Town], ZIP [#####]. I'm writing because the Legislature passed H.727 this year by an overwhelming, tripartisan margin — 26–3 in the Senate and a near-unanimous House voice vote — and after the Governor's veto, the override fell only about seven votes short. That left Vermont with no data-center-specific law at all, even as federal rules move to fast-track these projects.

Please commit to re-introducing H.727's framework next session: a ~20 MW trigger, a PUC-approved contract that insulates ratepayers from data-center infrastructure costs, public quarterly reporting of energy and water use, limits on fossil-fuel backup, on-site renewables, and water and PFAS protections. Vermonters already pay roughly 28% above the national average for electricity and our grid has little slack — we can't afford to absorb these costs by default.

The votes for this policy already exist. Please help finish the job.

Thank you,
[Name], [Town], Vermont

Template B — Town

Send to your Selectboard and/or Planning Commission

Show Template B — Town email

Subject: Data centers and our town — please act before a proposal arrives

Dear [Selectboard / Planning Commission, Town of ____],

I'm a resident of [Town]. Vermont has no data-center-specific law right now, and a single large facility could rival a significant share of the state's entire electric peak (~880 MW, Vermont DPS, 2026). I'm asking our town to get ahead of this while we still can: please (1) consider an interim bylaw under 24 V.S.A. § 4415 paired with a planning study, and (2) review whether our zoning should treat data centers as a tightly-conditioned use or confine them to an industrial district under 24 V.S.A. § 4414(3).

I'd appreciate knowing when this can be warned for a public hearing, and I'll turn out neighbors to support it.

Thank you,
[Name], [Town], Vermont

Template C — LTE

Letter to the Editor (≤200 words)

Show Template C — Letter to the Editor

[Recent local headline] reminds us that Vermont still has no law governing data centers. This isn't for lack of trying: this year our Legislature passed H.727 — one of the strongest data-center bills in the country — by 26–3 in the Senate and a near-unanimous House. The Governor vetoed it, and the override missed by about seven votes. So the protections our own representatives overwhelmingly voted for simply don't exist today.

That matters because Vermonters already pay around 28% more for electricity than the average American, our grid is small enough that one big facility is a system-scale event, and federal rules are now built to fast-track these projects. The St. Albans proposal collapsed in 2025 only because a single grid hookup would have cost about $30 million — our thin grid, not any law, was the brake.

We can fix that. Ask [Legislator] to bring H.727 back next session, and ask our selectboard to study local safeguards now. The votes are there. Let's finish the job.

[Name], [Town]

Step 4

Public Records Act request template (1 V.S.A. §§315–320)

Use this to request energy use, water use, NDAs, and any correspondence between your town and a data-center developer. The Act requires a response within 3 business days. Any extension must be in writing and is limited to 10 additional business days.

Show the Public Records Act request template

To: [Town Clerk / Agency Records Officer], [Municipality/Agency]
Date: [date]

Under the Vermont Public Records Act, 1 V.S.A. §§ 315–320, I request copies of the following public records:

[Specific records — e.g., "all correspondence, applications, memoranda of understanding, and engineering or utility studies between [Town] and any data-center developer or its agents, including any non-disclosure or confidentiality agreements, from [start date] to present."]

Please provide records in electronic form. I understand the Act requires a response promptly — within 3 business days — to produce the records or certify any claimed exemption, with any extension limited to 10 additional business days and stated in writing.

If any portion is withheld as a trade secret under 1 V.S.A. § 317(c)(9), please segregate and release all non-exempt portions and state the specific factual basis for each withheld element. The Act is liberally construed toward disclosure and the agency bears the burden of justifying any withholding.

Please notify me of any fees before incurring them.

Thank you,
[Name], [Town], Vermont — [email/phone]

If denied: appeal in writing to the agency head (5-business-day decision), then Superior Court in your county or Washington County. Attorney's fees are recoverable if you substantially prevail.

1 V.S.A. §§315–320 · §318 (timelines) · §317(c)(9)

Live resources

Upcoming events and proceedings

Meeting and hearing dates will be listed here as they're scheduled. Use the official links below to track them directly.

Vermont PUC open dockets: puc.vermont.gov
Vermont Legislature committee schedules: legislature.vermont.gov/committee
H.727 bill status: legislature.vermont.gov/bill/status/2026/H.727

Federal Context

The federal backdrop — and why Vermont's own levers matter more because of it

The usual ways to slow big industrial projects are getting weaker at the federal level. That makes Vermont's own tools matter more, not less. Those tools are Act 250, PUC §248 (the state's permit process for power projects), Town Meeting, and the push to bring back H.727.

Five federal actions affecting Vermont data-center oversight — status and Vermont impact
#	Federal action	Status	Vermont impact
1	CEQ final rule — NEPA implementing regulations rescinded	Signed Jan 8, 2026	State tools (Act 250, §248) more critical
2	FERC §206 show-cause orders to all RTOs/ISOs	Active rulemaking — Jun 18, 2026	Monitor ISO-NE (RM26-4-000); bypass risk contested
3	EO 14318 — 100 MW+ data-center fast-track permitting	Signed Jul 23, 2025	Federal pre-clearance shortens review window
4	Federal funding withheld from Vermont programs	Verified — multiple actions	$62.5M Solar for All + ~$5.2M DOE + $5M EV frozen
5	Dec 11, 2025 AI EO + DOJ AI Litigation Task Force	Signed — reach to siting law untested	BEAD funds conditioned on AI law compliance

Signed / Verified

CEQ final rule — NEPA implementing regulations removed (January 8, 2026)

Active Rulemaking

FERC §206 show-cause orders — large-load / data-center interconnection (June 18, 2026)

Reference

Credible Risk — Active Rulemaking — not settled law

The Wright Directive came first, on October 23, 2025. People who study it see a real risk. A big data center might apply straight to ISO-NE under federal rules. That could let it skip the Vermont PUC. It is also unclear if Vermont's Renewable Energy Standard would still apply to it.

This is a credible risk under active rulemaking — not settled law.The Wright Directive says it does not touch a state's power over retail sales. The skip-the-PUC idea is not proven. Track FERC Docket RM26-4-000 and the ISO-NE §206 order before calling it fact.

energy.gov · FERC RM26-4-000 · compassvermont.com (RES-bypass analysis — independent VT outlet, labeled credible risk)

What that means: This risk is possible but not proven, so treat it as a warning, not a fact.

What that means for you: Keep an eye on these cases before you repeat the claim as settled.

Signed / Verified

EO 14318 — "Accelerating Federal Permitting of Data Center Infrastructure" (July 23, 2025)

Signed / Verified

Federal funding withheld from Vermont's clean-energy programs

$62.5M

EPA "Solar for All" grant terminated (August–September 2025)

vtdigger.org · ago.vermont.gov

~$5.2M

DOE cuts to UVM (~$3.4M) and BETA Technologies (~$1.8M)

vtdigger.org

$5M

Burlington EV-charging award frozen

vtdigger.org · cbsnews.com

What that means: A well-funded lobby pushes for data centers, and it has helped stall rules in some states.

What that means for you: In Vermont, organized neighbors and a citizen legislature can still outweigh that money.

Reach Legally Untested

Dec 11, 2025 AI Executive Order + DOJ AI Litigation Task Force

Bottom line

What the federal backdrop means for Vermont advocates

Vermont's own levers carry more weight, not less — Act 250, PUC §248, and Town Meeting are Vermont law and do not depend on federal NEPA or permitting timelines.

Highest-leverage actions

Use Vermont's existing review tools now
Act 250 party status (Playbook 7) and PUC §248 intervention (Playbook 8) are the main tools for any project in Vermont. Neither depends on federal permit timelines.
Revive H.727 next legislative session
The bill text is ready. A large majority voted for it once. Just seven votes decide whether Vermont closes the gap or leaves the door open.

See Playbook 7 (Act 250) and Playbook 9 (Revive H.727) →Go to Action Tools →

Federal Counterpart — Sanders AI Record

Sen. Bernie Sanders: federal AI data-center legislation in parallel with Vermont's H.727

Senator Bernie Sanders at a Senate HELP Committee hearing on technology and labor policy — U.S. Congress / public domain

Sanders is the Ranking Member — the lead senator of the minority party — on the Senate Health, Education, Labor & Pensions (HELP) Committee in the 119th Congress (2025–26). His bill (S.4214) and his committee work look at how AI affects jobs and power use. This runs parallel to Vermont's H.727. Both use the same 20 MW limit. Both try to protect people who pay bills, their communities, and the grid from the fast, unchecked buildout of AI data centers.

S.4214 (federal) and H.727 (Vermont) use the same 20 MW threshold and converge on the same protective goals — ratepayer protection, grid stability, and community approval.

Introduced 2026-03-25 · S.4214

"Artificial Intelligence Data Center Moratorium Act" — the direct federal parallel

Reference

What S.4214 does

S.4214 was introduced on March 25, 2026. It hits pause on building AI data centers that use 20 MW or more. That pause is a moratorium — a temporary stop. After the pause, the bill bans these things for good:

Passing electricity costs on to people who pay bills
Harming the environment
Taking public subsidies
Working without union labor at fair, prevailing wages
Building without the community's approval

A House companion bill — a matching bill in the other chamber — was led by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. The Senate bill went to the Committee on Commerce, Science & Transportation.

congress.gov (S.4214, 119th Congress) · sanders.senate.gov

What that means: A U.S. senator wrote a bill much like Vermont's H.727.

What that means for you: Vermont's 20 MW idea is shared at the national level, not a local outlier.

2025–2026

Sanders AI-accountability record — chronological

Completed:
Oct 2025
HELP Committee report: "The Big Tech Oligarchs' War Against Workers"
As Ranking Member, Sanders released a Senate HELP Committee staff report projecting — as a disputed modeled estimate, not a settled empirical finding — that AI and automation could eliminate nearly 100 million U.S. jobs over the next decade.
Completed:
2026-03-25
S.4214 introduced — "Artificial Intelligence Data Center Moratorium Act"
Filed with House companion by Rep. Ocasio-Cortez. Referred to Senate Commerce, Science & Transportation Committee. Targets the 20 MW threshold — matching Vermont's H.727.
Completed:
2026-04-16
Fox News op-ed: "Artificial intelligence is coming for the working class. We must fight back."
Sanders argued that AI automation's economic displacement requires structural worker and community protections — the direct rationale behind legislation such as S.4214.
Pending:
2026-06-18
"American AI Sovereign Wealth Fund Act" proposed — no bill number assigned yet
Sanders proposed a one-time tax on large AI firms to fund a citizen dividend. It doesn't have a bill number yet.

Artificial intelligence is coming for the working class. We must fight back.

Sen. Bernie Sanders — op-ed title, Fox News, 2026-04-16. The pull quote above is the verbatim published title of the op-ed; the body text of the article was not independently verified and is not quoted here.

Sources, Credits & Notes

Primary Sources

Vermont Legislature — H.727 text and vote record: legislature.vermont.gov
Vermont Public Utility Commission §248 proceedings: puc.vermont.gov
Vermont Act 250 Land Use Law: anr.vermont.gov
U.S. Energy Information Administration — grid and state power data: eia.gov
U.S. Congress — S.4214, 119th Congress (Sanders / Ocasio-Cortez): congress.gov
Senator Sanders' committee reports and press releases: sanders.senate.gov
Vermont League of Cities and Towns — Town Meeting resources: vlct.org
Vermont Secretary of State — find your town clerk: sos.vermont.gov/elections/town-clerks

Image Credits

Vermont State House (Montpelier) — Carol M. Highsmith / Library of Congress (public domain)
Vermont covered bridge — public domain
Vermont Carnegie Library (1907) — public domain historical photograph
Vermont wind turbine (1941) — public domain historical photograph
Senator Bernie Sanders portrait — U.S. Congress / public domain (in-body use only; nominative fair use)

About This Toolkit

Vermont Data Center Defense is an independent community resource for Vermonters engaged in data-center siting, ratepayer protection, and grid stewardship. All content is drawn from public record. Find your legislators at legislature.vermont.gov/people.

Online edition: vtdatacentertoolkit.org

Not affiliated with, authorized, or endorsed by Senator Sanders or his office.

VermontData CenterDefense

What's inside

Vermont almost made Big Tech play by the strongest data-center rules in the country. The Governor said no. Here's how you finish the job — starting today.

What a giant data center would mean for you

What happened — and what comes next

Vermont's grid — the facts

Vermont's regulatory tools — what exists today

Water and energy: what the national record shows

Nine ways to act — ordered from easiest to most sustained

Compare all nine tactics

The nine playbooks

Email your real decision-maker

Vermont steps

Write a Letter to the Editor naming H.727

Vermont steps

File a Vermont Public Records Act request

Vermont steps (1 V.S.A. §§315–320)

Show up at Town Meeting and warn an article

Vermont steps (Vermont has no operative county government — go to your town)

Ask your selectboard to adopt an interim bylaw

Vermont steps (24 V.S.A. §4415)

Write data centers into your town's zoning

Vermont steps (24 V.S.A. §4414(3))

Take party status in Act 250 review

Vermont steps

Intervene in the PUC §248 docket for power infrastructure

Vermont steps

Revive H.727 — put the mandate back to a vote

Vermont steps

Ready to act?

Find your decision-makers. Use the templates. Act this week.

Your action checklist — step by step

Find your 3 decision-makers

Card 1 — State legislators

Card 2 — Town officials

Card 3 — Vermont PUC

Email templates — copy, personalize, send

Template A — Legislator

Template B — Town

Template C — LTE

Public Records Act request template (1 V.S.A. §§315–320)

Upcoming events and proceedings

The federal backdrop — and why Vermont's own levers matter more because of it

CEQ final rule — NEPA implementing regulations removed (January 8, 2026)

FERC §206 show-cause orders — large-load / data-center interconnection (June 18, 2026)

EO 14318 — "Accelerating Federal Permitting of Data Center Infrastructure" (July 23, 2025)

Federal funding withheld from Vermont's clean-energy programs

Dec 11, 2025 AI Executive Order + DOJ AI Litigation Task Force

What the federal backdrop means for Vermont advocates

Highest-leverage actions

Sen. Bernie Sanders: federal AI data-center legislation in parallel with Vermont's H.727

"Artificial Intelligence Data Center Moratorium Act" — the direct federal parallel

Sanders AI-accountability record — chronological

Sources, Credits & Notes

Primary Sources

Image Credits

About This Toolkit

Vermont
Data Center
Defense