AB2619 - Water resources: data centers.

Amended IN Senate August 21, 2026 Amended IN Senate July 02, 2026 Amended IN Senate June 15, 2026 Amended IN Assembly April 08, 2026 CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2025–2026 REGULAR SESSION Assembly Bill No. 2619 Introduced by Assembly Member Papan February 20, 2026 An act to add Sections 16000.4 and 16100.4 to the Business and Professions Code, and to amend Section 10632 of, and to add Section 10609.1 to, of the Water Code, relating to water. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST AB 2619, as amended, Papan. Water resources: data centers. (1) Existing law authorizes the legislative body of an incorporated city and the county board of supervisors to license businesses carried on within their respective jurisdictions and to set license fees, as specified. This bill would require a person who owns or operates a data center, prior to applying to a city or a county for an initial business license, equivalent instrument, or permit, to provide its water supplier, under penalty of perjury, a good faith estimate of the expected water use, the anticipated source of water, and the data center’s projected water use volume for the maximum day, maximum month, and average year. When applying to a city or county for an initial business license, the bill would require a person who owns or operates a data center to report, under penalty of perjury, on the application, a good faith estimate of the expected water use, the anticipated source of water, and the data center’s projected water use volume for the maximum day, maximum month, and average year. When applying to a city or county for a renewal of a business license, equivalent instrument, or permit, the bill would require a person who owns or operates a data center to report, under penalty of perjury, on the application, the data center’s annual water use for the preceding calendar year, including total water and direct water use, as prescribed. By expanding the crime of perjury, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would define terms for purposes of these provisions. Existing law establishes the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission with various responsibilities with respect to developing and implementing the state’s energy policies. Existing law establishes the Department of Water Resources and prescribes the powers and responsibilities of the department. This bill would require the Department of Water Resources and the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission to develop, on or before January 1, 2029, guidelines and best practices to maximize the efficient use of natural resources to address the developing and emerging needs of technology in California that are consistent with urban water use objectives under prescribed provisions of law. The bill would specify that these guidelines and best practices include, among others, the use of closed-loop systems and nonpotable water. The bill would also require the department, in coordination with other relevant state agencies, to develop guidance that cities and counties may use for assessing projected water use, water efficiency measures, and cumulative water resource impacts of proposed data centers within the context of local and regional water management objectives. (2) Existing law, the Urban Water Management Planning Act, requires every public and private urban water supplier that directly or indirectly provides water for municipal purposes to prepare and adopt an urban water management plan. Existing law requires an urban retail water supplier to quantify past, current, and projected water use, identifying the uses among water use sectors, including, among others, commercial, agricultural, and industrial. Existing law requires every urban water supplier to prepare and adopt a water shortage contingency plan as part of its urban water management plan. Existing law requires the water shortage contingency plan to include the procedures used in conducting an annual water supply and demand assessment, including the key data inputs and assessment methodology used to evaluate the urban water supplier’s water supply reliability for the current year and one dry year. Those key data inputs and assessment methodology used to evaluate water supply reliability include, among other things, current year unconstrained demand, considering certain factors. This bill would specify that the current year unconstrained demand includes, but is not limited to, the unconstrained demand of data centers, irrigation, and other large water users. (3) The bill would include findings that changes proposed by this bill address a matter of statewide concern rather than a municipal affair and, therefore, apply to all cities, including charter cities. (4) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason. Digest Key Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: YES Local Program: YES Bill Text The people of the State of California do enact as follows: SECTION 1. (a) It is the intent of the Legislature that data centers are considered commercial, industrial, and institutional users under the state’s “Making Conservation a California Way of Life” regulation (Article 1 (commencing with Section 965) of Chapter 3.5 of Division 3 of Title 23 of the California Code of Regulations), consistent with the urban water use objectives under Chapter 9 (commencing with Section 10609) of Part 2.55 of Division 6 of the Water Code. (b) The Legislature finds and declares that the growth of data center operations has created increasing demand for water resources, which have implications for statewide sustainability goals. The Department of Water Resources possesses the technical expertise, planning capacity, and regulatory experience necessary to evaluate and develop efficiency standards that balance operational reliability with resource conservation. California law has long required individual businesses and facilities to report water withdrawals, discharges, and related operational data directly to state or local water agencies where those activities may affect water supply, water quality, or aquatic resources. (c) The Legislature finds that large scale data centers increasingly function as critical infrastructure with substantial and growing demands on water resources and that a similar framework of periodic, standardized facility level reporting is necessary to support statewide water conservation, infrastructure planning, and environmental protection in California. SEC. 2. Section 16000.4 is added to the Business and Professions Code, to read: 16000.4. (a) For purposes of this section: (1) “Data center” means a facility that houses computing infrastructure, including graphics and central processing units, servers, storage devices, networking equipment, and associated power and cooling systems, for the primary purpose of processing, storing, or distributing electronic data. Types of data centers include only the following: (A) “Type I data center,” also commonly known as a “hyperscale data center,” means a data center with more than 10,000 servers or a power consumption of more than 25 megawatts. (B) “Type II data center” means a data center with a power consumption of at least 2 megawatts and no more than 25 megawatts. (C) “Type III data center” means a data center with a power consumption of less than two megawatts. (2) “Water supplier” means either of the following: (A) “Community water system,” as defined by Section 116275 of the Health and Safety Code. (B) “Urban water supplier,” as defined by Section 10617 of the Water Code. (b) (1) Prior to applying to a city for an initial business license, equivalent instrument, or permit, a person who owns or operates a data center shall provide its water supplier, under penalty of perjury, a good faith estimate of the expected water use, the anticipated source of water, and the data center’s projected water use volume for the maximum day, maximum month, and average year. (2) When applying to a city for an initial business license, equivalent instrument, or permit, a person who owns or operates a data center shall report, under penalty of perjury, on the application, a good faith estimate of the expected water use, the anticipated source of water, and the data center’s projected water use volume for the maximum day, maximum month, and average year. (3) When applying to a city for a renewal of a business license, equivalent instrument, or permit, a person who owns or operates a data center shall report, under penalty of perjury, the data center’s annual water use for the preceding calendar year, including total water use and direct water use. As part of direct water use reporting, the owner or operator shall report the cooling system type of the data center. For purposes of this paragraph, “direct annual water use” means the volume of water withdrawn, delivered, or otherwise used onsite for data center operations, including cooling, sanitation, irrigation, and any other operational use, identified by source, including potable water, nonpotable water, or recycled water. SEC. 3. Section 16100.4 is added to the Business and Professions Code, to read: 16100.4. (a) For purposes of this section: (1) “Data center” means a facility that houses computing infrastructure, including graphics and central processing units, servers, storage devices, networking equipment, and associated power and cooling systems, for the primary purpose of processing, storing, or distributing electronic data. Types of data centers include only the following: (A) “Type I data center,” also commonly known as a “hyperscale data center,” means a data center with more than 10,000 servers or a power consumption of more than 25 megawatts. (B) “Type II data center” means a data center with a power consumption of at least 2 megawatts and no more than 25 megawatts. (C) “Type III data center” means a data center with a power consumption of less than two megawatts. (2) “Water supplier” means either of the following: (A) “Community water system,” as defined by Section 116275 of the Health and Safety Code. (B) “Urban water supplier,” as defined by Section 10617 of the Water Code. (b) (1) Prior to applying to a county for an initial business license, equivalent instrument, or permit, a person who owns or operates a data center shall provide its water supplier, under penalty of perjury, a good faith estimate of the expected water use, the anticipated source of water, and the data center’s projected water use volume for the maximum day, maximum month, and average year. (2) When applying to a county for an initial business license, equivalent instrument, or permit, a person who owns or operates a data center shall report, under penalty of perjury, on the application, a good faith estimate of the expected water use, the anticipated source of water, and the data center’s projected water use volume for the maximum day, maximum month, and average year. (3) When applying to a county for a renewal of a business license, equivalent instrument, or permit, a person who owns or operates a data center shall report, under penalty of perjury, the data center’s annual water use for the preceding calendar year, including total water use and direct water use. As part of direct water use reporting, the owner or operator shall report the cooling system type of the data center. For purposes of this paragraph, “direct annual water use” means the volume of water withdrawn, delivered, or otherwise used onsite for data center operations, including cooling, sanitation, irrigation, and any other operational use, identified by source, including potable water, nonpotable water, or recycled water. SEC. 4. Section 10609.1 is added to the Water Code , to read: 10609.1. (a) On or before January 1, 2029, the department and the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission shall develop guidelines and best practices to maximize the efficient use of natural resources to address the developing and emerging needs of technology in California that are consistent with urban water use objectives under this chapter and the Energy Star program of the United States Environmental Protection Agency, as that program existed on January 1, 2025, to the extent that the Energy Star program is applicable to water usage. (b) Pursuant to subdivision (a), best practices shall include, but not be limited to, all of the following: (1) The use of closed-loop systems. (2) The use of nonpotable water. (3) The installation of rainwater and stormwater capture infrastructure. (4) Water-efficient practices for indoor and outdoor water use. (5) Water-efficient practices need to be scalable and increased for type I and type II data centers, as defined in subdivision (d). (6) Location, design, construction, and capacity of cooling water intake structures reflecting the best technology available for minimizing adverse environmental impact. (c) On or before January 1, 2029, the department, in coordination with other relevant state agencies, shall develop guidance that cities and counties may use for assessing projected water use, water efficiency measures, and cumulative water resource impacts of proposed data centers within the context of local and regional water management objectives. (d) For purposes of this section, “data center” means a facility that houses computing infrastructure, including graphics and central processing units, servers, storage devices, networking equipment, and associated power and cooling systems, for the primary purpose of processing, storing, or distributing electronic data. Types of data centers include only the following: (1) “Type I data center,” also commonly known as a “hyperscale data center,” means a data center with more than 10,000 servers or a power consumption of more than 25 megawatts. (2) “Type II data center” means a data center with a power consumption of at least 2 megawatts and no more than 25 megawatts. (3) “Type III data center” means a data center with a power consumption of less than two megawatts. SEC. 5. SEC. 4. Section 10632 of the Water Code is amended to read: 10632. (a) Every urban water supplier shall prepare and adopt a water shortage contingency plan as part of its urban water management plan that consists of each of the following elements: (1) The analysis of water supply reliability conducted pursuant to Section 10635. (2) The procedures used in conducting an annual water supply and demand assessment that include, at a minimum, both of the following: (A) The written decisionmaking process that an urban water supplier will use each year to determine its water supply reliability. (B) The key data inputs and assessment methodology used to evaluate the urban water sup [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]