North Carolina SB 730: Expand Medicaid to Include All Below 133% FPL.

Bill Text

GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
SESSION 2025
S 5
SENATE BILL 730
Second Edition Engrossed 5/7/25
House Committee Substitute Favorable 5/21/26
House Committee Substitute #2 Favorable 6/2/26
Fifth Edition Engrossed 6/3/26

Short Title: Ratepayer Protection Act. (Public)
Sponsors:
Referred to:
March 26, 2025
*S730-v-5*
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1
AN ACT TO ESTABLISH REQUIREMENTS FOR SITING AND OPERATION OF DATA 2
CENTERS AND TO MAKE VARIOUS CHANGES TO STATE ENERGY AND 3
UTILITIES POLICY. 4
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts: 5
6
PART I. REQUIREMENTS FOR DATA CENTERS 7
8
REQUIREMENTS FOR LOCAL DEVELOPMENT APPROVAL PROCESS 9
SECTION 1.(a) Article 9 of Chapter 160D of the General Statutes is amended by 10
adding a new section to read: 11
"§ 160D-974. Site assessment required for data centers; other requirements. 12
(a) Prior to any approval of a rezoning application, special exception, conditional or 13
special use permit, or building permit for the siting of a new data center, a local government shall 14
require that an applicant: 15
(1) Perform and submit a site assessment to examine the sound profile of the data 16
center on residential units and schools located within 500 feet of the data 17
center property boundary. A locality may also require that a site assessment 18
examine the effect of the proposed facility on the community with regard to 19
(i) ground and surface water resources, (ii) air quality, (iii) thermal plumes, 20
(iv) agricultural resources, (v) parks, (vi) registered historic sites, and (vii) 21
forestland on the data center site or immediately contiguous land. 22
(2) Submit an attestation that the data center will employ a closed-loop water or 23
a liquid cooling system that will result in minimization of water consumption 24
for cooling systems to the maximum extent possible, in compliance with 25
G.S. 143-355.5A. 26
(b) The site assessment submitted to a local government pursuant to subdivision (1) of 27
subsection (a) of this section shall be used by the local government to assess consistency with 28
the policies of the local government's comprehensive plan, if any, and compliance with the local 29
government's adopted noise ordinances, zoning ordinance provisions, and other applicable laws 30
and regulations, if any. 31
(c) This section shall not apply to a site with an existing legislative, quasi-judicial, or 32
administrative approval where an applicant is seeking an expansion or modification of an already 33

General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
Page 2 Senate Bill 730-Fifth Edition
existing or approved facility and such expansion does not exceed an additional monthly electrical 1
demand of 100 megawatts or more. 2
(d) For purposes of this section, the term "data center" means a facility, campus of 3
facilities, or array of interconnected facilities used by an entity or other business enterprise for 4
the primary purpose of storing, retrieving, managing, and processing digital data, which has a 5
peak monthly electricity demand of 100 megawatts or greater. The term "data center" does not 6
include a facility or portion of a facility containing electronic equipment that is incidental to and 7
used in support of a business whose primary business activity is not the storing, retrieving, 8
managing, and processing of digital data. 9
(e) Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit, limit, or otherwise supersede 10
existing local zoning authority." 11
SECTION 1.(b) This section is effective when it becomes law and applies to 12
applications for rezoning, special exceptions, conditional or special use permits, or building 13
permits submitted on or after that date. 14
15
WATER USE STANDARDS FOR DATA CENTERS 16
SECTION 2.(a) Article 38 of Chapter 143 of the General Statutes is amended by 17
adding a new section to read: 18
"§ 143-355.5A. Water use standards for data centers. 19
(a) The Department shall adopt rules establishing water use standards for data centers to 20
ensure the protection of surface water and groundwater resources. 21
(b) The water use standards adopted by the Department: (i) may require data centers to 22
employ closed-loop or reclaimed water systems as necessary to avoid impacts to areas with water 23
availability concerns; and (ii) shall not permit a data center to use an evaporative cooling system. 24
For purposes of this subsection, an "evaporative cooling system" means any cooling system that 25
consumes water through evaporation as a primary method of heat rejection. 26
(c) For purposes of this section, the term "data center" means a facility, campus of 27
facilities, or array of interconnected facilities used by an entity or other business enterprise for 28
the primary purpose of storing, retrieving, managing, and processing digital data, which has a 29
peak monthly electricity demand of 100 megawatts or greater. The term "data center" does not 30
include a facility or portion of a facility containing electronic equipment that is incid