Governor Moore Calls for Repealing Reckless Data Center Tax Break Championed by Dan Cox

ANNAPOLIS, MD – Governor Wes Moore today announced plans to clean up the mess created by people like Dan Cox. He called for repealing the reckless tax break that jumpstarted the data center industry here in Maryland. Cox was one of just 17 House members who cosponsored the 2020 bill to exempt data center equipment from Maryland’s sales and use tax, and voted twice for the version that became law.

“Data Center Dan rolled out the red carpet for data centers to come to Maryland,” Said Maryland Democratic Party Chair Steuart Pittman. “He sponsored the tax break that jumpstarted data center development in this state, and he didn’t have a word to say about any of it until it could benefit him politically. Now, Governor Moore is cleaning up his mess.”

Governor Moore also signed a new executive order creating the Maryland Data Center Accountability Task Force, which will ensure future data center development follows new state guidelines focused on addressing community input, energy usage, and environmental impacts.

Marylanders are fed up at Republicans in Washington who have spent the last two years fighting to roll back critical guardrails protecting people from the dangerous impacts of AI and data centers. Governor Moore’s new announcement puts the community concerns first before they’re built here in Maryland.

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