A Texas Senate committee set a hearing on how much water data center cooling uses and whether local water providers are told
The Senate Committee on Water, Agriculture and Rural Affairs posted notice that it would meet at 9:00 AM on Tuesday, September 1st, 2026 in hearing room E1.012. Senator Charles Perry chairs it. The notice sets one interim charge and says the committee will hear invited and public testimony on it. The charge is to examine current water consumption rates for high consumption cooling technologies including data centers. It directs the committee to make recommendations improving transparency for local water providers. It also tells the committee to weigh industrial growth against water affordability for households and for agricultural producers. The notice limits public testimony to two minutes and routes written testimony to the committee clerk. The sitting the notice set has passed. The committee's meetings page now lists that sitting and a second one the next day, under columns for the hearing notice, minutes and witness list. Neither the notice nor that page says what the committee heard or what it will recommend.
How to take part
The sitting the notice set has passed. The committee clerk is named on the Legislature's committee meetings page with a phone number and a room. That page is where the hearing notice, the minutes and the witness list are posted as they are filed.
Where
Statewide. This decision applies across Texas rather than to a named county.
Timeline
- hearing
Hearing set by the committee's posted notice
- Today
How this decision moved
One dated line per check, oldest first. A line that says nothing changed means somebody looked and it had not.
- 2026-09-07
Admitted. The committee's posted notice sets the hearing for September 1st, 2026 and carries the interim charge in full. The charge names data centers and asks the committee to recommend ways to improve transparency for local water providers.
- 2026-09-10
The committee's schedule still records that it took testimony on water use for data center cooling and on whether local water providers are told. No report has been published from it and no further hearing is posted.
- 2026-09-10
Corrected, and this retracts the line above it. That line says the committee's schedule records that it took testimony. The schedule holds the posted notice, which reads that the committee will meet, and no source under it reports what the committee heard. The title and the summary said the hearing was held and now describe the notice. Two claims were added, for the sentence that sets the meeting and for the instruction on written testimony.
- 2026-09-13
Checked and unchanged. Still pending, with no dated movement.
- 2026-09-16
The Senate hearing on data center cooling water and what local water providers are told is still on the calendar as set. Nothing has been posted to move it.
- 2026-09-19
The hearing on cooling water is still set, and whether a local water provider is told what a data center will draw is still the open question in it.
- 2026-09-23
The senate committee's water hearing is still the only scheduled place that question gets asked.
- 2026-09-26
The Senate committee's hearing on data center cooling water is still where that question is scheduled to be asked.
- 2026-09-29
The Senate hearing is still where lawmakers are set to ask how much water data center cooling uses and whether local providers are told.
- 2026-10-02
The committee's meetings page lists the September 1st sitting the notice set, followed by a second on September 2nd. The notice itself sits on a path this project does not read.
- 2026-10-05
The Senate water committee's notice of its hearing on data center cooling water still reads as posted, with no report from it published.
- 2026-10-08
The Senate committee's meetings page still lists the September 1st sitting on data center cooling water, and no report from it has been published.
- 2026-10-14
The Senate committee's meetings page still lists the September 1st sitting with its notice, minutes and witness list linked, and a second sitting the next day. The notice text sits on a path this project does not read, and no report index was checked.
- 2026-10-17
The Senate committee's meetings page still lists the September 1st sitting on data center cooling water and the sitting the day after, with no later one posted. The notice text sits on a path this project does not read.
- 2026-10-20
The Senate water committee's meetings page still shows the September 1st sitting on data center cooling water and the one the next day, and no later sitting. The hearing notice text stays unread, since its path is closed to this project.
- 2026-10-23
The Senate water committee's page still shows the September 1st sitting on data center cooling water and the one after it, with no later sitting posted. The notice text stays unread, since its path is closed to this project.
The evidence
Every fact above rests on one of these. The words are the source's own.
COMMITTEE: Water, Agriculture and Rural Affairs TIME & DATE: 9:00 AM, Tuesday, September 1, 2026 PLACE: E1.012 (Hearing Room) CHAIR: Senator Charles PerryTexas Legislature Online, Senate Notice of Public Hearing Primary source, official · capitol.texas.gov
Assessing the Water Demands of Energy-Intensive Technologies: Examine the current water consumption rates for high-consumption cooling technologies, including data centers. Make recommendations to improve transparency for local water providers and ensure industrial growth does not compromise the affordability of water for Texas residents and agricultural producers.Texas Legislature Online, Senate Notice of Public Hearing Primary source, official · capitol.texas.gov
Public testimony is limited to 2 minutes.Texas Legislature Online, Senate Notice of Public Hearing Primary source, official · capitol.texas.gov
The Senate Committee on Water, Agriculture, and Rural Affairs will meet Tuesday, September 1, 2026 at 9:00 am to hear invited and public testimony on the following interim chargesTexas Legislature Online, Senate Notice of Public Hearing Primary source, official · capitol.texas.gov
If submitting written testimony, please provide 15 copies to the committee clerk with your name and/or the name of your organization on each copy, and email a digital copy to the clerk of the committeeTexas Legislature Online, Senate Notice of Public Hearing Primary source, official · capitol.texas.gov
September 1, 2026 9:00 AMSenate Committee Meetings, Water, Agriculture and Rural Affairs Primary source, official · capitol.texas.gov
Date and Time Hearing Notice Minutes Witness List Handouts Comments September 2, 2026 9:00 AM September 1, 2026 9:00 AMSenate Committee Meetings, Water, Agriculture and Rural Affairs Primary source, official · capitol.texas.gov
Senate Committee on Water, Agriculture and Rural Affairs (C700) Clerk: Macie Goodson Phone: (512) 463-0340 Room: SHB 335Senate Committee Meetings, Water, Agriculture and Rural Affairs Primary source, official · capitol.texas.gov
Questions about this decision
Answered from the record itself. Every answer is assembled from stored fields, so an answer the record has no basis for is left out rather than guessed.
What is this decision?
The Senate Committee on Water, Agriculture and Rural Affairs posted notice that it would meet at 9:00 AM on Tuesday, September 1st, 2026 in hearing room E1.012. Senator Charles Perry chairs it. The notice sets one interim charge and says the committee will hear invited and public testimony on it. The charge is to examine current water consumption rates for high consumption cooling technologies including data centers. It directs the committee to make recommendations improving transparency for local water providers. It also tells the committee to weigh industrial growth against water affordability for households and for agricultural producers. The notice limits public testimony to two minutes and routes written testimony to the committee clerk. The sitting the notice set has passed. The committee's meetings page now lists that sitting and a second one the next day, under columns for the hearing notice, minutes and witness list. Neither the notice nor that page says what the committee heard or what it will recommend.
Who decides it?
Texas Senate Committee on Water, Agriculture and Rural Affairs decides. The record names the deciding body for every entry it carries.
Can the public take part?
The sitting the notice set has passed. The committee clerk is named on the Legislature's committee meetings page with a phone number and a room. That page is where the hearing notice, the minutes and the witness list are posted as they are filed. No dated public window is on the record. The deciding body is named and reachable.
Where in Texas does it apply?
It applies statewide.
Has it been decided?
It is pending. No final decision is on the record.
What happens next?
No future date is on the record. The last dated step on it was hearing on September 1st.
When did it start?
The earliest date on its record is September 1st, 2026.
What kind of decision is it?
It is filed under land, water and permitting.
What sources back it?
Two sources back it. Two of them are primary.
When was it last checked?
Every fact on it was last verified against its source on October 23rd, 2026.
Cite this
Texas AI Docket, A Texas Senate committee set a hearing on how much water data center cooling uses and whether local water providers are told. Tracked since September 1st, 2026. Last verified October 23rd, 2026. https://texasaidocket.com/item/tx-2026-0126/. Reuse permitted under CC BY 4.0 with attribution. The same entry is in the docket JSON as item tx-2026-0126.
Beat
Filed under Land, water and permitting, with every other decision on that beat.