In 2025, Missouri legislators passed Senate Bill 4 as an oversight for how data centers operate in Missouri. The bill requires massive data centers to cover 100% of their own power usage and directly associated infrastructure costs.   The bill also provides for local property tax abatement.   

A data center is simply a building filled with computer storage equipment called servers.  It is where the content you view on the internet is stored.  A few years ago it was creatively called “the cloud”  but in reality the cloud is simply a building filled with a lot of computer data storage devices including those that power AI: Artificial Intelligence.

Data centers have become the target of citizen uprising recently.  One of the main points of controversy is that data center computers use a lot of water for cooling systems and may max out the local water supply - causing citizens to pay for upgraded equipment.  The same is true for the power grid and highway systems.   Data centers typically bring very few long term jobs to an area and the equipment is mostly purchased out of the area. 

In Montgomery county Missouri, Google is planning a data center at New Florence.  Governor Kehoe and Ryan Poston, Montgomery County Presiding Commissioner both praised the new Google facility that will bring a $15 billion investment in equipment and buildings.  The state and Montgomery County are promising approximately $2 billion in tax breaks to Google.  The proposal includes a 70% reduction in personal property taxes.

In response to public concerns, Governor Kehoe said in a press release: To date, Google has contracted to bring more than one gigawatt (GW) of new generation capacity to Missouri, and, through its partnership with Ameren, the company is supporting the development of more than 500 megawatts (MW) of additional capacity. Google also worked with Ameren and Evergy to bring the Capacity Commitment Framework (CCF) to Missouri, which ensures it and other large energy customers pay for their electricity and infrastructure needs, protect local ratepayers, and actively bolster the long-term resilience of the electrical grid.

To further address energy affordability, Google has also announced a $20 million Energy Impact Fund to support programs that drive down monthly energy bills for Missouri households - focused on Montgomery, Clay, Platte, and other counties surrounding Google’s planned data centers in Kansas City and New Florence.”

On June 8, the Montgomery County Commission will host a public hearing on the planned Google data center.

On March 30, the Festus Missouri city council approved a 6 billion dollar data center despite public disapproval.  The consequence of their vote was that all 4 incumbent council members lost re-election during the April 7, 2026 election.   The same story played out in Independence Missouri where 2 council members lost re-election after voting for a controversial data center.