The civic record
Read. Follow. Verify.West Virginia establishes 500-foot buffer zone between new data centers and homes, schools, or houses of worship
Last action · January 29, 2026: To House Energy and Public WorksSponsors: Chris Anders and 4 others
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What This Bill Proposed
House Bill 4948 establishes a mandatory 500-foot buffer zone between any newly constructed or established data center and any residence, school, or house of worship in West Virginia. The measure also officially creates the within the Division of Economic Development to oversee data center growth.
Property owners and residents living near proposed data center sites gain a guaranteed 500-foot separation barrier from their homes, while developers must factor this spatial limitation into their construction planning.
Who It Would Have Affected
Groups the bill's text would have affected, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
Data center developers
Developers must comply with a mandatory 500-foot buffer zone from residences, schools, and houses of worship, and must submit required notifications and operational data to the state.
Residents, schools, and houses of worship
Properties and institutions falling within 500 feet of a proposed data center receive a statutory spatial separation barrier from the facility's construction and establishment.
Key Facts
You don't have to trust us. Each fact below is taken straight from the official document - click any one to see the exact passage, highlighted in the original.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the mandatory distance required between a new data center and a school?
Which state agency is responsible for administering the High Impact Data Center Program?
Within what timeframe must a data center notify the state after meeting program requirements?
What else do you want to know?
News Coverage
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Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
This bill did not become law - Died at adjournment · in House committee.
Procedural history
4 actions- Jan 29, 2026HouseCommitteeTo House Energy and Public Works
- Jan 29, 2026HouseIntroducedIntroduced in House
- Jan 29, 2026HouseCommitteeTo Energy and Public Works
- Jan 29, 2026HouseIntroducedFiled for introduction
Version history
Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.
View official text →Lobbying Activity
No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.
Full breakdown
Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.
Sponsors
Discoveries
Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.
State-Level Infrastructure Regulation
The measure ties local land-use spatial buffers directly to state-level economic development certification and exemption rules for high-impact data centers.
Connected Entities
Sources
www.wvlegislature.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance20Lowered because this bill did not pass (its text scored 60)
- Controversy40Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment10Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz45Current news / social attention level
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