A bill in the Ohio House would ban local governments from granting property tax exemptions to data centers. The change could upend the incentive model New Albany has used to attract billions in investment since 2010.
House Bill 999, introduced earlier in September by Rep. Daniel Troy, a Willowick Democrat, would prohibit cities, counties and townships from offering new property tax abatements to data centers. The bill would also examine whether existing abatements could be terminated, though Troy has acknowledged that may not be legally possible where agreements bar renegotiation.
"Abatements are supposed to make something happen in an area that needed critical investment," Troy told cleveland.com. "But these things have been given out pretty willy-nilly."
The bill has no Republican cosponsors.
As of Friday, Sept. 18, HB 999 awaits committee assignment and has not received a hearing.
What New Albany stands to lose
New Albany's data center incentives take the form of Community Reinvestment Area (CRA) agreements that grant 100% real property tax abatements for up to 15 years. State-designated "mega-projects" requiring more than $1 billion in investment or 1,000-plus jobs can receive abatements for up to 30 years.
In tax year 2024, data center projects generated roughly $10 million in community development charge revenue for the city, according to New Albany's data center finance page. A single hyperscaler generated revenue the city valued as equivalent to $178 million in payroll taxed at New Albany's 2% income tax rate.
The city says its CRA agreements include guaranteed minimum annual payments from data centers through four revenue streams: tax-increment financing (TIF) collections, New Community Authority payments, municipal income tax withholding and payment-in-lieu-of-taxes (PILOT) cash. The city has attributed its AAA bond ratings from both Moody's and S&P in part to that guaranteed revenue.
On Sept. 2, 2025, New Albany City Council voted 7-0 to approve a third amended CRA agreement with Sidecat LLC. The deal grants a 100% property tax abatement for 15 years on a $750 million data center project covering 373 acres on Green Chapel Road and Clover Valley Road, according to council minutes.
No New Albany official has publicly commented on HB 999 since its introduction. The city's data center finance page, published in June, states that minimum payment amounts are guaranteed over the course of each abatement and that as abatements expire, taxable property values will increase.
National push to end data center tax breaks
Troy's bill is part of a wider trend. Lawmakers or governors in at least 10 states have moved to pause or end data center tax breaks, cleveland.com reported. At the federal level, Republican U.S. Sen. Bernie Moreno has floated legislation that would impose a 100% tax on any state or local tax break given to a data center.
The Ohio Capital Journal noted that newer research suggests about one-third of data centers change location decisions based on incentives. That still leaves two-thirds that would have built regardless, potentially costing local governments hundreds of millions in forgone revenue.
The Ohio Mayors Alliance, a bipartisan group representing the state's 30 largest cities, urged lawmakers in June to preserve local control over where and how data centers are built.
Troy said data centers paying their full property tax burden "could go a long way in reducing the burden on our residential property tax owners," adding there would be "less pressure for additional property taxes to support schools and other services."
HB 999 has been introduced but not assigned to a committee. No hearing date has been set.
