Arkansas
Arkansas data-center policy debates center on ratepayer cost-shifts under the 2025 Generating Arkansas Jobs Act (SB 307) and a contested Pulaski County moratorium, amid a wave of Google/AVAIO hyperscale projects; U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton introduced a federal DATA Act to let off-grid data centers bypass FERC rules (Nation Graph/Arkansas; DataCenterDynamics on DATA Act).
ILens Signals
Civic/Governance Barriers activates on moratorium-class action (C1), litigation/recall pathway (C4) — governance instruments on the electoral, legislative, and regulatory surface (protocol §10; Overview Civic breakout). Capital Flows is a dominant stressor: SB 307's construction-work-in-progress cost recovery shifts plant costs onto ratepayers (documented rate hikes), Google/AVAIO PILOT tax abatements wipe out over half of projected local tax revenue, and Little Rock cut franchise fees for >225 MW users from 5.2% to 0.25% — direct cost-shift/incentive-repricing signals (Arkansas Business (SB 307 CWIP / 23% SWEPCO hike); TMC Insight (Google/AVAIO PILOT); City of Little Rock franchise-fee ordinance). Energy/Power and Water/Geology figure in Pulaski/Fayetteville regulation debates over power and water thresholds (Axios).
IIKey 2026 Races
Pulaski County Judge: Wendell Griffen (Democrat) drafted the proposed 12-month county data-center moratorium and has made data-center regulation a campaign issue (Instagram/Arkansas Times). U.S. Senate: incumbent Tom Cotton (R) is prominent on the issue via his DATA Act of 2026 (DataCenterDynamics). No candidate has made data centers the single defining statewide campaign issue in sources reviewed.
IIIMoratorium · Ban Status
No statewide moratorium. Pulaski County (unincorporated): after a voided May vote and delays, the Quorum Court Agenda Committee on July 14, 2026 advanced Ordinance 26-I-52 (JP Dianne Curry) — a one-year pause on new high-intensity digital / utility-intensive industrial projects that exempts projects with executed electric-utility contracts or final county approvals, effectively carving out the AVAIO Digital Wrightsville campus — while the stronger Griffen-drafted ordinance (26-I-45A) failed in committee; full Quorum Court consideration set for July 28, 2026 amid Attorney General jurisdiction warnings (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Arkansas Times, KATV). Little Rock and Fayetteville continue ordinance/CUP work rather than bans (Axios NW Arkansas).
IVRatepayer · Cost-Shift Legislation
The 2025 Generating Arkansas Jobs Act (SB 307) overhauled energy permitting and lets utilities bill ratepayers for power plants while still under construction (a construction-work-in-progress mechanism); consumer advocates tie it to a 23% SWEPCO rate hike (Jan 2026) and Entergy increases (~$6.08/mo with $5.77 pending) (Nation Graph). A 2025 law (HB1444) lowered the data-center qualifying investment threshold from $500M to $100M and extended sales/use tax exemptions on equipment, services and electricity (Arkansas DFA — HB1444 fiscal impact). No new 2026 ratepayer-protection statute confirmed; a legislator instead formed the Arkansas Connected Communities Association trade group (KUAF).
VBallot Measures
None identified. No Arkansas November 2026 data-center ballot measure surfaced in current coverage of the Pulaski County/statewide fights (KATV).
VITop Contested Sites
Google Port of Little Rock project (extra requirements added by Little Rock; PSC approved a special Entergy-Google rate contract now the subject of a Democrat-Gazette FOIA lawsuit) (OK Energy Today). AVAIO Digital 'Project Leo' ~$21B / up to $6B campus in unincorporated south Pulaski County (145th St corridor), the trigger for the moratorium fight (Nation Graph; Arkansas Advocate). Google $4B West Memphis project (600 MW solar + 350 MW storage) (EEI Large Load list).
VIITalent · Workforce
Construction/operations jobs are cited by boosters (e.g., a $6B project framed as a boon to 'rural poor communities'), but no distinct labor-organizing or displacement fight identified; included as secondary context (KATV).
VIIIData Center Cluster Size
Emerging but fast-growing: five major data-center projects announced statewide since SB 307 (2025), two under construction — including AVAIO in Pulaski County, Google in West Memphis and Little Rock, Serverfarm in Clarksville, and an unnamed Conway proposal (Axios NW Arkansas).
IXKey Quote
"This embodies the classic 'everyone pays their fair share' principle." — Fayetteville Council Member Mike Wiederkehr, on ensuring one large data-center client does not raise costs for the broader community (Axios NW Arkansas)