Missouri
Missouri's 2026 data-center policy fights are real but localized: Independence voters ousted incumbents over $6B in tax breaks for a Nebius AI campus, the 2026 legislature passed nothing on data centers, and the 2025 tariff law (SB 4) plus an approved Ameren tariff remain the ratepayer backstop (Kansas City Star, KCUR).
ILens Signals
Civic/Governance Barriers activates on moratorium-class action (C1), meaningful 2026 race (C3) — governance instruments on the electoral, legislative, and regulatory surface (protocol §10; Overview Civic breakout). Capital Flows is a dominant stressor: the ~$6B Independence tax-break fight, a proposed property-tax rollback (SB 1790), and SB 4's mandatory tariff/anti-cost-shift regime for large loads are all financing/insurability signals (KCUR, The Missouri Times). Energy/Power and Water/Geology anchor the HB 3362 framing.
IIKey 2026 Races
Multiple consequential 2026 contests. Independence municipal races (Apr. 7, 2026): Kevin King, who opposed the data-center tax breaks and signed a petition for a public vote, won the mayoralty, and voters ousted councilmembers who had backed the ~$6B in incentives for Nebius's ~$150B AI data center (Kansas City Star). Aug. 4, 2026 Republican state Senate primaries: data centers are a flashpoint in competitive contests — Rep. Tricia Byrnes (running for Senate Dist. 10, covering Montgomery County project corridor) is campaigning on NDA limits and mandated public-comment periods and chairs a Sept. 16 House Intergovernmental Affairs hearing on data centers; Rep. Don Mayhew (Senate Dist. 16 primary) joined 15 other lawmakers urging Gov. Mike Kehoe to call a special session on large-load siting, water, and ratepayer rules (Missouri Independent, STLPR, KBIA).
IIIMoratorium · Ban Status
No statewide moratorium enacted, and none passed in 2026. HB 3369 (Rep. Murray, D-St. Louis), which would impose a one-year permit ban, was only read a second time; HB 3362 (the 'AI Infrastructure Grid Integrity and Water Resources Protection Act', Reps. Wellenkamp/Costlow, R) got only a hearing and did not advance; a September 2026 House hearing is planned (KCUR).
IVRatepayer · Cost-Shift Legislation
SB 4 ENACTED 2025 (signed by Gov. Kehoe, Apr. 2025) — requires a separate tariff for data centers over 100 MW and bars cost-shifting; PSC approved an Ameren data-center tariff (75 MW+) in Nov. 2025 with a 12-year minimum term and exit fees (The Missouri Times). SB 1790 (Sen. Bean, R) proposed a property-tax rollback (KCUR).
VBallot Measures
None identified. A citizen referendum on Independence's data-center tax breaks was blocked when a Jackson County judge ruled (Mar. 25-26, 2026) residents could not force a vote (KRPS).
VITop Contested Sites
Nebius's ~$150B AI data center in Independence, backed by ~$6B in city tax breaks, is the flashpoint that reshaped the city's 2026 elections and drew a (denied) referendum push (Kansas City Star, KRPS).
VIITalent · Workforce
Jobs promised by the Nebius project featured in the incentives debate, but no dominant labor-organizing or AI-displacement storyline; not carried as a primary lens.
VIIIData Center Cluster Size
Growing; centered on Kansas City metro (Independence Nebius campus) with Ameren-territory large-load projects statewide (KCUR).
IXKey Quote
A Jackson County judge ruled that 'Independence residents can't force a vote on data center tax breaks' (Mar. 2026) (KRPS).