The Pennsylvania Data Center Files
Data centers are popping up all over Pennsylvania with little transparency. Neighbors are fighting back, but who is holding up regulations that the PA House passed?
Check out the politicians standing in the way of oversight.
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Select a highlighted district to examine each senator’s record.
Tracy Pennycuick
District 24
Counties: Montgomery and Berks
In late summer 2025, Pennycuick introduced a bill to fast-track data centers. Per her own joint press release, the legislation would place data center development under a "Fast Track" permitting process, guaranteeing timely and predictable approval of essential permits.
The bill, she said, "aims to establish Pennsylvania as the premier destination for data center and Artificial Intelligence (AI) development." Senate Bill 939 would also create the Commonwealth Opportunity Zone (COZ), a statewide regulatory relief designation meant to position Pennsylvania to capture the job creation and economic opportunities these industries bring.
Greg Rothman
District 34
Counties: Cumberland, Perry, Dauphin
Rothman made HUGE money from the sale of land that is now being developed into the massive PAX-1 data center in Cumberland County, according to an investigation by Spotlight PA. Rothman acknowledged that RSR Realtors, the real estate company he chairs, received a commission from the 2025 sale because of its long-standing relationship with the property's owner. He has declined to disclose how much he earned.
Less than a month after the sale closed, Rothman introduced Senate Bill 939 with Senator Pennycuick, legislation designed to make Pennsylvania more attractive for data center development. The bill originally included provisions to expedite permitting and limit the ability of local governments to impose stricter zoning rules on data centers than on other industrial projects.
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Frank Farry
District 6
Counties: Bucks
State Sen. Frank Farry is an attorney at Begley, Carlin & Mandio LLP, a Bucks County law firm that publicly lists NorthPoint Development as a client. NorthPoint is developing the proposed Amazon data center in Falls Township, within Farry's Senate district.
The firm represented NorthPoint during its property acquisition in early 2021 and throughout the project's local approval process. That same year, then-Rep. Farry voted for Pennsylvania's original data center tax credit. In 2022, after joining the Senate, he cosponsored legislation expanding the tax credit.
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Rosemary Brown
District 40
Counties: Lackawanna, Monroe, Wayne
In July of 2025, Senator Brown received a $5,000 contribution from James Marzolino, the CEO of Kriger Construction. Kriger is the developer of the proposed data centers in Archbald.
Shortly after, Brown invited data center developers and supporters to a taxpayer-funded hearing in her district. Months later, she claimed opposition to the rapid expansion of data centers.
As these centers rapidly expanded across Pennsylvania, Sen. Rosemary Brown's response produced little in the way of actual policy change. Her proposals for a statewide moratorium and additional study failed to advance, leaving the Legislature without new statewide protections or regulations as projects continued moving forward.
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Joe Pittman
District 41
Counties: Armstrong, Indiana, Jefferson, Westmoreland
Senate Majority Leader Joe Pittman has shown little urgency to advance new data center regulations. Despite growing bipartisan concern over grid reliability, rising electricity demand, and local impacts, Pittman has declined to move the House-passed regulatory package through the Senate, effectively leaving major data center legislation stalled during the 2025-26 session. He has instead said the issue requires a broader, more comprehensive approach before the Senate acts.
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