HB 2452 Arizona House · 57th Legislature - Second Regular Session

comprehensive plans; data centers; nuclear

HB 2452 requires counties in Arizona with over 125,000 residents to include specific land use designations for data centers and small modular reactors in their comprehensive plans. The bill mandates counties to identify sufficient land locations and extents for data center construction and operation, and for larger counties (over 200,000 residents) to designate land for small modular reactors. It also adds provisions for energy planning, including incentives for renewable energy use and policies to support efficient energy consumption. This bill directly affects county planning processes by requiring new land-use considerations for data centers and nuclear energy infrastructure within existing planning frameworks.

Bill status passed 2 of 4 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2026

Committee Review

Feb 2026

House Failed

Feb 2026

Governor

Introduced Jan 22, 2026 Last action Feb 26, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

Introduced Version → House Engrossed Version (02/25/2026) · 5 edits · Feb 26, 2026

MODERATE

This bill updates Arizona's county comprehensive planning laws to explicitly require consideration of data centers, small modular nuclear reactors, and thermal power generation. It adds specific mandates for counties to designate land for these energy and technology uses while ensuring such designations do not prevent their development. Additionally, the bill introduces new planning requirements for larger counties regarding open space, growth areas, environmental impacts, and development costs.

Scope change

The bill expands the scope of required comprehensive plans by adding new mandatory elements for counties with populations over 125,000 and new optional elements for counties over 200,000, specifically targeting energy infrastructure and data centers.

REQUIREMENT

Added explicit requirements for comprehensive plans to include designation of land for data centers and data center facilities.

Added explicit requirements for comprehensive plans to include designation of land for thermal and non-thermal electric generating units, including small modular reactors.

Added new planning elements for counties with populations over 200,000, covering open space acquisition, growth area planning, environmental planning, and cost of development.

Added a requirement for counties to incorporate a specific provision protecting landowners from being forced to designate their private land as open space without consent.

TIMELINE

Established a two-year deadline for counties meeting population thresholds to amend their comprehensive plans to comply with the new requirements.

Floor votes · House Feb 25, 2026

How they voted

25–29

Failed · 6 other

Total votes 60

Feb 25, 2026

D Democratic27

23 Nay 4

85% Nay

R Republican33

25 Yea 6 Nay 2

75% Yea

Vote distribution

All Yea All Nay Mixed No data

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Feb 26, 2026

Lower · Passed

PASSED

lower

Feb 25, 2026

Vote failed

House Vote: fail (25-29-6)

house

Feb 23, 2026

Lower · Passed

lower

Feb 5, 2026

Lower · Passed

lower

1 primary · 0 co-sponsors