Temporarily pauses county permitting for data centers and related projects while the County studies fire safety, water, energy, environmental, infrastructure, and legal-compliance issues; the draft does not specify an end date.

Requires a developer to submit a complete Data Center Safety and Compliance Review before beginning any construction in the unincorporated areas of Bastrop County.

Defines construction broadly to include site preparation, grading, foundation work, equipment installation, electrical interconnection, testing, and commissioning, so these activities cannot begin before review approval.

Requires the review to include detailed equipment, software, firmware, communications-system, manufacturer, country-of-origin, and parent-company information.

Requires a sworn certification that the project will not use equipment, software, firmware, or communications systems from manufacturers on the Governor’s Prohibited Technologies List or entities covered by the cited foreign-technology restrictions.

Requires documentation establishing the complete supply chain for battery cells, modules, and other energy-storage components.

Allows the County to require additional documentation verifying compliance with the Lone Star Infrastructure Protection Act, the Governor’s Prohibited Technologies List, and applicable fire and life-safety standards.

Requires an independent third-party engineering evaluation of the design, safety, and installation of any proposed or existing Battery Energy Storage Facility in Bastrop County, at the developer’s expense.

Requires submission of additional information required by state agencies and information demonstrating compliance with directives issued by the Texas governor.

Requires the County Fire Marshal to complete the review and issue a written determination of compliance before construction or county permit approval can proceed.

Requires the County to issue a written determination of compliance or noncompliance after receiving a complete review submission, creating a waiting period before the project can advance.

Authorizes the Commissioners Court to charge developers reasonable fees for the compliance review and related inspections, up to the cost of the review or inspection.

Requires denial of the review if the project uses equipment from a prohibited manufacturer or an entity owned, controlled, or influenced by the Chinese Communist Party or another foreign adversary.

Prevents construction after a denial until all noncompliant equipment is replaced and the developer submits a revised Equipment Manufacturer Audit demonstrating compliance.

Treats construction without an approved review and written compliance determination as a violation subject to the regulation’s enforcement and penalty provisions.

Requires developers to provide the County Fire Marshal and local first responders with a site-specific emergency operations plan for Battery Energy Storage Systems and, under the draft, for data centers.

Requires adequate environmental studies addressing land use and battery-storage siting, TCEQ permitting, and water impacts as part of the permitting-pause review.

The County Fire Marshal and County Engineer must study locations suitable for one or more Data Center Development Zones. If zones are later designated, they could provide identified locations for developing data centers and battery-storage facilities, subject to the study and Commissioners Court action.

The draft states that projects using battery chemistry with non-flammable electrolytes and no thermal-runaway risk may qualify for less restrictive siting criteria than lithium-ion systems.

A developer may submit the required Data Center Safety and Compliance Review at any time, and the County must issue a written compliance or noncompliance determination within a reasonable time after receiving a complete submission, creating a defined approval pathway for compliant projects.