Texas governor-elect Gina Hinojosa said the state will introduce legislation to protect residents from data-center impacts, especially in rural communities where facilities have expanded without regulatory safeguards. Texas has attracted data centers through its energy resources, inexpensive land and business-friendly policies, but opposition has grown over electricity and water consumption, wildlife effects and access to federal lands. Hinojosa has said already-permitted projects or developments with secured power can continue, potentially covering all of 2027 and most of 2028, while new facilities could face additional taxes, union-labor requirements, consumer protections and greater local oversight. Her approach follows an earlier proposal to pause new approvals until lawmakers establish safeguards. Outgoing Gov. Greg Abbott had ordered a halt to new data-center grid connections and a full audit of existing projects. Hinojosa defeated Abbott in Tuesday's midterm election, while Democrat James Talarico defeated Ken Paxton in the Senate race despite Elon Musk spending $158 million to support Paxton. President Donald Trump's administration has promoted data-center expansion, while Musk has separately repeated a proposal to build data centers in space. SpaceX shares and Tesla fell sharply before partially recovering in after-hours trading, and analysts said projects already under construction or holding secured power could support 2027-28 capital-expenditure forecasts.