Ag commissioner Gipson wants answers before voting on state data center permits

Official approach is departure from what many see as rubber-stamping massive projects

Agriculture Commissioner Andy Gipson, one of seven members of the state board that issues environmental permits in Mississippi and a candidate for governor, will require data center developers to disclose their water, energy, air-quality and financial details to his office before he votes on their applications.

Gipson, a Republican who is running for governor in 2027, issued the requirement in a July 14, 2026, memorandum to the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality Permit Board and laid out his reasoning in an accompanying opinion column that his office released July 20. The move puts one statewide elected official at odds with the data center expansion that Gov. Tate Reeves has made central to his economic agenda.

Gipson issued the requirement as a statutory member of the MDEQ permit board, citing his authority under state law to weigh a project’s effects on agriculture and commerce. The memo directs that the information be submitted to his office at least 30 days before any public hearing or vote on a data center permit, and it demands the information under the Mississippi Public Records Act.

“I will ask questions,” Gipson wrote in his column. “And my vote will depend entirely on the answers to those questions, or lack thereof.” He noted the limits of the position, writing, “I’m only one vote out of seven, but I believe I can get some answers on the record.”

The memo sets out four categories. It requires identifying the sources of water and estimated usage, the cooling system a data center would use, and its effect on water availability and utility ratepayers. It specifically requires the sources of energy, whether a plant draws from the electrical grid or operates “behind the grid,” and the effect on grid reliability and energy ratepayers. Estimates of heat, air quality and noise are also included. And it requires audited financial statements for the last two fiscal years along with the identification of any person or entity with the authority to direct the applicant through ownership of 10 percent or more of its voting securities, by contract or otherwise.

Gipson framed the disclosure as a matter of protecting taxpayers.

“If Mississippi taxpayers are being asked to invest our tax dollars, incentives, natural resources and utility costs into these projects, we the taxpayers deserve clear and honest answers before those investments are made,” Gipson wrote. “Not after.” He said residents have “real and legitimate concerns about water, energy and utility rates, as well as public health,” and that the secrecy around the projects had left people “fed up.”

Gipson’s move comes amid a growing backlash against data centers in Mississippi and across the United States. His larger argument is financial. Gipson, who spent a career reviewing financial statements before entering politics, wrote that he had examined a major artificial intelligence company’s filings showing its AI segment lost $6.4 billion in 2025, and that such losses stem from data center construction costs that have yet to return a profit. He warned of an “AI bubble” built on debt and what he called circular financing among related companies, and he compared the risk to the collapses of Enron and WorldCom and the 2008 housing crash.

Gipson grounded that warning in an outside source. The Bank for International Settlements, which coordinates the world’s central banks, published an analysis in July titled “The AI Investment Race” which examined the buildout’s reliance on debt and circular equity ties and questioned its sustainability. The report found the sector had over-invested to roughly 1.5 times what would be efficient, and as much as three times in some conditions, and warned that stress at one firm could cascade to others. Gipson pointed readers to the report and argued that policymakers should take the risk seriously before committing public resources.

The projects Gipson wants scrutinized are the ones Mississippi has courted aggressively. Amazon Web Services has committed $25 billion to data centers in the state, with eight confirmed projects including sites in Canton, Ridgeland, Clinton and Vicksburg. The legislature approved the first package in a 2024 special session, granting sales-and-use tax exemptions, a 10-year corporate income tax exemption and a $215.1 million loan to Madison County for roads, water and sewer lines. Reeves has called the state’s approach a “blueprint” for others to follow. Near the Canton campus, residents have reported more dust, noise and traffic since construction began. DeSoto County residents complain of constant noise from Elon Musk’s nearby Grok data center.

Gipson’s move opens a rare public divide among Mississippi Republicans over that strategy of blanket endorsement. Reeves announced the Amazon projects flanked by House Speaker Jason White and Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann, and the Republican-controlled Mississippi Legislature approved the incentives with little dissent. Gipson’s own campaign presents him as a conservative who fights regulation, which makes his call for new disclosure requirements on industry another departure. He enters a 2027 governor’s field that already includes State Auditor Shad White and former House Speaker Philip Gunn (Reeves is term-limited).

Gipson could not be reached for comment. His office issued the memo and the accompanying column through the Department of Agriculture and Commerce.

Whether the policy changes any outcome is uncertain, by Gipson’s own account. The permit board decides by majority, and he holds one seat on it. What his policy guarantees is that the questions—and any failure to answer them—will be part of the public record before the board votes. “Let’s do our proper due diligence now,” he wrote, “in advance.”

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Image: Andy Gipson (via his Facebook page)