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Even with summer break underway, Ohio lawmakers spend hours discussing data centers.Even with summer break underway, Ohio lawmakers spend hours discussing data centers Members of a select committee heard public testimony about regulations, tax breaks and community impacts Members of a select committee heard public testimony about regulations, tax breaks and community impacts Members of a select committee heard public testimony about regulations, tax breaks and community impacts Ohio lawmakers started their summer break just after midnight on Thursday.Before gaveling out, they passed a $3.7 billion capital budget and sent a voter ID law to Gov.Mike DeWine, among other things.But unresolved data center regulations remain a pressing issue.While most legislators have now returned to their districts, members of the Ohio House and Senate Select Committees on Data Centers stayed behind to examine one of the state's most complex policy challenges.The committee spent hours hearing testimony about the industry, which is rapidly expanding and powering advancements like artificial intelligence chatbots."This whole matter with data centers strikes me as a, for lack of a better term, a gold rush situation," said Rep.Chris Glassburn, D-North Olmstead."It's speed of market.It is moving so fast no one understands what's going on." Lawmakers noted that Ohioans are raising questions about tax breaks for data centers, as well as concerns over electricity demand and water usage.Lydia Mihalik, director of the Ohio Department of Development, stressed the importance of adapting state policies to keep pace with the industry's growth."I think the industry is evolving and so, too, should state policy," Mihalik said."We do economic development different today than what we did a decade or two ago." Another point raised during the discussions was whether local communities fully understand the implications of hosting large-scale data centers.Andrew Cooper of JobsOhio shared examples of communities struggling to manage these investments."I can think of even recent examples, where communities have approached us and just said, 'We're in over our head here.How do we navigate this appropriately?'" Cooper said."It's good timing of developing a more or less a toolkit specific to data centers.That would not be necessarily a 'you should accept these investments,' but rather, if you're approached about one of these, here are some of the things that you should think about doing." Before the recess, lawmakers also passed a resolution requiring photo ID for voting by mail, which voters will have the chance to weigh in on through a proposed constitutional amendment this fall.That's in addition to the voter ID bill now before DeWine.