Oppose State “Special Economic Zones”

Special economic zones, also known as enterprise zones or tax-financing districts, are geographic areas where corporations receive lucrative tax breaks in exchange for investment in a particular community. In theory, these zones are intended to stimulate economic growth in depressed areas. In reality,1 these zones lack community accountability measures and the benefits rarely accrue to the residents of the community. AI firms2 and states3 are pitching the development of special economic zones to fast-track the development of data centers.

  1. “Opportunity Zones Resource Center,” Good Jobs First, accessed December 2, 2025, https://goodjobsfirst.org/opportunity-zones. ↩︎
  2. Sebastian Moss, “OpenAI Pitches AI Economic Zones for Data Center Permitting, a National Transmission Highway Act, and More Government Support,” Data Center Dynamics, November 14, 2024, https://www.datacenterdynamics.com/en/news/openai-pitches-ai-economic-zones-for-data-center-permitting-a-national-transmission-highway-act-and-more-government-support. ↩︎
  3. Massachusetts Office of Energy Transformation, “Enabling Sustainable Economic Development Work Group,” Commonwealth of Massachusetts, accessed December 2, 2025, https://www.mass.gov/orgs/enabling-sustainable-economic-development-work-group. ↩︎