The duo says construction of data centers can cost up to 10 times more than the construction of a more conventional industrial or office building. That cost doesn't only include the building shell, but also the equipment for the center, as well as necessary reinforcement to withstand high winds up to 180 mph. Also included in that total are on-site generators and multiple power feeds. And that's just to get the building developed. It doesn't take into account the enormous outlay of power required to keep it running.

"When a client comes to us and doesn't have a designated location for a data center, we examine the overall cost of occupancy in various areas," Bernet comments. That cost includes the construction, the power and operating expenses. "To date, one very large piece of that total cost of occupancy model has been left out in what you can access in Texas," he says. "The new bill, which gives tax incentives, can help lower that total cost model."

"States like Washington, Nebraska and Iowa have worked to adjust their tax abatements to attract data centers," Liggitt adds. "Texas is far behind in that area."

Given that data centers are such a small part of the overall commercial real estate market, do the incentives – or lack thereof – really matter? Especially as Texas is going on all cylinders from an economic and commercial real estate standpoint?

You bet it matters. Liggitt and Bernet say Texas has lost several potential deals because of a lack of data center incentive. Though they declined to say, specifically, what company went elsewhere, "the large enterprise deals, the Googles and the Facebooks of the world, take a look at Texas. But then when they see the enormous savings offered by other states, they turn away," Bernet says.

Liggitt points out the other side the equation, when North Carolina made tax abatement incentives available for enterprise users. "All of the sudden you had Disney, AT&T and Facebook coming to town," Liggitt says.