TUE AM News: Assembly Republicans get behind bill to regulate data centers; Steil touting bill to ban stock purchases for members of Congress

January 13, 2026

— Assembly Republicans have announced a push to pass legislation that would regulate data centers, including an effort to shield other ratepayers from the coming expense to power the facilities.

GOP Rep. Mark Born at a Beaver Dam press conference yesterday said that AB 840, introduced Friday, will get a hearing this week.

“Whether we like it or not, data centers are here,” said the Beaver Dam Republican, who is among the bill’s cosponsors.

Meta announced in November plans to construct a $1 billion, 700,000 square-foot AI data center in the city of 16,700 people.

GOP members also held press conferences in Milwaukee, Green Bay, Eau Claire and Wausau as they lined up behind AB 840, which was introduced by 29 Assembly Republicans and six Senate Republicans. It includes provisions that would require the Public Service Commission ensure that new energy costs tied to data centers are not passed onto other ratepayers.

It would also require data centers to use closed-loop cooling systems to minimize water use and to host on-site any renewable energy facilities principally serving the data center.

“It’s a super responsible bill and also a pretty aggressive bill to ensure these data centers, when they come in, that they don’t change the fabric of Wisconsin,” said Assembly Majority Leader Tyler August, R-Walworth.

The bill will receive a public hearing Wednesday before the State Affairs Committee.

Born said he was “hopeful” that the bill would receive bipartisan support but said that representatives would know more after that hearing.

Democrats already introduced their own bill regulating data centers, AB 722, last month. That bill includes several similar provisions, including ones to control water usage and prevent data centers from receiving preferential rates from utilities.

Born said he objected to a requirement in the Dem bill for data centers to draw at least 70% of their power from renewable resources, saying it would adversely increase land use.

Assembly Dems didn’t immediately provide comment on the GOP bill.

— U.S. Rep. Bryan Steil is touting federal legislation that aims to prevent members of Congress and their families from stock trading

Steil, a Republican who represents the state’s 1st CD, says the “Stop Insider Trading Act” would keep members of Congress, their spouses and dependent children from purchasing stock in a publicly traded company.

The legislation would also require members of Congress to file a public notice with the Clerk of the House of Representatives at least seven days ahead of selling any stock, and no more than 14 days beforehand.

Under the bill, the U.S. House Ethics Committee would be directed to issue fees of $2,000 or 10% of the value of the covered investment for violations, whichever is greater, and the net gain from the sale. That’s according to an overview from Steil’s office.

Yesterday’s release references the STOCK Act of 2012, noting it bars members of Congress from using non-public information for personal financial gain. But Steil’s office says many people are concerned that the measure is “insufficient” and tougher restrictions are needed.

Steil argues Americans deserve to know that their representatives in Congress aren’t profiting from insider information.

“The Stop Insider Trading Act ensures that cannot happen,” he said in a statement. “This legislation is critical to restoring the public’s trust in their elected officials. If you want to trade stocks, go to Wall Street, not Capitol Hill.”

See the release.

— Republican lawmakers are seeking to ban the use of live animals in medical training in Wisconsin, arguing virtual reality and other alternatives should be used instead.

Sen. Rachael Cabral-Guevara of Fox Crossing and Rep. Nate Gustafson of Omro recently circulated a co-sponsorship memo for LRB-5229, which they say would promote “ethical standards” in medical education and align the state with “modern” training methods.

Under the legislation, educational institutions would be prohibited from using live animals to train medical students, residents, fellows, interns or physicians in human medical care, as long as at least one other comparable accredited program doesn’t use them, or if there’s an alternative method that offers “equivalent training” without needing to use animals.

The bill would set a fine of $1,000 per live animal used.

It’s now possible to train health professionals without resorting to using animals, bill authors say, noting “high-fidelity” simulators and virtual reality can play a role, as well as human cadavars. They argue the practice of using animals in medical training “raises ethical concerns about animal welfare and is increasingly unnecessary” given the availability of alternative methods.

The bill authors note many institutions around the country have moved away from live animals for medical training, arguing alternatives can still offer high-quality instruction “without compromising” the welfare of animals.

“By encouraging the adoption of innovative, non-animal alternatives, we can maintain excellence in healthcare training while reducing unnecessary animal use,” they wrote.

See the bill text.

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— Outgoing Milwaukee Bucks President Peter Feigin says he’s received several calls urging him to run for governor after the team announced he was leaving after 12 seasons.

“Right here at this moment, I am declaring no,” Feigin told WISN’s “UpFront,” laughing. “The fastest ‘no’ you could have gotten.”

Incoming President Josh Glessing added, “Peter and I have had a number of meetings this week with a number of people, and several of them ask that question.”

“And the answer is right away that I could be a good middle-of-the-line person to get things done,” Feigin said. “And I’ve had my exposure to politics, and I love the state of Wisconsin so much, but I think people should do background on me and understand I’d be counterintuitive to the political environment.”

Feigin is credited with helping build Fiserv Forum, building the Deer District, bringing the Bucks a national championship and securing two major political conventions.

“I think there’s a transformational part of kind of taking the team and kind of getting to really not treating this like a small market,” Feigin said. “This is the gold standard of the way you run a professional team. I think personally and professionally to be engaged in the growth, the championship, the Deer District. We had this opportunity to build the city within a city. That never happened before, and I think we were able to effect change in a lot of different ways.”

Glessing, a Wisconsin native, previously served as the chief of strategy and development for Haslam Sports Group. Jimmy and Dee Haslam are 25% minority owners of the Bucks.

See more from the show, which is produced in partnership with WisPolitics.

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