WED AM News: Assembly approves GOP data center bill largely along party lines

January 20, 2026

— A GOP-authored bill regulating data centers passed largely along party lines as Dems argued it would largely be ineffectual at protecting ratepayers from costs associated with powering the operations.

Republicans say their bill offers a satisfactory baseline for regulating data centers and controlling land use.

Representatives yesterday voted 53-44 to send the bill to the Senate after more than 90 minutes of floor debate. Democrats Steve Doyle of Onalaska and Jodi Emerson of Eau Claire voted with Republicans in favor of the bill, while Rep. Lindee Brill, R-Sheboygan Falls, voted against.

AB 840 would require the Public Service Commission to ensure that ratepayers are insulated from new utility costs linked to data centers and any renewable energy facilities principally serving the data center to be hosted on-site.

Democrats lambasted the bill as a rush job and a political ploy to satisfy residents’ demands to legislate on data centers while producing an unenforceable bill.

“It is unbelievable to me that this is the best this body could do on an issue that all of our constituents in every corner of our state need to get right,” said Rep. Angela Stroud, D-Ashland.

State Rep. Shannon Zimmerman, R-River Falls and a co-sponsor, said the bill is a first step in regulating data centers and urged Dems not to “squander” the opportunity.

“Today is an opportunity not to solve all things, but to solve the most important things that are concerns with the residents of the state of Wisconsin,” he said.

Republicans sought to fast-track AB 840, moving from its introduction to a committee hearing to a floor vote in just 11 days.

Several last-minute additions to the bill passed as a substitute amendment from Zimmerman, including clarifying the definition of data centers and encouraging hiring of Wisconsin residents.

Republicans rejected several amendments to AB 840 from Democrats that would have prescribed a regulatory framework for the PSC to regulate data centers and created a regulatory review council for artificial intelligence.

They also rejected a Democrat-led effort to send the bill back to the Committee on Energy and Utilities.

Democrats, conservation groups and labor unions have criticized the legislation as a rushed and ineffectual response to residents’ concerns about data centers.

In a press conference ahead of the vote, Minority Leader Greta Neubauer, D-Racine, charged the bill was a boon to the fossil fuel lobby, ineffective at controlling ratepayers’ utility costs, and a “completely unserious attempt to regulate the issue.”

Stroud, who authored her own bill regulating data centers, AB 722, cited the PSC’s testimony that the administrative body would be unable under its current statutory framework to guarantee that data centers’ utility costs were not offset to other ratepayers.

“Maybe it’s because they rushed the bill, and didn’t do due diligence. Maybe it’s because they just ignored the PSC. I don’t know why they did it,” Stroud said after the press conference. “Frankly, I think they know it, and it’s just not the goal.”

Republicans argued in a press conference and on the floor that AB 840 met essential regulatory needs for data center development and charged their colleagues across the aisle with grandstanding.

Zimmerman said in a GOP press conference that he was “not a PSC expert” and he “cared about the outcome” rather than how the PSC enforced its mandate.

“The mechanics of how, I trust they’re going to figure it out once this bill is passed, because that’s their job,” he said.

Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, dismissed the PSC’s concerns as “talking points as to why they don’t want to do their jobs” and said that a requirement in Dem legislation that data centers draw 70% of their power from renewable sources would use up farmland –75,000 football fields’ worth, he claimed.

Vos also said AB 722 would lead to “forced unionization,” an apparent reference to pay rate requirements for data center construction in the bill.

On the floor, GOP members largely focused on criticizing the Dems’ bill, honing in on the absence of a measure in the Democrats’ bill regulating water usage in data centers, present in AB 840.

“It seems our colleagues on the other side of the aisle are more interested in pandering to our base of support than thinking long-term about this strategic resource,” said Rep. Scott Allen, R-Waukesha.

— State lawmakers are exploring ways to protect consumers from rising electricity prices as more energy-hungry data centers are proposed and built.

A law enacted in Oregon last year created a special rate for large load users such as data centers and crypto-miners. Lawmakers in at least six states — California, Indiana, New Jersey, New York, Oklahoma and Wisconsin — are considering similar ratepayer protections this year.

The bills tend to include provisions that would require public service commissions to impose so-called large-load tariffs — higher-than-normal utility rates — on data centers. Some of the bills would also require data centers to pay for 100% of the project costs and electricity they estimate they will use, whether the data center uses it or not.

While states are competing for data center development in hopes of an economic boost, some state lawmakers and environmental and community groups are pushing back over their noise, threat to the environment and sizable need for power.

“We have to make sure everyday Oklahomans are not stuck paying the price of the electricity use due to these new data centers being built,” Oklahoma Rep. Brad Boles said in a recent statement on legislation he is drafting.

The Republican’s comments echo those of New Jersey Sen. John Burzichelli, a Democrat whose bill that would mandate a large-load rate for data centers is on its way to the governor.

“We need to make sure that the expenses of these energy-consuming centers aren’t falling on non-data center customers,” Burzichelli said in a statement just before legislators passed his bill. “The tariffs would also provide an incentive for the centers to adopt practices that are less costly and more efficient.”

Electricity prices surged 6.7% last year, more than double the rate of inflation, according to the most recent federal statistics.

See the full Pluribus News story on State Affairs.

— Natural Allies for a Clean Energy Future has released a new poll finding 60% of Wisconsinites believe the next governor should find a middle ground between renewables and natural gas.

The group, led by former state Rep. and Revenue Secretary Peter Barca, advocates for natural gas to be part of the nation’s energy mix.

The polling also found:

23% want the next governor to increase Wisconsin’s reliance on natural gas and coal, while 11% want to end Wisconsin’s reliance on fossil fuels.
54% said their elected officials have done a fair or poor job on energy prices and reliability, while 31% said they’ve done a good or excellent job.
54% approved of the job Gov. Tony Evers is doing, while 42% disapproved.
63% said they would be more likely to support a guv candidate “who supports accelerating new energy supplies, including natural gas, to ensure reliable and affordable energy for all Wisconsin ratepayers and data centers alike.”
60% reported their electric bills are higher than they were the same time last year.

The poll of 500 likely voters was conducted by MAD Global Strategy using a text-to-web methodology. The margin of error was plus or minus 4.38 percentage points.

— Lewis Sheats has been named the inaugural vice chancellor and executive director of the Wisconsin Entrepreneurship Hub at UW-Madison.

The new initiative aims to bolster entrepreneurship at the state’s flagship university. Sheats previously served as executive director of the Chaifetz Center for Entrepreneurship at Saint Louis University and worked for 20 years at North Carolina State University.

UW-Madison Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin said Sheats “brings deep experience helping people turn their best ideas into action, and I’m confident that his leadership will help ensure that discoveries and innovations from UW–Madison will translate into even greater economic and social benefits for communities across Wisconsin and the nation.”

Wisconsin has its fewest dairy herds in decades — and about the same number of cows

Children’s Wisconsin names new president and chief operating officer

TOPICS

CONSTRUCTION

– Amazon wins city approval for Sheboygan distribution center

ECONOMY

– Is Trump sending out $2,000 tariff rebate checks in 2026? What to know in Wisconsin

EDUCATION

– Former Northland College faculty explore creation of a microcollege

ENVIRONMENT

– Scientists race to protect Lake Superior from invasive mussels

MANAGEMENT