Pins matching date:2026-02-12

HB 593 (Rep. Josh Bray, R) requires data centers to cover transmission and infrastructure costs, generate their own power or purchase on the open market, with a $75,000 nonrefundable application fee. Unanimously passed the House Economic Development and Workforce Investment Committee on Feb 26, 2026. A companion bill HB 544 (Reps. Adam Moore & William Lawrence) prohibits utilities from serving data centers with 100+ MW aggregate capacity without a PSC-approved specific tariff. As of late March 2026, HB 593 is advancing in the Senate. Both bills aim to ensure data center costs are not passed to ratepayers and tie tax breaks to compliance with local zoning. HB 593 passed the Kentucky House 90-8 but DIED in the Senate as the legislative session closed on April 15-16, 2026, without a floor vote. Sponsor Rep. Josh Bray indicated he will refile in the 2027 session. UPDATE 2026-04-21: Bill died April 15-16, 2026 as the legislative session ended. HB 593 passed the House 90-8 but stalled in the Senate. An SB 197 revival attempt was stripped on the final day.

Colorado: Two competing approaches: SB 26-102 requires data centers to pay full electricity and grid investment costs, mandates hourly matching of 100% renewable electricity from new sources starting 2031, and prohibits discounted 'economic development rates' for data centers consuming 30+ MW. The competing HB 26-1030 takes the opposite approach with a 20-year sales/use tax exemption for qualifying data centers. VERIFIED 2026-05-26: Both major Colorado data center bills died — SB 26-102 (community-protective guardrails) postponed indefinitely May 11 (a loss), and HB 26-1030 (pro-development 20-yr tax break) postponed indefinitely May 7 (a win). Sponsor plans to refile SB 26-102 next year.

Wisconsin SB 1061 would have imposed a moratorium on new data center construction until the state established a data center planning authority, prohibited cost-shifting to residents, eliminated subsidies, mandated public reporting, required 100% renewable energy, restored PSC planning authority, prohibited NDAs, and created enforcement structures. Introduced Feb 26, 2026 by Sens. Larson and Carpenter with cosponsors Madison, Hong, Moore Omokunde, Clancy, Cruz, and Tenorio. Companion AB 1099 is in the Assembly Energy and Utilities Committee. SB 1061 failed to pass pursuant to Senate Joint Resolution 1 on March 23, 2026.