Communities, state lawmakers continue data center debate

This week, we learned Microsoft is poised to surpass Foxconn as Racine County’s largest taxpayer.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel predicts Microsoft will end up paying close to $20 million in taxes on the property for their hyperscale data centers.

Elsewhere, communities are taking different approaches to data centers at the start of 2026.

Communities take diverging paths

At a meeting Monday night, the Village of DeForest in Dane County declined to put the question of deciding data center proposals to the voters, despite a petition asking for that ability. The Village is considering an offer for an AI data center from QTS, in the town of Vienna.

Another community facing a data center development has set new rules for how to approve the massive projects. In Menomonie on Monday, the city council unanimously signed off on tighter rules for how data centers should be zoned. Council members tell WCFW it makes room to respond to other community concerns in the future, like noise, light and water usage. Menomonie’s faced pushback over a $1.6 billion proposal from Balloonist LLC.

State lawmakers debate proposals

Lawmakers at the state level are still debating the best course of action to regulate data centers, providing at least three markedly different paths of action.

A pair of Republican lawmakers have announced a bill they say would stop data centers from rocketing electricity costs. The bill was announced Monday by Rep. Shannon Zimmerman (R-River Falls) and Sen. Romaine Quinn (R-Birchwood).

Quinn says the goal is to instruct the Public Service Commission to not allow utilities to pass off the costs of the projects on to consumers.

“We want data centers. We know it’s the future. We want all sorts of economic development. But we don’t want those of us that are already here to have to pay to upfront the cost of that,” the Sen. told Civic Media.

The bill would address another concern — water use — by requiring closed-loop systems and an annual report.

The bill could still get passed this session as the legislative calendar gets shorter. Quinn says he hopes to get speedy hearings as the regular legislative session ticks down to its final weeks. And says he wants the effort to be bipartisan.

Dems have their own proposals

More than a month ago, Democrats proposed their own sweeping data center regulation legislation, and it hasn’t gotten a hearing.

“Our state must establish an intentional and responsible regulatory framework for this emerging economy, and I am encouraged to see other legislators adding to the conversation surrounding data centers at the state level,” said state Sen. Jodi Habush Sinykin (D-Whitefish Bay), who led the effort to introduce the framework.

“Wisconsinites across the political spectrum want to hold big tech and data centers accountable to our shared Wisconsin values — people are seeking transparency and information about water usage, energy consumption, climate change concerns, and local impacts. As legislators, we must continue the conversation at the state level and find a path forward,” she added in a statement to Civic Media.  

Another state lawmaker has a temporary proposal for moving forward: no new data centers until the rules are written down. State Rep. Francesca Hong (D-Madison), who’s also running for governor, says the state should impose a moratorium.

More data on data centers

A Marquette Law School Poll in November founds that 55% of voters think the costs of large data centers outweigh the benefits.

Director Charles Franklin told Civic Media then that party lines on data centers just “are not clearly drawn at this point,” matching our on-the-ground reporting that’s found the formation of unusual political alliances.

As of 2023, data centers used more than 4% of all electricity in the U.S, according to a new analysis from the nonprofit Wisconsin Policy Forum.

The same analysis finds that “federal officials expect that share to increase to between 6.7% and 12% by 2028.”

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