Lawmakers Move To Ban Data Center Gag Orders On Local Officials
Bill would prohibit nondisclosure agreements on data center projects while preserving trade secret protections, sponsors say.
Data center. (CC0)
Seven major data center projects are underway in Wisconsin, totaling more than $57 billion. According to Wisconsin Watch, four of those projects were kept under wraps through confidential nondisclosure agreements, including ones in DeForest and Beaver Dam.
These agreements meant that some public officials knew about proposed data center projects more than a year in advance. Some state lawmakers want to ban the practice.
In Port Washington, a recall effort failed to oust the city’s mayor after advocates allege he failed to properly inform the public about a nearby $15 billion data center campus.
Rep. Clint Moses, R-Menomonie, and Sen. André Jacque, R-New Franken, are lawmakers behind proposed legislation which would bar the use of these confidential agreements, also known as NDAs. They told WPR’s “Wisconsin Today” they’ve received widespread support for a ban, with Moses saying nearly 10,000 people have followed a recent Facebook group dedicated to stopping a data center planned in his district.
“It doesn’t matter what walk of life, what political affiliation you might have. I have people on the far right and on the far left that are very much interested in data centers — and for the most part against having them in a community, especially if they don’t have the information to make a good judgment call on it,” Moses said.
Industry groups like the Wisconsin Data Center Coalition and Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce have registered in opposition to these bills, telling Wisconsin Watch that the use of NDAs is important for the early stages of a developmental proposal.
Jacque said this legislation would still allow for some details to be withheld that would qualify as trade secrets.
“If your strategy is to say you can’t talk about something that you’re saying is a great opportunity, that’s not a development strategy. It’s a gag order,” Jacque said. “Let’s not avoid all of the very significant dimensions, whether it’s environmental issues, utility rates, emergency services, roads and other infrastructure.”
The state Legislature plans to adjourn by the end of February, leaving little time to pass either the Assembly or Senate version of the bill. Jacque expressed optimism at trying to get a version of this legislation to the governor’s desk, describing the Legislature as “fluid.”
Moses and Jacque both added that restrictions on data center NDAs could be passed by amending other legislation.
“Traditionally, when we’ve had developments, they bring in a lot of jobs. I have a number of large manufacturers in my district. They’ve gotten tax incentives to come into the community, but they’ve also provided hundreds if not thousands of jobs to our community,” Moses said. “That information is still out there on these data centers. We don’t know what they’re going to produce. And I really think it’s something the public needs to be able to weigh in on.”
New bill would ban nondisclosure agreements for new Wisconsin data centers was originally published by Wisconsin Public Radio.
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In 10 years these data centers, built on borrowed money, will be obsolete. Who will be responsible for tearing them down when they become junk?