MADISON… Legendary Wisconsin everyman, comedian, bestselling author and Emmy-award winning journalist Charlie Berens, creator of the acclaimed online series Manitowoc Minute, gave recorded testimony today at the Senate Committee on Utilities, Technology and Tourism in support of Senate Bill 969, legislation authored by Senator André Jacque (New Franken) and Representative Clint Moses (Menomonie) that would ban the use of non-disclosure agreements, or NDAs, in the development of data center plans.
With the rapid growth of artificial intelligence and other data-intensive technologies, big tech companies have dramatically increased efforts to build large data centers across the country. Within the past several months, however, Wisconsin has witnessed a troubling pattern of big tech companies and their agents signing NDAs with community leaders and land owners to develop billion-dollar data centers throughout the state, concealing vital information from the public in the process. In many Wisconsin communities, such as in Beaver Dam, Menomonie, Kenosha and Janesville, NDAs have been signed which inevitably allowed little time for the public to react.
SB 969 prohibits data centers and local governments from using NDAs or secrecy deals to conceal information about data center development from the public. It also prevents local governments from approving a data center project if these transparency rules are violated.
“At the end of the day, this bill just says: if you are going to try to build data centers here, do it the Wisconsin way – upfront, straightforward, and preferably with a potluck at the public hearing,” said Jacque, who testified at today’s hearing.
“This legislation does not prohibit data centers, it simply ensures that projects seeking local approval do so in the open so that we know what we are signing up for before we put pen to paper, not afterwards,” said Jacque. “If a project is good for the community, it should survive a little daylight. If we’re going to plug something that big into the grid, maybe we should all know where the extension cord is going. Wisconsin taxpayers should not bear the risk of projects approved under incomplete or misleading representations.”
Berens voiced his support for increasing transparency and encouraging community involvement.
“I think it is a great bill because it just says one thing, no NDAs,” said Berens in his recorded testimony, adding that SB 969 will force “tech companies to transfer their mindset from thinking about how I can convince these few people to how do I convince a community.”
“Really what I saw was the sentiment of people feeling like they were cut out of the process,” Berens.
Senator André Jacque represents Northeast Wisconsin’s First Senate District, consisting of Door and Kewaunee Counties and portions of Brown, Calumet, Manitowoc, and Outagamie counties.
