State Efforts to Make Data Centers Pay More for Energy, Veto of Gig Worker Portable Benefits Bill in WI & More

States Eying Higher Electricity Rates for Data Centers

At least a dozen states are considering ways to make data centers pay more for their power, with evidence mounting that data center demand is driving up rates for other commercial, industrial and residential customers. Lawmakers in Oregon, a data center hot spot, passed legislation in June calling for state regulators to establish new power rates for data centers. (ASSOCIATED PRESS)

WI Gov Vetoes Gig Worker Portable Benefits Bill

Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers (D) vetoed a bill (AB 269) that would have reclassified drivers for transportation and delivery network companies like Uber and DoorDash as independent contractors and allowed but not required such companies to offer those contractors access to portable benefits, including health care and retirement savings accounts. The measure would also have exempted such workers from state minimum wage, unemployment insurance and workers’ compensation laws. (MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL)

State Lawmakers Stand Firm on Right to Regulate AI

State lawmakers gathered at the National Conference of State Legislatures annual legislative summit this month expressed frustration with the shift in power away from them and more toward the federal government. But one thing they refuse to relinquish is their right to regulate artificial intelligence. The way they go about such regulation, however, may be shifting to a more sectoral approach, instead of trying to replicate first-in-the-nation laws like the one passed by Colorado last year aimed at eliminating algorithmic discrimination by automated decision-making systems (SB 205). (PLURIBUS NEWS)

—Compiled by SNCJ Managing Editor KOREY CLARK

Visit our webpage to connect with a LexisNexis® State Net® representative and learn how the State Net legislative and regulatory tracking service can help you identify, track, analyze and report on relevant legislative and regulatory developments.