My Plan to Hold Big Corporations and Data Centers Accountable

I’ve been hearing it on the road already on this year’s 100 Town Hall Tour at many stops: data centers. They’re popping up in our communities, threatening to raise energy and utility costs along the way. The surge of data centers moving in across our state requires further accountability and transparency, and our leaders must put Iowa taxpayers and ratepayers – not these huge corporations – first.

Here’s the bottom line: as governor, I will make sure anyone building in Iowa is contributing to Iowa, not extracting from us. They should be paying full freight and carrying their own weight, not raising your costs for anything, and respecting those who were already here. If they accept those terms, then they can put downward pressure on your taxes and bring in good-paying jobs, both of which are wins for our state.

Here are some proposals I support on reigning in data centers:

  • Make them cover 100% of their own costs: As governor, I’d want a bill on my desk to make sure these data centers pay their own way, including covering any increase in costs on utilities so that your bills don’t go up one cent.

  • End tax breaks for data centers: Right now, we face a nearly $1.4 billion budget deficit. We shouldn’t be handing out more tax breaks for major corporations at the expense of Iowa taxpayers. These data centers are also getting huge sales tax breaks on everything inside the data center. That’s millions of dollars in additional revenue down the drain for our state. As governor, I will end these tax breaks and make sure we’re putting the needs of Iowa taxpayers, not major corporations, first.

  • Enact strong consumer protections: As governor, I’ll work to enact strong consumer protections to put Iowans first and require the companies that own the data centers pay 100% of the costs of any and all infrastructure upgrades, energy usage, and other costs. Right now, Iowa does not utilize Integrated Resource Planning (IRP), which ensures utilities pursue the lowest-cost option for consumers and provides oversight for utility energy decisions. As governor, I’d implement IRP to ensure utilities are accountable, customers (including data centers) only pay for what they need, and energy generation aligns with cost efficiency and sustainability.

  • Stop data centers from eroding our natural resources and utilities: These data centers have planted their roots with no clear monitoring of how they use our water and energy. We need to measure it, make it transparent, and put Iowans first.

  • Require investments in Iowa’s workforce: Good paying jobs are only good if they don’t increase costs or problems for other Iowans who are already here. As governor, I’d require new construction of data centers to be built by Iowa union workers that uphold job site quality standards, offer good wages for workers, and make investments in local workforce development.

  • Demand accountability and transparency over new data centers: Too often these agreements are done in backrooms and under the shadow of NDAs that hide the process from regular Iowans. As governor, I’d block the use of NDAs on new data centers and make sure these deals happen out in the open. I’d also require public disclosure of the following information:

    • Building size and acreage
    • Number of permanent jobs and construction jobs, as well as the average pay
    • Overview of water usage, sources of water, and water efficiency rating
    • Energy use, including peak energy usage and energy usage efficiency

  • Require open public hearings and town halls on the creation of new data centers, and support local control: Similar to my call for requiring public town halls for elected officials, as governor I’d require listening sessions, public hearings, or town halls take place in communities impacted by new data centers. If Iowans don’t want these data centers in their communities, they should have the opportunity to make their voices heard. I also support local control of the ultimate decision once we have a floor in place to make sure Iowans aren’t being taken advantage of, because you have more say and more accountability over your local elected officials.

  • Setback Requirements: No existing Iowa homes should have to hear a data center humming or have any lighting disrupt their enjoyment of their property.