Assembly Bill 228 proposes to amend the current tax incremental financing (TIF) regulations in Wisconsin by creating a new category for tax incremental districts (TIDs) that contain qualified data centers. Under existing law, the total equalized value of taxable property in a new or amended TID, combined with the value increments of all existing TIDs, cannot exceed 12 percent of the total equalized value of taxable property in the city or village. This bill seeks to exempt TIDs that include a qualified data center, as certified by the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC), from this 12 percent limit, provided that all project costs associated with the TID are related to the data center.

The bill outlines specific definitions and conditions for these data center districts, including that no project plan for a data center district can be amended to include costs unrelated to the data center. Additionally, when calculating the value increment for a TID, the local legislative body must exclude the value increment of any data center district that has been exempted from the 12 percent findings requirement. This legislation aims to encourage the development of data centers in Wisconsin by providing more flexibility in financing options for local governments.