Data-center tax break stalls amid labor and environmental concerns; juvenile rehabilitation, public defense and education funding to return next session

When asked why a data-center tax-break bill "fell apart" this year, Senate Majority Leader Jamie Peterson said it never secured enough support to clear Ways and Means and that last-day negotiations were required.

"Well, it didn't have enough votes to get out of the ways and means," Peterson said, describing the bill’s defeat as the product of competing pressures: data-center proponents and construction-trade stakeholders. He singled out labor concerns as particularly salient, saying that IBEW Local 46 in Seattle "has 1000 of its 6,000 members on the bench right now out of work," and that members worried regulation could reduce local jobs.

A follow-up question raised tensions on the "mosquito fleet" bill and Representative Nance’s objections to Senate changes. A speaker said Representative Nance "was not content with the changes made in the senate," and that the disagreement contributed to the chambers' inability to reach a bill both could support in time.

Leaders also identified a set of priorities left unfinished. Jenkins and Peterson named juvenile rehabilitation as an item their caucuses want to revisit; Peterson said data centers will remain a continuing focus because of environmental, energy and water trade-offs. A reporter asked about public-defense funding after a recent Supreme Court ruling; a lawmaker said the issue "was not able to fit in the budget this year" and pointed to a task force established by Senator Torres to analyze jurisdictional impacts and recommend next steps.

Why it matters: Data centers raise trade-offs among jobs, energy and environmental impacts. Labor's resistance and the limited time in a short session left lawmakers unable to finalize a compromise. Several complex, resource-intensive items — juvenile rehabilitation, public defense and possible charity-care adjustments — were left for the next session.

What’s next: Leaders said they expect interim work on a jobs package and that the task force on public defense will produce a report to guide legislative options.