There are more than 5,000 data centers in the U.S. and thousands more on the drawing board. The centers are big consumers of energy to power the racks of servers and big consumers of water to cool those systems. Data centers consume more than 4% of electricity in the U.S. with some studies estimating they may consume as much as 12% by 2030.

On this episode, we discuss data centers and their effect on the energy system with Dan Diorio, vice president for state policy at the Data Center Coalition, a trade group for the data center industry, and Alex McWard, who tracks energy issues, including data centers, for NCSL. 

State lawmakers have long been aware of data centers and some of their impacts, but the focus on data centers has increased considerably in the last couple of years, McWard says. He also discussed changing attitudes toward data centers and concerns about energy consumption and how it could affect rates paid by consumers.

Diorio explained the industry's perspective, pointing out that our society now runs on digital information, whether it's watching a football game or making a credit card purchase, and data centers are the backbone of that system. He also pointed to studies indicating that the industry is pulling its weight in terms of paying for the additional electrical load it's putting on the nation's utilities. 

Resources

• Data Center Coalition
• Policy Snapshot: Data Center Incentives

As a new year and a new state legislative session gets underway, we sat down with Tim Storey, the CEO of NCSL, to discuss the coming legislative session and where he expects legislators to focus their efforts. 

Storey sees a mixed picture on budgets, with most states sitting on substantial rainy day funds but cautious about the revenue picture in the new year. Issues around Medicaid will loom large because of changes to the program included in H.R. 1, otherwise known as the big, beautiful bill. 

K-12 education, as it always is, will get plenty of attention from legislators who are concerned about a number of issues, including lagging student achievement following the pandemic and the alarming increase in mental health issues among young people. Storey also thinks AI, data centers, housing the workforce as major areas of focus in legislatures. 

And not to be left out is the unprecedented attention to mid-decade redistricting that has taken a lot of attention in a handful of states. 

Resources

• Special Report: Legislative Trends and Priorities for 2026, NCSL

Institutional knowledge among legislative staff is a core element to maintaining continuity in legislatures around the country. But passing on that knowledge has become challenging as baby boomers retire and younger staff take on those roles.

On this episode, our two guests discussed how they used a mentor-mentee relationship to prepare for a job transition. Bernadette “Bernie” McNulty is the retired chief assistant secretary in the California Senate. Heshani Wijemanne is the current chief assistant secretary in the Senate.

McNulty explained that, as a manager, she had a critical responsibility to not only find someone to take on her job but to be sure that person was as ready as possible for the challenges ahead. For her part, Wijemanne said learning and absorbing everything she could from McNulty was irreplaceable in preparing herself. 

Resources

• Legislative Staff, NCSL

On this episode we sat down with Curt Stedron, director of NCSL’s Legislative Training Institute, to discuss a presentation he made at this year’s Legislative Summit in Boston on how game theory can help legislative leaders better understand the notion of leading in an infinite game. 

Stedron draws on the work of game theorist James Carse and author Simon Sinek, who popularized Carse’s theories. Stedron explained that the legislature, like many other areas of life, is really an infinite game, where the purpose is to perpetuate the game rather than win it. 

However, as Stedron explains, most people, including many of those in the legislature, actually approach their work as a finite game and that misconception can hamper their efforts to be effective leaders.

Resources

• Legislative Training Institute, NCSL

Distributed energy resources or DERs, things such as rooftop solar panels on homes and small businesses, home or business batteries and electric vehicles are an important option in managing demand for electricity. When these resources are combined through the use of software, they can create what’s called a virtual power plant.

On this podcast, we talk with two experts in the field: Rebekah de la Mora, a senior policy analyst at the North Carolina Clean Energy Technology Center, and Lakin Garth, senior director of grid strategy at the Smart Electric Power Alliance. 

They discussed state legislation and regulations that affect DERs and the benefits to consumers. Garth also explained how DERs can be aggregated to form virtual power plants that a utility can use to manage peak power demand.

N.B.: The NC Clean Energy Technology Center offers complimentary copies of the 50 State studies to federal and state legislators and staffers, utility commissioners, utility commission staff, state consumer advocate office staff, and state energy office staff. Contact the center to request a copy. 

Resources

• 50 State Reports, NC Clean Energy Technology Center
• Database of State Incentives for Renewables & Efficiency, NC Clean Energy Technology Center
• Distributed Energy Resources 101, NCSL
• NC Clean Energy Technology Center
• Smart Energy Power Alliance

On this episode, we talk with Carly Roszkowski, vice president of financial resilience programming at AARP. She joined the podcast on the sidelines of NCSL's Legislative Summit in Boston in August where she was appearing on a panel called “Unretirement: Rethinking Work in the Age of Longevity.”

She explained how demographic trends mean the lion's share of the workforce growth is among the over-50 crowd, and in a related trend, that more than a fifth of retirees are working full or part-time jobs. Roszkowski also discussed the inherent bias in many automated systems that screen job applicants. The companies she talks with, however, are eager to try to eliminate that bias because they value keeping and attracting older workers. 

Resources 

• Work and Jobs, AARP

Private equity investment in health care facilities has grown substantially in the past decade. There have been hundreds of such acquisitions of health care facilities in the past decade, including physician practices, nursing home facilities, and hospitals involving hundreds of billions of dollars.

At its most basic, private equity investors take over a health care company with the intention of increasing its value and reselling it for a profit. Advantages of such a strategy can be more capital investment and management expertise. Downsides include the use of leveraged buyouts that could saddle the acquired company with high levels of debt. 

On this episode, we’re joined by Dr. Zuri Song, an associate professor of health care policy and medicine at Harvard Medical School, and an expert on the financial incentives, public policies, and private sector investment in the health care system. Dr. Song explained what research has found in studying private equity acquisitions in health care. On average, he said, these investments raise real concerns about both patient outcomes and access to care.

State legislatures are at the forefront of regulation in this area with much of the regulation focusing on increased transparency into these transactions. I talked with two state legislators to get their perspective: Senator Tyler Johnson, a Republican from Indiana who is also a physician, and Senator Cindy Friedman, a Democrat from Massachusetts. They each discussed the legislative action in their states and how they view private equity investment.

Resources

• The Evolving Landscape of State Health Care Transaction Laws, NCSL 
• Health Costs, Coverage and Delivery Database, NCSL 

Tribal households in this country pay more than the average for electricity, and members of tribes often face a higher energy burden--the percentage of household income spent on energy—than many people. Also, there also are about 17,000 homes on tribal land have no electricity, according to a 2023 U.S. Department of Energy report to Congress. The report also noted the critical need for electricity infrastructure on tribal lands, some of which has been addressed through federal grants, loans and technical assistance to tribes.

On this episode we discussed energy security and energy challenges in Indian Country with Daniel Cardenas Jr., the CEO, president and chairman of the board of the National Tribal Energy Association, and Trent Marlett, energy manager for the utility authority of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma.

Cardenas’ organization represents the four largest energy producing tribes. He noted that access to reasonably priced electricity is the greatest concern for tribal members and said the vast energy resources on tribal lands mean the future of energy is going to include them. Marlett explained how the Choctaw Nation works with their state energy generators to manage new projects and to try to stay up with the growth in the area and how folks in his state view energy security.

Resources

• Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma
• National Tribal Energy Association

There are more than 38 million people in the U.S. under 65 who have completed some college courses but did not receive a degree or certificate. Dozens of states have set ambitious post-secondary goals and part of reaching those goals includes bringing those back into the educational system. 

On this episode, we get the perspective from two people about how to bring those learners back into the system. Terah Crews is the CEO of ReUp Education, an focused on that population. Illinois Representative La Shawn Ford (D), who chairs the Appropriations Higher Education Committee in the Illinois House, has worked on programs to get people to re-enroll in college in his state. 

Crews discussed how ReUp is working with states to cast a wide net, not only for people close to finishing their degrees, but also for people who might need more support and alternative ways of taking classes, such as online courses. She also discussed some of the barriers people face and how states can help them get back on track to finishing their education. Ford explained that getting people back to school to finish a degree is key to upward mobility and legislation in Illinois is aimed at clearing some of the barriers people find to returning to school.

Resources

• NCSL Higher Education Task Force Report.
• Rep. La Shawn K. Ford Website
• ReUp Education

On this episode, we’re joined by Pev Squire, a political science professor at the University of Missouri and an expert on state legislatures. 

He's the author of several books on legislatures and government, and he joined the podcast to discuss his latest book, “Reforming Legislatures: American Voters and State Ballot Measures 1792- 2020.” The deep dive into about 1,500 ballot measures related to the operations of the legislature that were put to voters over more than 300 years provided Squire with a number of insights.

We discussed how voters view ethics, the qualities they want to see in their lawmakers and the healthy skepticism voters have about legislatures. Squire also explained what he learned about the notion that voters love their own lawmaker but hate the legislature.

Resources

• Pev Squire Bio