This bill prohibits federal agencies from providing any form of federal financial assistance or tax benefits for the construction, expansion, or major rehabilitation of data centers located on prime farmland and other designated agricultural land. The restriction applies to all projects that begin after the date the law is enacted. By defining "federal financial benefit" broadly to include grants, loans, tax credits, and deductions, the legislation aims to prevent public funds from supporting data center development in areas critical for food production.
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Agriculture
HR 10332, the Sunset Section 230 Act, would repeal Section 230 of the Communications Act of 1934, a provision that currently shields online platforms from legal liability for content posted by their users. By removing this protection, the bill directly affects internet service providers, social media companies, and other interactive computer services, making them potentially responsible for user-generated material under existing defamation and copyright laws. The legislation also includes numerous conforming amendments to update definitions and cross-references in various federal statutes, including the Trademark Act and criminal codes, to ensure consistency with the repeal. These changes would take effect two years after the date of enactment.
The Data Center Fair Share Act requires electric utilities to ensure that large commercial customers, defined as those with a peak demand of 100 megawatts or more at a single site, pay the full incremental costs for any power grid upgrades needed to serve them. This obligation applies even if the customer later cancels their contract or stops purchasing electricity from the utility. The bill mandates that state regulatory authorities and nonregulated utilities begin considering these new standards within one year of enactment and complete the process within two years. States that fail to implement these federal requirements will face a penalty where 100 percent of their apportioned federal highway funds are withheld starting in the first fiscal year after the deadline passes.
The Robo COP Act directs the Federal Trade Commission to update its telemarketing rules within 180 days to ban automated political phone calls to individuals who have registered on the national do-not-call list. This legislation specifically targets outbound calls that play a recorded message rather than connecting to a live person, provided the call is intended to promote or oppose a candidate or issue, or if it mentions a political candidate's name. The law directly affects political campaigns and organizations that use robocalls for fundraising or advocacy by restricting their ability to contact opted-out voters.
HB 5806 repeals Illinois state laws that imposed a fee on social media platforms. The bill amends the Business Corporation Act of 1983 to remove the specific provisions authorizing these charges. This change directly affects social media companies operating in Illinois by eliminating their obligation to pay this particular tax or fee.
HB 5807 repeals Illinois' Targeted Advertising Services Tax Act, which eliminates a state-level tax on digital advertising services that use data to target specific consumers. The bill also amends the Counties Code and the Illinois Municipal Code to permanently prohibit home rule counties and municipalities from imposing their own taxes on these targeted advertising services. By removing both the state tax and local taxing authority in this area, the legislation directly affects businesses that sell targeted digital advertising and the government entities that previously collected revenue from it.
The Sell Your Stocks or Step Down Act would prohibit high-ranking federal officials, including the President, Vice President, Members of Congress, senior executive branch employees, and federal judges, from directly or indirectly owning or trading most stocks, commodities, futures, and digital assets. To comply with these rules, covered individuals must sell their existing eligible investments at fair market value within 30 days of taking office or the bill's enactment, though they may keep diversified mutual funds, government bonds, and certain other specific holdings. The legislation establishes strict penalties for non-compliance, including daily fees that can reach up to 50 percent of the value of the remaining portfolio and mandatory disgorgement of any profits made from illegal trades. These fines must be paid out of personal funds rather than government resources, with all collected penalties deposited into the Treasury specifically for deficit reduction.
The Halt Abusive Internet Lawsuits Act of 2026 prohibits federal and state legal claims related to wiretapping or eavesdropping when information is collected for commercial digital activities. This applies to practices such as using cookies, pixels, chatbots, and analytics tools to facilitate sales, marketing, or customer interactions. The bill directly affects businesses and service providers that use these standard digital commerce tools by shielding them from specific privacy-related lawsuits. Additionally, any existing legal actions based on these grounds would be required to stop once the law is enacted.
The GATE Act of 2026 prohibits U.S. national laboratories from admitting or granting access to foreign nationals from China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, and Cuba who are not permanent residents or U.S. citizens. This ban applies to individuals seeking to visit the facilities or work there for more than 30 consecutive days. The Secretary of Energy may issue a written waiver to allow specific exceptions if they determine that the benefits to the United States outweigh national security and economic risks, a decision made in consultation with intelligence officials. Any such waivers must be reported to relevant congressional committees within 30 days, including details on the individual's country of origin and the specific reasons for the exception.
The Doctors Not AI Act of 2026 prohibits health insurance plans from using artificial intelligence systems to issue or dictate adverse benefit determinations that involve clinical judgment, such as decisions based on medical necessity or treatment appropriateness. Instead, these determinations must be made by a licensed healthcare professional who conducts an independent evaluation of the patient's specific medical circumstances without deferring to AI outputs. The bill requires insurers to disclose in written notices if any AI system was used during the review process and mandates that detailed documentation regarding the AI's role and outputs be maintained as part of the administrative record, available to patients upon request. Additionally, the legislation classifies the use of AI in utilization review as a treatment limitation for parity purposes, ensuring it is evaluated equally across mental health and medical-surgical benefits under existing federal laws.
