Will data centers be regulated in Florida? What to know about the hurdles

Late last year, Gov. Ron DeSantis announced that Florida would not let Big Tech companies operate unchecked, saying that the unregulated building of data centers threatened to replace human jobs, spew misinformation, guzzle the state’s electric and water resources and drive up residents’ power bills.

“What we’re doing is things that are going to make sure we put Floridians first, that we look out for our own people and not just have people get harmed by this rush to create data centers,” he said during the December news conference.

Fulfilling that promise, though, has gotten complicated.

Bills to regulate data centers, which are vast facilities that store the computers behind artificial intelligence and other programs, have not yet passed a single committee in the Florida House. A different version has been advancing through the Senate, but it needs to pass both chambers to become law.

The 60-day legislative session is scheduled to end March 13, and as more time passes without a hearing, its chances of survival drop.

On Tuesday, Speaker Daniel Perez, R-Miami, who has ultimate say over what passes the House, told reporters that he is skeptical of the state wading into an issue where the federal government should get “first dibs.”

“I’ve been very clear that I think AI is an issue that should be dealt with by the federal government. I have massive concerns with the state’s ability to deal with anything in tech,” Perez said. “I mean, even old school tech, we haven’t been able to get right here in the state of Florida, let alone what’s in front of us with AI.”

Although Perez’s comments are at odds with DeSantis, they align with President Donald Trump, highlighting how Republicans have splintered on this issue.

Trump directed the Justice Department in December to form a task force to sue states that pass AI regulations the federal government deems overly burdensome, though he provided some exceptions for data center infrastructure rules.

The data center bill in the Florida Senate, though, has broad support across party lines.

Senate Bill 484 requires state utility regulators to adopt rules so that data centers cover the costs of their own energy use and Floridians’ don’t bear the financial risk if they fail to pay up. Local water management districts also may not grant large-scale data centers’ requests for water use unless they’re “consistent with the public interest.”

The bill also prohibits government employees from signing nondisclosure agreements with tech companies that prevent officials from giving information about data center plans to their constituents, an issue that’s emerged around the country.

The bill’s sponsor, Sen. Bryan Avila, R-Hialeah, said that it’s important the state act on data centers now, before they explode here.

Data centers are projected to consume up to 9% of the nation’s power by 2030, according to a white paper by the Electric Power Research Institute, an industry research group. In Virginia, where they are heavily clustered, they already make up roughly a quarter of electricity demand. The largest data centers can stretch for hundreds of acres and consume as much power and water as entire towns.

Already, a proposed 200-acre facility in Palm Beach County called Project Tango has ignited fierce local pushback. Local officials there punted a decision on the project until April, in part because they were awaiting to see if state lawmakers would act.

“We’ve seen how quick technology advances. We’ve certainly seen how the buildout has just ramped up across the board throughout the entire nation,” Avila told the Miami Herald /Tampa Bay Times. “I think it’s always imperative we take a proactive approach, especially as it relates to protecting the pocketbooks of our residents.”

Business groups have pushed back against the prohibition against nondisclosure agreements during legislative hearings. But a related bill also sponsored by Avila, Senate Bill 1118, would make data center plans submitted to county and city governments exempt from public records rules for one year if a tech company asks for confidentiality.

Avila has said this is designed to protect the companies from having the cost of land driven up if their desired location becomes publicly known, while avoiding the use of strict nondisclosure agreements.

Some lawmakers said neither should be required.

“Why would we allow a business to have this confidentiality with such a large square footage of a project?” asked Sen. Tracie Davis, D-Jacksonville, during a Tuesday committee hearing on the bill. “Why would we hide these types of projects from a community that should have input?”

Despite the headwinds at this point in session, though, the Legislature could still pass a data center law this year. Even with his reservations, Perez didn’t completely rule out the data centers bills advancing.

“I wouldn’t say it’s a never, but it’s something that we’re still having conversations — we still have time,” he said. “It’s something that we haven’t completely closed the door on.”

Rep. Philip “Griff” Griffitts Jr., R-Panama City Beach, who sponsored one of the House data center bills, said House Bill 1007 is “not dead yet.” That bill would impose a list of consumer protections, plus give DeSantis and the Cabinet veto power over future data center projects.

“There’s stuff that happens very quickly around here,” he said. “We’ve still got weeks left, so we can pull it off for sure.”

Herald/Times Tallahassee bureau reporter Romy Ellenbogen contributed to this report.