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Bill to regulate A.I. data centers passes on Senate floor
The Senate is in session in Tallahassee, and among the bills debated was SB 484, a bill aiming to restrict data centers. FOX 35's Garrett Wymer took the debate live, where lawmakers passed the bill 37-0.
ORLANDO, Fla. - Florida utility customers will not be required to subsidize the rising electricity demands of large artificial intelligence data centers under a bill signed Thursday by Gov. Ron DeSantis.
The measure aims to shift the full cost of power infrastructure to the companies building the facilities rather than spreading it across residential ratepayers.
The legislation comes as state leaders weigh how to balance economic development tied to AI growth with concerns over energy use, water consumption and local control.
What we know:
Gov. Ron DeSantis signed SB 484 into law during an event at Florida Polytechnic University in Lakeland, framing it as a consumer protection measure. The law directs the Florida Public Service Commission to ensure large data center customers pay their full share of costs, including electrical infrastructure, transmission upgrades and system expansions.
It also reinforces local governments’ authority to block data center projects, while allowing temporary confidentiality agreements between municipalities and tech companies for up to 12 months during negotiations.
What we don't know:
It remains unclear how aggressively utilities and regulators will implement the new tariff structures, or how developers may respond to increased cost responsibilities. The long-term impact on Florida’s ability to attract large-scale AI infrastructure investments has also not been fully determined.
The backstory:
The bill emerged amid growing national debate over the rapid expansion of AI-powered data centers, which require vast amounts of electricity and water. Supporters of the legislation argued that other states, including Virginia, have already seen residential utility rates rise after data center expansion.
State Sen. Bryan Avila, R-Miami Springs, cited industry projections during committee hearings, saying global demand for data center capacity could triple by 2030.
"This makes very, very clear in a number of ways that our water resources are a public resource, a local resource, a state resource, a precious resource," said Alex Kelly, Florida’s secretary of commerce, referencing concerns about a proposed 4.4 million-square-foot facility in Fort Meade.
What they're saying:
DeSantis cast the law as a consumer protection effort aimed at preventing everyday residents from absorbing infrastructure costs tied to large tech firms.
"You should not pay one more red cent for electricity because of a hyper-scale data center as an individual," DeSantis said. "That's just not right for the most wealthy companies in the history of the world to come in and have individual Floridians or Americans subsidize these hyper-scale data centers."
He also expressed skepticism about some uses of artificial intelligence.
"There’s a lot of things that I'm excited about with respect to technology," DeSantis said. "But a lot of the power that it is being used is for consumer-facing slop."
Business groups had warned during legislative hearings that the state could be overregulating an industry that already faces significant capital costs and permitting requirements, potentially discouraging investment.
The Source: This story was written based on reporting by the News Service of Florida.