Data center regulation bill clears Florida Senate

(The Center Square) - Large-scale data centers looking to move into Florida communities would need to be more transparent with the public under legislation that passed the Florida Senate on Thursday.

That’s one of several regulations included in Senate Bill 484, which unanimously cleared the chamber. It prohibits government agencies from signing nondisclosure agreements with “large load” customers and gives local governments authority over their planning and land development regulations.

The measure also requires the Public Service Commission to develop minimum large-load tariff requirements for public electric utilities to ensure large data centers pay their own service costs. The facilities can require millions of gallons of water from municipalities and massive amounts of electricity.

The bill received support from Gov. Ron DeSantis, who posted on X last year that “there isn’t even close to enough grid capacity for these data centers.”

Sen. Bryan Avila, R-Miami Springs, who sponsored the bill, said data centers have caused costs to increase across the U.S. “mainly because of a spike in electricity demand.”

He said a recent analysis found some consumers have seen their monthly electricity bills rise by more than 270% over the last five years, while another analysis found that public demand for data center capacity will triple by 2030.

Sen. Carlos Guillermo Smith, D-Orlando, called the bill “a very strong step in the right direction of regulating data centers.”

He asked whether ratepayers would face higher costs if data centers don’t pay for their additional utility and water needs.

“There’s always some risk when you’re talking about business in general,” Avila replied. “Certainly there’s a risk that maybe the utility doesn’t do the right thing and next thing you know they’re in a financial pickle. So there’s always some risk associated. What we’re saying here is to try to mitigate that risk as much as possible so that our ratepayers, our residents, do not bear any of the costs associated with servicing a large load customer.”

The bill would also prevent a public utility from providing electric service to a foreign entity large-load customer, according to Avila.

President Donald Trump, who has been pushing data centers as a way for the U.S. to lead in AI technology, has advocated cutting red tape to make it easier for the industry to grow.

During his State of the Union address on Tuesday, Trump announced a ratepayer protection pledge which would include requiring data centers to fund their own electricity usage.