Florida’s new AI data center law takes effect amid ongoing concerns across party lines

The state of Florida has a new law regulating large-scale data centers.While the law has consumer protections and empowers local governments to reject data center development in their communities, some Republicans and Democrats say it doesn’t go far enough.”What we don’t want to do is be subsidizing or putting a thumb on the scales for technologies that are going to supplant the human experience,” Gov. Ron DeSantis said last December.There’s agreement across party lines that the new law signed by the governor — which went into effect Wednesday, July 1 — isn’t perfect.”I think that there is no law that can go strong enough against data centers,” Republican CFO Blaise Ingoglia said.”Ultimately, this was about having no data center regulations, or at least some protections for consumers,” said State Sen. Carlos Guillermo Smith, D-Orange County.Under the new law, big tech companies have to foot the bill for these centers that are the engines of the AI boom.”Ratepayers and consumers like you and me will not have to front the cost of any of these data centers,” Smith said, “which have really impacted energy bills for consumers in other states.”Smith voted “yes” along with 31 other state senators after in his opinion, the Florida House of Representatives weakened the bill. He said lawmakers in future sessions need to address transparency around the proliferation of data centers.”Earlier versions of this bill would have prohibited local governments from signing non-disclosure agreements with data center companies, which was a transparency measure that really would have helped communities have access to information,” Smith explained. In WESH 2’s backyard in Eatonville, residents have raised concerns about how the expanding HostDime data center will impact their community’s power, water and noise levels.This data center on Wymore Road, which is also the company’s corporate headquarters, is not for artificial intelligence, but rather it supports data storage and servers. In Lake County, commissioners there have already moved to create a one-year moratorium, while more research is done on how data centers could impact electricity and water usage. “We have beautiful rural areas and then we have these awesome small downtowns,” Commissioner Anthony Sabatini, R-Lake County, recently told WESH 2. “We don’t have a huge industrial corridor.”This week while in Central Florida, Ingoglia explained why he believes data centers do not belong in the Sunshine State. “They want our tax dollars,” Ingoglia said. “They want our energy. They want our water. Then they want our labor to go and build a data center on short term, all so they can create AI to take all our jobs. I don’t get it.”

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. —

The state of Florida has a new law regulating large-scale data centers.

While the law has consumer protections and empowers local governments to reject data center development in their communities, some Republicans and Democrats say it doesn’t go far enough.

“What we don’t want to do is be subsidizing or putting a thumb on the scales for technologies that are going to supplant the human experience,” Gov. Ron DeSantis said last December.

There’s agreement across party lines that the new law signed by the governor — which went into effect Wednesday, July 1 — isn’t perfect.

“I think that there is no law that can go strong enough against data centers,” Republican CFO Blaise Ingoglia said.

“Ultimately, this was about having no data center regulations, or at least some protections for consumers,” said State Sen. Carlos Guillermo Smith, D-Orange County.

Under the new law, big tech companies have to foot the bill for these centers that are the engines of the AI boom.

“Ratepayers and consumers like you and me will not have to front the cost of any of these data centers,” Smith said, “which have really impacted energy bills for consumers in other states.”

Smith voted “yes” along with 31 other state senators after in his opinion, the Florida House of Representatives weakened the bill.

He said lawmakers in future sessions need to address transparency around the proliferation of data centers.

“Earlier versions of this bill would have prohibited local governments from signing non-disclosure agreements with data center companies, which was a transparency measure that really would have helped communities have access to information,” Smith explained.

In WESH 2’s backyard in Eatonville, residents have raised concerns about how the expanding HostDime data center will impact their community’s power, water and noise levels.

This data center on Wymore Road, which is also the company’s corporate headquarters, is not for artificial intelligence, but rather it supports data storage and servers.

In Lake County, commissioners there have already moved to create a one-year moratorium, while more research is done on how data centers could impact electricity and water usage.

“We have beautiful rural areas and then we have these awesome small downtowns,” Commissioner Anthony Sabatini, R-Lake County, recently told WESH 2. “We don’t have a huge industrial corridor.”

This week while in Central Florida, Ingoglia explained why he believes data centers do not belong in the Sunshine State.

“They want our tax dollars,” Ingoglia said. “They want our energy. They want our water. Then they want our labor to go and build a data center on short term, all so they can create AI to take all our jobs. I don’t get it.”