Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Thursday signed a new law aimed at reining in large-scale data centers, saying everyday Floridians shouldn’t have to pay higher utility bills to support facilities that power artificial intelligence.
The measure, Senate Bill 484, blocks electric utilities from shifting the cost of serving massive data centers onto residential and small-business customers. Instead, those companies will be required to cover the full cost of their electric service, including infrastructure upgrades tied to their energy demands.
“You should not pay one more red cent for electricity because of a hyper-scale data center,” DeSantis said at the bill signing at Florida Polytechnic University. He argued it’s unfair for local customers to subsidize some of the world’s wealthiest technology companies.
The law directs the Florida Public Service Commission to set new tariffs and service rules to make sure large users pay their own way. It also preserves local governments’ ability to approve or reject data center projects, an issue that gained attention after earlier growth laws raised concerns about local control.
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Water use is also part of the package. The legislation allows water management districts to deny permits if a proposed data center would harm water supplies and encourages the use of reclaimed water when available — a point DeSantis highlighted amid ongoing drought concerns in parts of the state.
At the same time, the law lets local governments enter into non-disclosure agreements with companies for up to a year, temporarily limiting public access to details about proposed projects.
DeSantis called the bill a first step toward stronger oversight of data centers and artificial intelligence, an area where he has pushed for tighter regulations even as some related proposals stalled in the Legislature.