(The Center Square) – Data centers that use massive amounts of electricity and water to power artificial intelligence, streaming and other computer usage are the target of a bill in the Florida Legislature that aims to rein in the larger facilities.
House Bill 1007, filed by Republican Rep. Philip Wayne Griffitts, would establish a multi-level government approval process that includes local municipalities and a public hearing before large-scale data centers could be built.
Property owners within a 10-mile radius of the proposed sites would be notified at least 30 days before the public hearing. If local government approval is secured, the plan must then get approval at the state level from the governor.
Large data centers would be prohibited in agricultural zones, conservation and environmental stewardship areas, mixed-use zones, residential land use categories and agricultural zoning districts.
The bill also bars utility companies from collecting hidden impact fees that could shift costs to residents and local businesses.
Data centers can require millions of gallons of water from local municipalities, a key point of contention in the nationwide debate over them. Under Griffitts’ bill, all projects seeking permits for water usage would be required to disclose whether their applications are for a large data center.
Annual water use associated with data centers is expected to increase by 400% over two years, according to a report published last year by Ceres, a nonprofit advocacy group. It also found data center growth could increase water stress for already strained areas by up to 17%.
Data centers have been growing rapidly in recent years as artificial intelligence and data usage ramp up. In the Southeast, Florida has 107 data centers, second only to Georgia’s 150, according to Data Center Map, an online platform that tracks the industry.
A $13.5 billion data center planned in rural St. Lucie County would be one of the largest in the world, Treasure Coast News reported.
The facilities can provide an attractive source of revenue for local governments, but they have generated pushback in communities over their potential for noise and pollution as well as their water and power needs.
Griffitts’ legislation to curb them pushes against President Donald Trump’s embrace of the facilities and aligns with initiatives backed by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, who has been more critical.
“There isn’t even close to enough grid capacity for these data centers,” DeSantis previously wrote on X. “Consumers will see electricity rates spike – and to what end?”
“We should not be making you pay more. We should not be saying you don’t have access to the amount of water that you need because they’re doing this stuff, and we’re seeing that across the country. There are some parts of the country, they’ll build one of these things in these rural areas, and they limit when the residents can shower,” DeSantis said at an event last year.
Trump, who has been trying to accommodate the artificial intelligence boom, said he will pressure tech giants to make sure their data centers do not increase residential electricity bills.
“We are the “Hottest” Country in the World, and Number One in AI. Data Centers are key to that boom, and keeping Americans free and secure but, the big Technology Companies who build them must ‘pay their own way,’” Trump posted on his social media platform on Monday.
The industry has lobbied against strict regulation and supports the administration’s stance on artificial intelligence, including deregulation and speedy permitting for data centers.
On Tuesday, Microsoft sought to reassure local communities that its data centers would not be a burden. The company said it would replenish water supplies and ensure the facilities don’t cause electricity bills to rise. Microsoft said it would pass on the opportunity to seek property tax breaks for the facilities.
