By Liv Caputo, Florida Phoenix
Florida state Sen. Bryan Avila acknowledges his pair of AI bills present a quandary: attempt to regulate data centers enough that they don’t harm the environment, but not too much that they’re not built within the state.
And although the Miami Republican believes he’s struck the right balance with SB 484 and SB 1118, he told the Senate Community Affairs Committee Tuesday afternoon, he’ll also have to span the widening AI policy rift between President Donald Trump and Gov. Ron DeSantis, the Republicans who have taken nearly opposite stances on the rapidly growing artificial intelligence industry.
“It’s important that we have some parameters in place to protect these natural resources, especially as it pertains to water, but also maintain that balance with being a leader in technology,” Avila said. “We want to maintain that we are at the forefront of technological advances, but … we want to make sure we also strike that balance and make sure that we protect our ratepayers from higher electricity costs.”
SB 484 would require Florida’s Public Service Commission to ensure big customers — like data centers — pay for their own utilities, not the general body of ratepayers. It also would retain local governments’ authority to regulate land development with respect to large-load customers.
And although the bill would prevent AI agencies from entering into non-disclosure agreements regarding potential data center developments, SB 1118 — controversially — ensures some secrecy remains. It envisions a one-year public records exemption for information relating to the plans, intentions or interests of an entity looking to build a data center.
Trump, DeSantis, AI
But Avila doesn’t just have to contend with business and environment with his legislation. He needs to balance Trump’s pro-AI stance with DeSantis’ acutely cautious position.
Although Trump has allied himself with tech lords like Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg, even signing an executive order to punish states that over-regulate the industry, DeSantis has emphasized the dangers of unfettered AI.
The governor isn’t opposed to all AI growth or business, but he’s taken a wary approach (warning of an age of “darkness and deceit“) by lobbying lawmakers to pass a stringent AI Bill of Rights to protect consumers. Many provisions he wanted have been placed into a hefty package carried by Sen. Tom Leek, which has already passed its first Senate committee.
One of DeSantis’ biggest concerns are AI data centers. He’s pointed out that the facilities, designed to process the massive data required to operate language learning models, require massive amounts of energy and water, neither of which are free nor always environmentally sound.
DeSantis hosted an event at New College of Florida Wednesday morning alongside AI experts.
Unless energy production rises with consumption, “I don’t think there’s very many people that want to have higher energy bills just so some chatbot can try to corrupt some 13-year-old kid online. That is not what anybody is signing up for,” DeSantis said to a round of applause.
A medium-sized data center could require up to 110 million gallons of water per year and a large one up to 1.8 billion gallons per year, the Environmental and Energy Study Institute reported.
Rural Louisiana will be the site of Meta’s new $10 billion data center, set to be the company’s largest of 20 centers worldwide.
“Are we going to beat China in military or medical? Fine, then launch a Manhattan Project for our military to be able to do, but what the hell does that have to do with sexually suggestive chatbots, what does that have to do with taking a scene from On the Waterfront and putting your friend’s head on Marlon Brando’s body and say, ‘Oh isn’t that fun?’ I mean like, yeah I laugh at it, I don’t want to pay higher energy bills to be able to do that,” DeSantis said.
DeSantis called it is a “very radical proposal” to allow technology companies free reign on developing AI.
One of the experts alongside DeSantis, AngelQ CEO Tim Estes, called for a “distinctly American form of AI.
“An AI that’s trustworthy, truth-seeking, loyal to humans, and supportive of human freedom, pro-human AI that supports democracy, property rights, and, above all, human dignity,” Estes said.
‘Impossible position’
Both of Avila’s bills overwhelmingly passed Tuesday’s committee vote, and both now head to their final pit stop before the Floor: the Rules Committee.
Only Sen. Jason Pizzo, an independent from Sunny Isles, raised concerns — specifically about the public records exemption. He worried the public’s trust in local officials will be quashed if they’re kept in the dark about the land interests of data center developers.
“The greatest implication and consequence of this bill is that local mayors and commissioners will look like they took a kickback. It will make it impossible for them to convince their constituents that they didn’t take something from a billionaire developer … and keep it quiet,” he said. “That’s an impossible position to put local officials in.”
The records exemption is designed to prevent land prices from skyrocketing once builders or other members of the public learn that a massive data center is planned for a particular area, Avila said.
This isn’t Florida’s first AI-related legislation. Over the past few years, the Sunshine State has joined a host of other states in passing legislation to crack down on AI-generated sexual images and require disclaimers on political advertisements using artificial intelligence.
The sudden uptick in AI-related bills nationwide matches the pace with which AI companies have burst onto the scene, raking in record levels of money. Now that Musk’s SpaceX has acquired his AI startup, xAI, it’s on track to become the first trillion-dollar company.
AI startups have minted dozens of new billionaires, with nearly 500 AI startups founded in 2023 or later valued at roughly $1 billion or more, CNBC reported.
Florida Phoenix reporter Jay Waagmeester contributed to this story. Florida Phoenix is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Florida Phoenix maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Michael Moline for questions: in**@************ix.com. Banner photo: Data center server racks (iStock image).
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