The Two Sides of Ron DeSantis’ Florida Data Center Policy
Summary
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed a law to stop AI data centers from adding their electricity costs to residents’ bills. At the same time, his administration continues to offer tax breaks to large tech companies to attract data center investments in Florida.Key Facts
- The new law requires large AI data centers to pay their full utility costs, preventing these costs from being passed to residential and small-business customers.
- Local governments still control zoning and permits for data center projects.
- Earlier versions of the law were weakened; for example, a ban on government nondisclosure agreements with developers was removed.
- Since 2017, Florida has offered tax exemptions on sales, property, and electricity for data centers.
- The tax break has been extended twice and now requires data centers to have at least a $150 million investment and a 100-megawatt power load to qualify.
- The tax exemptions cover equipment, construction materials, infrastructure, and electricity used only by the data centers.
- The governor’s office supports making the tax break permanent.
- Three companies have used these exemptions since 2017, including firms based in New Hampshire, Los Angeles, and Nevada.
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