Florida becomes one of first states to regulate AI data centers

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed a bill into law late Thursday afternoon, establishing regulations for AI data centers in the state. The new law, the only AI-related measure to pass this legislative session, mandates that tech companies building data centers must pay for all utilities they consume. Furthermore, it imposes restrictions on the locations where these facilities can be built. Speaking on the legislation, Gov. DeSantis emphasized its purpose is to protect Floridian residents from bearing the financial burden of large-scale data center operations. "You should not pay one more red cent for electricity because of a hyper-scale data center as an individual," DeSantis stated. He added that it's not right for wealthy tech companies to have individual Floridians or Americans subsidize these operations, despite Florida currently lacking large-scale data centers. The governor noted that the preemptive measure is intended to avoid the problems that other states are already encountering due to data center expansion. Most of the new law's provisions are set to take effect on July 1.