Records show Sen. Givhan handled Meta data center land sales
Records show Alabama Sen. Sam Givhan served as the closing attorney for Huntsville property sales that enabled Meta to develop its North Huntsville data center campus. Givhan now opposes additional data centers in the Tennessee Valley, citing limited energy supplies, while defending the earlier project and supporting legislation limiting future tax incentives.
Court and property records show that Sam Givhan, now a Republican state senator representing Huntsville, represented the city in five Madison County transactions that transferred about 455 acres to Starbelt LLC, a special-purpose entity created by Meta. The land supported Meta’s 3.5 million-square-foot Huntsville data center, which received a 30-year tax abatement and has since contributed millions of dollars to local schools, charities and nonprofits.
Givhan says his current opposition to new Tennessee Valley data centers reflects concerns about limited electricity and the need to prioritize manufacturers and other employers with stronger job creation. He supported legislation reducing the maximum tax-abatement period for large data centers from 30 years to 20 years, while successfully protecting existing agreements. Democratic challenger Jared Sluss criticized Givhan for profiting from the Meta land sales and accepting a campaign contribution from the company, while Givhan said the Meta project was a city-backed development unlike proposed facilities on unincorporated land.