Governor says Florida law bars hyperscale data centers from shifting costs to ratepayers and urges AI safeguards

A questioner asked whether local commissions should seek statewide governance of AI data centers; the Governor replied that Florida has acted to protect consumers and that the state prohibits passing hyperscale data-center costs onto ratepayers. "I signed the legislation saying you can't do any costs onto ratepayers associated with a hypers scale data center," he said.

The Governor described hyperscale facilities as large electricity consumers and warned that without supply increases local rates could rise. He also raised broader concerns about AI, saying technology should "enhance the experience for us as human beings, not to supplant it" and describing potential societal downsides.

The Governor noted the Florida Senate passed an "AI bill of rights" (37-to-1 in the Senate, he said), while the House declined to take up the measure. He framed the Senate bill as a framework to "minimize the downside risk" of AI while permitting beneficial development.

He also expressed environmental and land-use concerns when data centers target farmland and ranch land rather than previously developed industrial sites, and said those planning questions are within the remit of local officials.