THE BILL ITSELF
HB 1517
Approval of Data Center Facilities
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A bill to be entitled
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An act relating to the approval of data center
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facilities; providing a short title; creating s.
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377.714, F.S.; requiring applications for the approval
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of data center facilities to include specified
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disclosures; requiring the Department of Environmental
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Protection to make such information publicly available
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on its website; providing that such applications may
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not be approved before such information is posted for
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a specified period of time; requiring certain local
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governments to make such information publicly
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available on local government websites; requiring that
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written notice be provided to certain residential and
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commercial landowners and renters; requiring existing
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data centers to disclose specified information;
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requiring data centers to comply with specified
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standards; providing a penalty; prohibiting tax
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credits for certain facilities; prohibiting certain
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exemptions, protections, and restrictions for such
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information; requiring the department to adopt rules;
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providing an effective date.
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Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
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Section 1. This act may be cited as the "Data Center
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Transparency Act."
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Section 2. Section 377.714, Florida Statutes, is created
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to read:
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377.714 Approval of data center facilities.—
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(1) Any application for the approval of a data center
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facility must require a detailed disclosure of the following:
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(a) A plan for energy management of the electricity or
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power supply for the data center, including but not limited to:
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1. The energy sources, such as full or partial self-power.
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2. If connected to a regulated utility, include impact on
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the grid.
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3. Any renewable energy.
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4. Energy use efficiency, conservation, and use
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management.
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5. The carbon footprint from servers.
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6. Storage equipment.
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7. Networking devices.
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8. Uninterruptible power supplies.
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9. Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems and
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other essential infrastructure, and cost-sharing with other
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users on the grid, such as nearby residential and commercial
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consumers for both the operation of electronic information
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technology equipment and cooling.
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10. A statement of actual or anticipated greenhouse gas
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emissions, including direct emissions, such as emissions from
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onsite equipment and power generators, and indirect emissions,
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such as emissions from electricity suppliers, in accordance with
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the United States Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program. Anticipated
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versus actual figures should be based on existing measurements
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by substantially similar data centers under similar climate
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conditions for the area.
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11. For those data centers connecting to a public utility
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grid, an energy cost-sharing statement that includes:
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a. The results of any agreement negotiated through the
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rate or tariff setting process with the Public Service
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Commission regarding large load customers with a demand greater
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than 75 megawatts who pay monthly minimums equal to 80 percent
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of their capacity or transmission costs.
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b. Any collateral requirements.
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c. Contract termination fees to prevent data centers costs
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from being laid onto residential and other low load consumers.
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(b) For data centers using water for cooling or any other
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purpose, a detailed description of the plan for water management
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and cooling, including but not limited to:
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1. The water sources, including whether the water is
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fresh, purchased from a local water utility, purchased from
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onsite reservoirs, or from some other source.
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2. The cooling method, such as moving chilled air through
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large ductwork, moving chilled water in a piped cooling loop, or
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room-scale air conditioners.
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3. The amount of water in gallons that is being consumed
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daily.
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4. Cost sharing for water resources with local residents
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and businesses.
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(c) To proactively avoid any toxic substances being
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released into the environment, a plan for waste management to
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dispose of or recycle electronic waste such as racks, computing
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equipment, monitors, circuits, and other electrical components.
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(d) A statement of the presence of any emissions from
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hydrofluorocarbons, which are commonly used as refrigerants for
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cooling systems.
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(e) Any agreements with the local, state, or federal
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governments regarding any zoning treatment or economic
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incentives, such as tax credits or other favorable tax
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treatment, or other special considerations.
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(f) An environmental impact study. If not included in
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environmental impact assessments, state data centers shall
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provide a statement regarding compliance with the Clean Air Act
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and the National Environmental Policy Act.
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(g) Any agreements with local governments for economic
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incentives, tax credits, or other special considerations.
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(h) A plan for worker safety, including but not limited
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to, compliance with the United States Occupational Safety and
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Health Administration permissible exposure limit of 90 dBa for
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employees working for 8 hours per day. The plan must specify any
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safety equipment or personal protective equipment required to be
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used by and provided to workers, procedures limiting employees
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from working in close proximity to electrical hazard areas, and
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compliance with the National Fire Prevention Standard 70 and 70E
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to manage electrical hazards appropriately.
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(i) A statement of any preventative mitigation measures
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for harmful noise emissions, such as maximum sound levels of 60
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dBa during the daytime and 55 dBa at night, or any other amount
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based on a sound study, for residents and businesses within one-
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quarter mile of the proposed data center location.
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(2)(a) The Department of Environmental Protection must
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post the information in subsection (1) on its website. An
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application for a new data center facility may not be approved
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before such information is posted on the department website for
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no less than 30 calendar days.
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(b) Each local government within the proposed data center
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location and each local government within 100 square miles of
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the proposed location shall post the information in subsection
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(1) on its website.
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(c) In addition to publication through the government
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websites, written notices shall be provided to all residential
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and commercial landowners and renters within a 5-mile radius of
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the proposed data center location.
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(d) An existing data center facility must disclose the
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information in subsection (1) to the department no later than
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August 1, 2026. The department must post the information on its
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website.
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(3)(a) Data centers shall state adherence to industry
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security standards, which may be updated over time, but in 2026
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should include whether or not the data center complies with the
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International Organization for Standardization No. 27001; the
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Statement on Standards for Attestation Engagements No. 16; the
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International Standard on Assurance Engagements No. 3402; and
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the Federal Information Security Modernization Act of 2014.
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(b) Data centers that deal with personal information of
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any potential European users shall state whether they comply
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with privacy standards set forth in the General Data Protection
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Regulation.
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(c) Data centers that deal with payment information must
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comply with state adherence to the Payment Card Industry Data
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Security Standard, commonly referred to as PCI DSS, or any other
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applicable industry standard designed to secure financial data
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against breaches during credit, debit, or any other financial
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transactions.
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(d) Data centers that provide services to entities covered
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by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act
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(HIPAA), such as healthcare providers and clearinghouses, must
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have a plan to comply with all 19 standards set forth by HIPAA
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to secure electronic protected health information. The plan must
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include, but is not limited to, any technical, physical, and
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administrative safeguards to ensure the security and privacy of
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data and measures like encryption for safe transmission of
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identifiable health information.
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(4) Data centers that fail to comply with the reporting
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requirements under this section may be subject to fines of up to
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$10,000 per violation. A high resource use facility may not
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receive any tax incentive if the owner or operator fails to
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properly submit a disclosure report pursuant to the section.
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(5) The information in subsection (1) may not be granted
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an exemption or protection from disclosure based on trade
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secrets, confidentiality agreements, or any other restriction
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that would impinge on the public policy interest in full
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transparency.
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(6) The department shall adopt rules to implement this
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section.
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Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2026.