Pushback of the Week, May 17, 2026

Ron DeSantis Protects Floridians from Hyperscale Data Centers

Across the U.S., hyperscale data centers are wreaking havoc in local communities, greedily hogging precious water supplies, raising consumer electricity costs, damaging human and animal health—and facilitating the build-out of the control grid.

A bill just signed by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, SB 484, provides protections for both ratepayers and local governments. The bill:

• Ensures that local governments maintain the authority to reject data center development in their communities
• Prevents data center costs (including electricity costs) from being passed on to consumers
• Protects Florida’s water resources from data center consumption

Some of the other features of the bill highlighted in the governor’s press release include greater transparency—including required public disclosure of data center development deals after the exemption period, and the establishment of “clear definitions in law to prevent loopholes”—as well as the creation of a dedicated permitting process for large-scale data centers.

According to DeSantis, the legislation is the first of its kind: “This bill … is the first in the country that ensures that the rhetoric we hear is actually reality on the ground.” With the groundswell of opposition to hyperscale data centers among both citizens and local leaders, we can only hope that other states will emulate SB 484 and Florida’s willingness to stand up to Big Tech.