Data Centers

As a state senator in 2025, Republican Jay Collins sponsored a bill that sought to indefinitely extend a June 2027 deadline for eligible data centers to apply for temporary tax exemptions. The bill died in committee.

Sarasota County will not even consider the notion of any large-scale data centers for at least a year, citing concerns over utility resources and environmental degradation.

Speakers were in opposition to the project and in support of a moratorium; however, several felt a moratorium would not go far enough and called for an all-out ban on data centers in Lakeland.

The tool was built using publicly available information.

A public hearing on the ordinance will be held on Monday, July 6, at 9 a.m.

Among the concerns: That the noise from hundreds of generators and low-frequency vibration will impact his son, who has autism and is sensitive to sound.

After nearly three hours of emotional public comment, DeSoto County commissioners on Tuesday took the first step toward a one-year moratorium on data centers.

It’s one of several local governments to suspend accepting applications — despite not having any proposals submitted.

The pushback is the latest in a series of similar steps by local governments across the state, joining Pasco, Nassau and Citrus counties, which have all pursued rules blocking any new data centers. City commissioners in Lakeland took steps this week to do the same.

Commissioners asked the city attorney to draft a 12-month pause on large-scale facilities, with votes expected in July.

Duke Energy proposed a data center tariff, required under a new state law to shield Floridians from increased costs. But the Office of Public Counsel says it doesn't comply.

Pasco County could joins other municipalities across the state that are considering or have imposed moratoriums on data centers.