NetChoice explains how Florida HB 1007 would effectively ban large data centers in the state, and would block Florida communities who want to attract billions in investment, hundreds of high-paying tech jobs, and massive property tax relief.
Testimony
Florida House of Representatives
Commerce Committee
Re: Opposition to CS/HB 1007 – Data Centers
Dear Chairman Buchanan and members of the Committee:
NetChoice is a trade association of the world’s leading online businesses. We are leaders in tech policy in
the states, in Washington, DC, in the courts, and in international internet governance organizations.
We ask for your opposition to CS/HB 1007, to avoid foreclosing Florida as a potential state for the
large-scale capital investments and the economic and tax benefits that come from hyperscale data
centers.
Data centers of NetChoice members Amazon, xAI, Google, Meta and OpenAI enable individuals and businesses to find information, buy and sell, navigate their world, and maintain their memories in messages, emails, documents, photos, and videos. Data centers are the essential production equipment to deliver these services. Moreover, data centers help keep us connected, while creating jobs and significant economic impacts in our communities, as explained in this 2-minute video.
Americans depend on the internet to be educated, informed, stay connected, and get their work done. Data centers create tech jobs, from construction teams and engineers, to technicians and facility managers. These investments boost the local economy, while ensuring a better online experience for Americans everywhere.
Data centers can be located anywhere in the country. That’s why Floridians using cloud storage and
computing right now are relying on servers located outside the state, without worrying about capacity or
transmission. Given that data centers can be anywhere, they locate where they are welcomed by local
communities and where utilities have power to spare.
When you consider the economic benefits of construction projects, high-paying tech jobs and new
significant property tax relief, many Florida communities would like to attract new large-scale data
centers.
However, the legislation before you today (CS/HB 1007) would severely restrict the ability of a data
center to locate in Florida, making the state an unwelcome place for the future growth of the
infrastructure layer of our digital economy. Large-scale data centers contribute significantly to local taxes
and are strong supporters of education and broadband expansion. The jobs created in fields like
engineering, technicians, electrical and construction trades earn competitive salaries.
Data centers are critical for the economy and national security
Modern military and intelligence operations increasingly depend on AI, real-time analytics, and massive
data processing. Domestic data centers are essential to training and deploying AI models for defense
applications without that work being exposed to foreign intelligence collection.
Much of America’s cloud computing industry relies on infrastructure with global footprints, including
nodes in countries with adversarial relationships with the U.S. Building domestic capacity reduces the
risk of foreign governments cutting off access or inserting backdoors into critical systems during a
geopolitical crisis. Having our national security systems on a data center in another country is a bad idea.
Of course, national security is not just military — it is also economic. Maintaining domestic dominance in
data infrastructure helps the U.S. stay ahead of China and other rivals in the AI race, which many defense analysts consider the defining technological competition of the 21st century.
PPI’s INVESTMENT HEROES 2025 shows Tech/Internet as the top sector for US capital investment, with
last year’s domestic gains being driven overwhelmingly by investment in AI related infrastructure. Each
of the top 3 capital investment heroes build data centers (Amazon, Alphabet, and Meta), all together
they invested nearly $141 billion in 2024 – more than energy, telecom, pharma, or manufacturing.
This trend in enormous increases in infrastructure investment continues – in states that make long-term data center investment a possibility. In states like Missouri, Iowa, Ohio, Illinois, and Nebraska, data centers have been major drivers of investment.
It is alarming that Florida would retreat from its own economic well being by enacting an effective
moratorium against the best economic and national security interests of the country.
- Data centers are critical for the economy and national security
- With a 5-mile radius restriction, this law is effectively a moratorium
- Data centers are a national priority with support at the highest levels
Restricts data center locations to the point of being a de facto moratorium
Based on the “5-mile buffer” requirement in HB 1007, new data centers would be effectively banned
from almost all of Florida’s developed land. Because Florida has schools and residential zones distributed
throughout its cities and suburbs, a 5-mile circle around every single one leaves very little “open” space
for high-load industrial use.
We asked AI tools to create a map of “all areas in Florida 5+ miles from any residential property or
school.” It was essentially impossible to render a meaningful map, since much of Florida has schools
and residential areas. The remaining eligible zones would be very small, scattered patches (mostly in
remote rural/wilderness areas like the Everglades, which are of course federally protected) , Big Cypress,
certain agricultural lands in central/south Florida, Apalachicola National Forest/Tate’s Hell State Forest
and the Lake Okeechobee surrounding area.
But another problem looms: even if land were found five miles from homes and schools, that property
would also need power grid access and fiber connectivity. Such services are almost always near
population centers so those properties are less desirable.
The fact is clear that this legislation is simply an attempt to ban data centers in Florida without having to
call it an actual ban.
Data centers are a national priority with support at the highest levels
Including in the State of the Union address this week, the President has championed data centers and AI
as national priorities. The consistent message from the White House is: whoever controls the most
powerful AI infrastructure controls the future of economic and military power. As is well known, China
is building data centers aggressively under state direction. The U.S., then, cannot afford to let private
market hesitancy or local regulation slow down the buildout when our geopolitical rival is moving so fast.
Further, data center construction aligns well with President Trump’s broader message of economic
nationalism. Large-scale domestic data center construction creates construction jobs, manufacturing
demand (servers, cooling systems, cabling), and long-term tech operational jobs. President Trump has
pointed to Stargate and similar projects as proof that his presidency is bringing investment back to
American soil.
As highlighted specifically in the State of the Union, the President linked data center growth to his
“energy dominance” agenda — arguing that America’s abundant energy resources (natural gas, coal,
nuclear) position it uniquely to power massive data infrastructure that other countries cannot sustain as
cheaply or reliably.
This White House support for data centers is consistent and supported by Executive Orders.
President Trump knows that America must keep winning in technological development—for our national
security, data security, and future prosperity. We must maintain our leadership, as China is catching up to
us. We are thrilled to see President Trump making such technological advance a priority, and we look
forward to working with his administration on this critical infrastructure for America’s future.
We are hopeful to continue working with Florida towards the same national goals as outlined here. And
for Floridians we hope to work with this committee and legislature to make sure that data centers can
be part of Florida’s economic growth. That effort begins with you voting against CS/HB 1007.
Sincerely,
Steve DelBianco
President & CEO
NetChoice
NetChoice is a trade association that works to protect free expression and promote free enterprise online.