Florida's Latest News

University Town Center Improvement District proposal heading to House floor

A proposal to create a new special taxing district in the University Town Center area along the Sarasota and Manatee county line cleared its final Committee, advancing to the House floor.

But there is still no companion bill in the Senate.

The House State Affairs Committee voted 23-0 to advance HB 4091, sponsored by Lakewood Ranch Rep. Bill Conerly, to the House floor. The bill would establish the University Town Center Improvement District, an independent special district spanning a roughly 1,500-acre area that includes one of the region’s most heavily developed commercial corridors.

The District would be authorized to construct, operate and maintain a wide array of improvements within its boundaries, but the Committee approved an amendment introduced by Conerly specifying that it’s meant to focus on stormwater infrastructure improvements in response to flooding during the 2024 hurricane season. 

The strike-all amendment “makes it a district that focuses on stormwater and flood, as opposed to the other things that were previously included, so this bill creates an independent special district that exists in both Sarasota and Manatee counties, and the intent of it is to operate stormwater and flood control facilities as well as other community infrastructure associated with the district,” Conerly told Committee members Thursday.

Senate approves Bryan Ávila’s data center regulation bill as its companion advances to the House floor

The Senate has approved a proposal by Hialeah Gardens Republican Sen. Bryan Ávila meant to protect consumers and ratepayers from utility costs associated with large-scale data centers.

The Senate voted 37-0 in favor of SB 484, which would establish a comprehensive framework governing “large load customers” — which are defined as facilities with an anticipated monthly peak load of 50 megawatts or more at a single location, a threshold that captures many hyperscale data centers.

The vote took place on the same day the House Commerce Committee voted to advance the measure’s companion bill (HB 1007) filed by Panama City Republican Rep. Griff Griffitts.

The bills are nearly identical. But unlike SB 484, the House bill includes a provision that prohibits permits for new data centers that use over 50 megawatts within 5 miles of any residential property or school — unless the local governing body waives it by unanimous vote.

Ávila told Senators that surging demand from artificial intelligence and hyperscale data centers is contributing to rising electricity costs nationwide. He cited national analyses warning that global data center demand is projected to triple by 2030. The legislation, he said, would ensure Florida does not repeat mistakes seen in other states where ratepayers absorbed costs tied to large-scale energy users.

Police chiefs defend school zone camera enforcement

Speeding in school zones was a topic of discussion during the House State Affairs Committee on Thursday as the panel debated House Bill 543, sponsored by Rep. Fiona McFarland of Sarasota.

In the nearly three years since the Florida Legislature authorized the use of cameras to enforce speed limits in school zones, dozens of cities and counties have embraced technology to keep students safe around schools on school days.

Chief Robert Bage of Fort Walton Beach testified in support of the program.

“We are a strong supporter of photo enforcement,” said Bage, who serves as the president of the Florida Police Chiefs Association.

“Anecdotally and statistically, we have seen changes around our schools. People who live near the schools talk about how this is the first time they’ve seen true change in driving behaviors. Statistically, in Fort Walton Beach, we’ve seen a 95% reduction in speed violations, 50% in traffic crash reductions, and over 70% of people never receive a second violation, which shows true changing and driving behavior.”

House panel supports bill to improve cybersecurity for local governments

A bill to help protect local governments from cybersecurity threats cleared its final Committee stop and is ready for the full House vote.

“We know how slow government procurement can go. But I think with the changes that we’re making to this legislation, we can hopefully get that money out the door faster and have good protection from cyber security software for our local government,” said Rep. Monique Miller, a Palm Bay Republican sponsoring the bill. Miller also works as an information technology and cybersecurity executive.

Miller presented the bill (HB 1085) before the House State Affairs Committee. Under the legislation, the University of South Florida would be the home of the new Local Government Cybersecurity Protection Program. USF’s Florida Center for Cybersecurity would administer the program.

“Under the grant program, the Florida Center for Cybersecurity shall enter into data-sharing agreements with local governments and the Florida Digital Service necessary to facilitate the collection, analysis, and exchange of security-related information to support the detection, prevention, and response to cybersecurity incidents,” the bill says.