Senate Bill Would Let Data Center Developers Hide Plans from Public for a Year
SB 1118 would exempt data center developer plans from Florida's public records law for 12 months and grant indefinite confidentiality to proprietary business information — alarming transparency advocates.
While Florida legislators advance bills to regulate data centers and protect communities, one bill moving quietly through the Senate would do the opposite: give data center developers the right to hide their plans from the public for up to a year. SB 1118, sponsored by Senator Bryan Avila (R-Hialeah) — the same senator behind the bipartisan SB 484 — would create a new exemption to Florida's public records law specifically for data center development.
What the Bill Does
SB 1118 creates two tiers of secrecy for data center-related information held by state and local governments:
12-Month Confidentiality for Plans and Intentions
Any documents revealing a data center company's "plans, intentions, or interest" in a Florida location would be exempt from public records requests for 12 months from the date the government agency receives them. This means:
- A developer could approach a county about building a hyperscale facility, and the public wouldn't know for a full year
- Community members couldn't use public records requests to learn about proposed projects during the critical early planning phase
- Local opposition couldn't organize until plans are well advanced
Indefinite Exemption for Proprietary Information
Beyond the 12-month window, the bill creates an indefinite exemption for what it terms "proprietary confidential business information." This catch-all category could include:
- Technical specifications of the facility
- Energy and water consumption projections
- Financial arrangements with utilities
- Any information the developer claims would harm its competitive position if disclosed
There is no defined expiration for this exemption — the information stays confidential as long as the developer claims it qualifies.
5-Year Sunset Clause
The bill includes a sunset provision requiring legislative review: both exemptions would expire on October 2, 2031, unless the legislature affirmatively renews them. This is standard practice for Florida public records exemptions, but it means the exemptions could become permanent if renewed.
Why This Matters
Florida has one of the strongest public records laws in the country. The Florida Sunshine Law, established in 1967, enshrines the principle that government business should be conducted in the open. SB 1118 carves out a specific exception for one of the most impactful types of development a community can face.
The Project Tango Precedent
The history of Project Tango illustrates exactly why this exemption is dangerous. In 2016, the project was approved by the Palm Beach County Commission as a "data warehouse" — a term that conjured images of a modest storage facility. The developer used the code name "Project Tango" specifically to limit public research into the project's true scope.
Nearly a decade later, the project has been reframed as a "data processing center" encompassing 3.69 million square feet of hyperscale data center space. By the time the community learned what was actually planned, 2,400 homes had been built and sold — with no disclosure to buyers about the adjacent facility.
SB 1118 would make this kind of bait-and-switch easier, not harder. Under the bill, a developer could approach Palm Beach County about an even larger project, and residents wouldn't be able to learn about it through public records requests for an entire year.
The Tension with Other Bills
SB 1118 stands in direct contradiction to the transparency principles underlying other data center bills:
- HB 1517 (the Data Center Transparency Act) would require mandatory public disclosure of environmental data and a 30-day comment period
- SB 484 (Avila's own bill) bans NDAs between developers and local governments
- HB 1007 requires unanimous local approval to override buffer zones — a process that depends on informed public participation
The fact that SB 484 and SB 1118 share the same sponsor — Senator Avila — has raised eyebrows. Some advocates view SB 1118 as a concession to industry interests, while others see it as a pragmatic attempt to address developer concerns about early-stage confidentiality without undermining the broader regulatory framework.
The Industry Argument
Supporters of SB 1118 argue that data center developers need confidentiality during preliminary discussions for legitimate business reasons:
- Competitive intelligence: If a developer's interest in a location becomes public, competitors may swoop in or landowners may raise prices
- Preliminary exploration: Early-stage discussions may never lead to a project, and premature publicity can create unnecessary community alarm
- Standard practice: NDAs and confidentiality agreements are common in commercial real estate transactions
These arguments have some merit in the abstract. But they fail to account for the asymmetry of power and information between developers and communities. A developer exploring multiple sites can afford for one to fall through. A community that learns about a massive data center only after it's approved cannot undo the damage.
What the Critics Say
Opposition to SB 1118 has been vocal:
- Earthjustice has argued that the bill "undermines the Sunshine Law at precisely the moment when transparency is most needed"
- AARP Florida has raised concerns about elderly homeowners who may purchase homes near undisclosed data center sites
- Local government transparency advocates warn that the exemption could be used as a model for other types of industrial development, eroding the Sunshine Law over time
What This Means for Arden
If SB 1118 passes, future data center developments near Arden — or expansions of Project Tango — could be planned in secret for up to a year. The community would have no right to know what's being discussed until the developer and the county are ready to reveal it.
This is precisely the dynamic that led to the current crisis. Residents deserve better.
Take Action
- Contact Senator Avila's office and express your opposition to SB 1118 while supporting SB 484
- Write to your state senator and ask them to oppose public records exemptions for data center developers
- Join the class action lawsuit — transparency is one of the core issues in the case